Why Mechanics Drive Junk Cars -ETCG1
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- This topic was suggested by forum member Brink5. It's a great question and I admit that I'm guilty of this myself. For some reason I'm happier driving a junky old car over a new whatever. My reasons are simple and I state them in the video. I've also noticed this trend in many other mechanics and technicians. I'd love to hear your input as well. Are we wrong in this, or do mechanics really drive junk?
Thanks for watching.
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ETCG1
I’m a technician at a dealership,Once you’ve worked on brand new cars for so long you lose any ambition for owning one.
Yes totally agree becomes so boring
dad who i worked with in the dealership always said do not fall in love with the new paint,the used car lot is open game
Yep because you see all the problems with them!
Or,all you do is drive all new cars at some point.
I am not a mechanic, but I drive junk cars. I can afford a new car, but why spend more than you need?
Buying a NEW car is probably the worst financial decision you can make (except maybe a $50k wedding). Older cars have had their quirks ironed out and there are plenty of spares.
Yeah it's so stupid. I have countless friends some younger than me that all have loans, and high insurance on new car. then they lose jobs and then have stress out how they will pay for the car.. I am sitting here on my 4th car I got for free and some look better or will look cooler than your new car anyway!
93 stealth tt paid 6k got rear-ended fixed the minor damage, changed trailing arm, got check for $7,400
95 stealth rt had so many extra unnecessary parts on it. paid $2ish and then sold $2,000 of parts off it. (they had dumb flimsy fiberglass hood and these wheels on it that were heavy and chrome peeling. I had some spare 19 BBS.
93 Camry passed down so much, I was given it for free, I just had to fix some minor stuff.
95 honda hatch paid $1500 got rear-ended fixed for $67
got $1780 from insurance, and sold to someone for $1650.
you can't lose if you know what your doing. I just did regular maintenance to them mostly. no burning oil or anything. all have work ac.
Jason Valerio I guess we rely on the vanity victims to feed us with good second hand cars, though. :)
:D They weren't all good. I just knew what to do, I am not really a mechanic but I read and get my hands dirty, and pays off every time. Next projects I want is a 90-95 Mercedes Diesel 2.5 Turbo, Diesel Isuzi Trooper (impossible to find), and a Viper one day. Life will be complete... haha
fine choice, I drive a 3.1 td trooper made from two (body from one, chassis and drive from another) ran an e320 cdi in to the ground and have just killed an s320 cdi, so my current runaround when I'm not dragging a trailer with the trooper is a Toyota lucida 1996, the last car I ever expected to drive but I am beginning to love it more than the s class. automotive perfection was reached by the Japanese in the 90's....... unless you intend on crashing then give me a brand new merc with 12 air bags, pre tensioning restraints and double glazing!
Good video. Mechanics drive beaters for the same reasons pimps don't fall in love. Driving beaters saves piles of money and you don't have to worry about them. I payed off my mortgage early instead of buying new rides.
Same here...
That’s a great example. 😅 kinda fucked up but true.
I hate your analogy, but it's true. Don't fall in love with something that shouldn't be loved. Or if you do, make sure you know how to take care of it and want to!
Say it Again. Say it Again.
mike f hahahahaha pinky 😂
Years of payments... or a few repairs here and their. Drive it till the wheels fall off. Then fix the studs and drive it again 😂😂
ya said it perfectly
Payments? save up and buy a 2-5 year old car in cash. Borrowing ruins you
Exactly. Don't even average $100 monthly for repairs. 97 T-bird, 04 camry 240,000+ on both cars,
Much less on the insurance payments saves lots of $$$$
I've literally driven my car until the wheels have fallen off. Rust is a bitch on a 20 year old hub, but I still replaced them and kept on going.
I like to threaten my car. I tell it that if it ever stops running, I won't repair anything and send it to the junkyard. And it keeps running.
Haha nice
Me, too. I've got a 2000 Dodge Durango that I bought in '09 for 4.5k and it's still running. Yes, I've made some repairs on it (bearings, axles and such). But at least I still have a car that runs instead of buying thousands and thousands of dollars (I'm talking $10k-30k) of a car that's going to break down over time. At least if I buy a car at a used car price, I could try fixing the repairs myself and save myself more money instead of getting my money taken each month and every time something breaks down - especially a major repair.
Me too....I tell it that "we will go straight to the crusher"!!!! Thing just keeps going lol
I tried that with mine and it called my bluff.I could almost hear it laughing at me on the way home from the mechanic.
