People don't fix things anymore

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: grampi
I have noticed a lot of people these days don't bother getting their cars fixed when they end up with body/paint damage, even with newer vehicles. I don't know how people can stand having their new car damaged and not get it fixed...


Cosmetics are for girls?

 

[Ducked]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Shannow
suicide plugged solar panels and used oil assphelt too...some things don't need to be "fixed"


What?!


Yeh, I thought that, and I've been to Australia, twice.

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: Shannow
suicide plugged solar panels and used oil assphelt too...some things don't need to be "fixed"


What?!


Yeh, I thought that, and I've been to Australia, twice.


There's a member of BITOG who does both of those "fixes"...solar panels with the inverters plugged into the wall suicide style, and repaired an asphalt driveway with used engine oil...

 

[Ducked]

Ah OK. Don't understand the first one, but I think the second would just wash off unless it was somehow bound with the hot asphalt.

If I ever get around to making my bamboo raft boat/house, I might inject used oil into the hollow sections. Bamboo has very poor rot resistance.

 

[weasley]

A while back our dishwasher started making noises it shouldn't make. Inside an hour I had it removed from the kitchen, cases off and had found that a small plastic spoon had somehow made it past the filter and into the pump impeller housing. In order to get at the pump I had to detach some hoses which were secured with non reusable clips, so I refitted with Jubilee clips (not sure if this translates - image below), put it all back together, installed back into the kitchen and it's fine. Some may have replaced it; it cost me a few hours of time and a few scrapes on the hands and arms plus a couple of $ of clips. This is the first time I have ever seen the insides of a dishwasher, but it was worth a look.

Another one, this time on the car. A couple of years back the trunk lid on our Skoda Yeti failed to close. Slamming it made no difference - it just bounced without latching. It is one of those trunk latches with an electronic switch that operates the latch to open it. Only now, when you pushed on the switch you got a 'drilling' sound for a couple of seconds. So, apart came the trunk interior fittings and off came the latch. This is a sealed unit but I carefully prised it apart and found that the latch is opened by a small motor using a screw linear actuator (motor turns a coarse-threaded shaft - a captive slider moves up and down this shaft due to its internal threading). The shaft and slider are plastic and the shaft had sheared (hence the drilling noise as it turned, trying and failing to move the slider along the shaft). It fails in an 'open' mode though, hence being unable to close the trunk. I considered trying to glue the shaft back together but it was greased and I doubted I could make a good repair, so I ordered a new latch from Skoda and fitted it. A hour of my time, $40 for a new latch, all is well AND I now know how the latch works and have helped others who have had the same failure. At dealer rates that would have been $200 minimum.

I will happily disassemble pretty much anything to see if I can fix it. If not I generally learn about how it works.

 

[gman2304]

My 17 year old dishwasher started leaking around the door seal a couple months ago. Easy inexpensive fix, but I still would have had a 17 year old dishwasher. Went to Lowe's and bought a new SS dishwasher with SS tub for the same price I paid for the old one with a plastic tub. And the new one is much more energy efficient and quieter. Plus the wife is happy. YMMV but occasionally it makes more sense to replace.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

In the last year, I have repaired a Hoover upright vac, Kenmore dishwasher and Whirlpool washer. Every appliance being built today will most likely fail within five

years.Oh yes, forgot to mention replacing starter on fourteen year old Camry. The new modular appliances have diagnostic software, so repairs are possible if one knows where to look for help.

 

[OneEyeJack]

About 10-15 years ago a TV station ran a sting operation testing appliance repair companies. On one test they loosened a switch on the door of a washer or maybe it was a dryer. They got 5 different companies to come out, diagnose the problem and fix it while being watched by a hidden camera. 4 of them went straight to the switch and tightened it. The bills ran from a call charge plus a hundred dollars to no call charge and two hundred dollars. The 5th guy tightened the switch while talking to the home owner and said there was no charge and that he would like them to consider him for any future appliance repairs. The 5th guy experiences a flood of new business and the TV station got sued by 2 of the other companies.

Maybe appliance repair companies suffer an image problem that they may have collectively created within their own industry. So, people just junk an appliance and start looking for a new one and the honest guy does not usually survive.

 

[jeepman3071]

I think the biggest reason is that consumerism and the desire to own the latest and greatest outweighs financial stability in our society.

For me, I could care less if I have the newest computer, dishwasher, lawn mower, etc. I'd rather save a few bucks by fixing those and spend it on things I enjoy.

 

[Hollow]

I self taught myself car repairs when I was a grad student because I was too broke to have anything done that could not be done cheaper, cause I was racking up student loans at a depressing rate while unemployed.

Between forums and youtube I've managed to do plenty of minor service and repairs. That said, I'm now in a place where both my wife and I work full time at (somewhat) more than minimum wage. So while I still have the stupid amount of student loan debt, I can now let someone else deal with repairs on the car that spent 12 years in the rust belt because it's worth it to me to not deal with that mess.

I like trying to figure out how things work, just to see.

Will I ever buy a new car? Sure...probably at some point if there is something that I ever like. Will I then drive it for a decade/200,000 miles? Most likely. Will I work on it myself when it is out of warranty? Most likely.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: grampi
I have noticed a lot of people these days don't bother getting their cars fixed when they end up with body/paint damage, even with newer vehicles. I don't know how people can stand having their new car damaged and not get it fixed...


Too expensive ($1k-$2k) or they don't want to file a claim via insurance and get a premium bump.

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

Originally Posted By: oilpsi2high
I had this conversation with a neighbor a while back, older guy in his late 70's.

When non-BITOG people reach a point where their car needs new tires, brakes, suspension, or some other "costly" repair, they seem to resort to replacing the whole vehicle rather than the part that's worn out. They either finance the car or take out a lease, and repeat the cycle over and over again.

Also, iPhones and computers. People literally throw these things away when something fixable (like a button or camera lens) breaks. $ 750 vs. $ 20 in parts, and probably $ 100 to pay someone if you can't do it yourself.

TV's are another one. Remember the TV/electronics repair stores that used to be around? Non-existent in this day and age.

What else am I missing? I'll literally fix anything possible, until it is fully depreciated and the cost of the repair meets or exceeds the cost of replacement.




Leased vehicles are almost always under factory warranty. That buys piece of mind. To repair cars today requires scan tool, being familiar with the manufacturer, and sometimes manufacturer specific tools. People don't have the time to invest in this kind of thing.

 

[Ducked]

If something is too difficult to do properly yourself...its usually FAR too difficult to get anyone else to do it.