toedtoes wrote:
jplante4 wrote:
Don't forget that there's an entire generation of RVers out there who have never turned a wrench on their own car. They buy cars specifically because the maintenance burden is low and the dealer fixes everything. They trade it in before it needs any serious work and do the minimum possible while they own it.
Compare that to the generation that not only worked on their cars (and knew what they were doing) but actually built cars from a chassis and body parts found in a farmer's field and a drive train from a wrecked Pontiac. It was a right of passage to work on your car and a cause for ridicule if you took it to the local garage.
The current generation's equivalent are the rice burner builders. I laugh when they go by with the coffee can exhausts, but I'm glad at least some of the current generation of kids is doing something with their hands instead of a credit card.
I don't think that's generational. I know many older folks who have never done any work on their vehicles (or anything else).
Nowadays, most cars are built in such a way that maintenance is no longer a "do it yourself" option. Folks are not buying specifically for "low maintenance" but simply to get a new/newer vehicle.
Good response. I don't think it's a bad thing that people don't want to work on their vehicles. You'd be surprised at how many people don't want to work on their computers either.
And I think it's one huge generalization to assume that all old people worked on their cars and all young kids are useless. I know lots of people my age that never touched a wrench on their car, and I know quite a few young people that do their own automotive work.