Oh,of course! You gotta keep her in line. Gotta be vocal. That's important. Once she thinks you don't have her attention anymore she will break down. So I try and cuss her at least 3 or 4 times a week. Her name is Bertha. She's not hot. 06 envoy. Just a bitch car. I'm I right?
Eric my father and grand father were both master mechanics. before they passed away they always said to never trust a mechanic who isn't driving a "junker". they said that it meant they were more worried about their own car and not enough about yours. Love your videos.keep it up
I like that. Thanks for the comment.
+ETCG1 hello and Thanks for your thoughts btw I'm sure other's feel the same. oh and this was a very interesting vid I watch your diy vids and love them so yea thank you!
Thanks for posting. I see a bumper sticker that says in large letters : NEVER TRUST AN AUTO MECHANIC , small letters : that drives a new car LOL
I am a DIY mechanic with absolutely no aspirations to do it professionally. Before owning my first car, I had no interest in working on cars. It came more out of necessity. Now that I owned one, I had the mindset of "why should I pay someone to fix this for me. If he can do it, so can I." And so it began. I absolutely love working on my own vehicles. That being said, I agree 100% about the "junk" car thing. I've always had older vehicles because they're cheaper, simpler and easier to work on.
Yeah, the average payment on a new car is $482 a month. A better question than why do mechanics drive "junk cars" is to ask why don't mechanics have car payments. I'm mechanic in my 40s, I've never had a car payment, never had a car that ran when I bought it. In fact my first car was a vehicle that was abandoned at my father's shop because the owner didn't want to fix it or even bother having it towed away so he handed my dad a title told him to do whatever he wanted with it. A week and a $180 in parts and machine shop cost later, I had a car.
THX 1138 THX 1138 so your dad told the costumer the car needed a new engine, break pads, new alternator, new transmission, and a new compressor for the AC to work again!!! That’s when the costumer said heck no!!!! Here’s the title take it away for free!!! Then you come along and fixed the car for $180 in parts plus labor and then drove the car for the next 10 years!?!?! Be honest is that how mechanics work???
excelcsllc mechanics are rip offs lol one of the most shady businesses I don’t trust them lol
@@excelcsllc lots of anger huh
Willmac81 Gaming No I did not show any anger in there, just made a comment about the shady mechanics out there! I’m sure there’s plenty good ones out there but the majority are a bunch of scumbags!!!
@@excelcsllc i wouldn't say the majority my any stretch im not trying to say that there aren't any bad ones but its really a bad move to generalize an entire industry for a few bad apples
Most Mechanics see a car as an amalgamation of mechanical parts. There is no mystery or mystique about a car; it's just a machine made of replaceable parts.
Non-mechanical people see a car as a complete mystical living unit, like they see a dog or cat, tree or human; a car is a "Mustang", "GTR", "Ferrari" or a "Chevy Truck!" ... or they see it as an appliance like a refrigerator that you ignore until something goes wrong.
I am a DIY and i see a car is living unit and im surgery doctor for car :D
+Mr. Johnson my mom's old lifestyle made her car her house, had a big plastic tote she left in the back and she always called her car the gypsy wagon
I personally don't really see anything mystical about a car either. Some are nicer than others but cars seem to be losing their uniqueness these days. But I do think there is a bit of character to each car in a sense.
+Mr. Johnson I don't believe that at all, even when I was a mechanic it was because to me it was art, not an amalgamation of parts. It still is art. There are plenty of mechanics who feel the same. Who became mechanics because of a love of cars, not a love of replacing refrigerator parts. Most of them work at restoration instead of straight repair work, but they do exist.
Matakaheru
Yes; I misspoke for other mechanics. We all have different backgrounds and perspectives. I confess that I have owned around 250 vehicles . I would buy, restore, fix-up and sell until there was no mystery or mystique about any car. It was just a bunch of sheet metal and parts. I worked for an auto customizer, race car builder, movie car maker; ... we would build a car from sheet metal, tubing and drive train and suspension. After a while, there is nothing new, magic or special about bending steel & welding & grinding, measuring and painting. It is hard dirty work.
But I do appreciate a great work of art & beauty, especially if that piece of art is a 'rolling sculpture' for everyone to enjoy.
As a female, I try to learn what I can to remain independent (as well to save money LOL). When the alternator went out on my 2001 forest green Mazda 626, I researched, unplugged the field because it was actually draining my battery, drove around all day on overnight 5 amp charge for a week until payday. Purchased a new alternator and installed it myself. Car is fully paid for & I wish more women were like me at least so they know they are not being scam by repairs.
Great video because to me as long as the car is functional (reliable) I care not about its cosmetics.
+RiaRadioFMHD773 Nice work on the repair and getting to the point where you could do the repair. You're right, it would be cool to have more women like you. SD
+ETCG1 There's a tiny, introverted blond woman who comes into my shop regularly as I sell her parts at cost. She comes in with her big burly husband who knows nothing, compared to her, about cars. She\s a heavy duty diesel mechanic, fixes loaders, dozers, semi's etc. When I was in trade school, even years ago, girls were becoming more and more common in advanced auto tech training. Most grease monkey's today don't know as much as young women coming straight out of school, with respect to modern emissions and engine support systems.
+ozmedia You were doing good right up until the "grease monkey" comment, if that's what you think you are then that's why the school techs have more savvy than you do, smart techs are always learning and seeking the new developments to keep up with the times, but they also have the benefit of a wealth of on the job experience the new people do not.
MerlinxPV
Firstly, I never said what I think I am, don't assume.
Secondly, you completely misunderstood my use of the term.
Third of all, I never said that "school techs" are more savvy than me, again, don't make up your own debate based on what hasn't been said.
Lastly, I am an auto engineer, SAE member and have spent more than 7 years in school, returned for advanced diagnostics and alternate fuels, among over 4 decades in the field. I have both field and formal training.Your comment is completely baseless due to poor reading comprehension..
+ozmedia Perhaps your poorly written post implied what I responded to, keeping up with advancements is a smart mechanic, savvy from experience can't be taught but not bought unless you "hire" it, I stick by my response to the "grease monkey" comment, as a very capable sought after mechanic/technician for over 40 years I find the use of the term ignorant and offensive.
IM A licensed truck and coach mechanic. After work in on vehicles everyday it's nice to have a reliable vehicle that you don't have to fix every week .Drive a 1995 Suburban,great old truck.
more fun trying to keep the older stuff on the road give us a sense of accomplishment and we don't have worry as much about someone steal it
you live in the wrong neighborhood sir.
I worry about someone stealing my old pos bc I love driving it and don’t want some to molest it
Say it again, I don't think they herd you!!!
f play it again Sam, 🎷🐿
I think there's two types of mechanics, those who repair/maintain and those who do performance/mods. The mods/performance guys kinda have to drive a nice an awesome mod/performance car to advertise their work. Where as a repair/maintain guy drives a junker also to advertise their skills of being able to keep a POS running like brand new.
Me guess one can better showcase his skill in high-perf junky sleepers, rather than brand new GTRs etc.. Think of junky vintage cars go violently fast & stable well clearly showing the mechanic is way capable for buisness.
Would be curios to see the car of a repair mechanic that also does mods. He would probably drive a blinged up junker.
One "junker" I used to have was a '80 Chevette. After working on it(engine mods and tuneup) it really screamed when "stepped on". Quite impressive for 98 ci, it was similar to my old 66 chevy with a 327 when it came to "get up and go". not bad for a 1 bbl.
ZxRx7 naw, they know all about "polishing a turd" once you get done, the value of the car is the same...
Too true ,my wife drives a new compact car and I drive a 94 ranger that at 275k runs great. Onsome summer weekends I drive my Dad's 67 4door olds'mobile belmont (the cheapest full size they made) it looks pretty rough around the edges but with a few improvements it pulls high 11's in the quarter and surprises alot of the youngs guns out there with neon lights and fart cans or even the store bought hot rodders think twice. The grin under this head of white hair is still as wide as when I was younger.
I'll save you some time with the short version:
Why do mechanics drive junk cars? BECAUSE THEY CAN.
amen
Kyd, that was the PERFECT reason! Kudos!!
Some of the best running cars I've gotten in my 30 yrs of being a tech were out of the trade in wholesale line at the dealer. People get tired of putting money in their cars but don't realize that by the time they're sick of it they've pretty much finished fixing it but they worry what the next thing is going to be and what it will cost. New vehicles have new problems.
I started doing mechanics because I was poor and junk cars where my only option , and didn't know squat. Now that money is no longer an issue, a new car wouldn't be an option for me because knowing how to fix them I don't need them , seriously people only buy new cars for the warranty and ease of mind . Thks Eric for the super fine videos I pulled throw the learning process thks to them👍
My uncle got me started working in his shop when I was 12. He started sweeping floors at 13 in a New Jersey Ford dealership. By 15, he was a line mechanic working on Model A's.
He worked on cars 'til he was 88, the day he died.
He told me when I was a kid, don't ever buy a new car. The newest car you should buy is a year old. A fleet return year old is the best, (back then, they were fleet cars, not 'lease, cars. Average people didn't lease cars.)
I was fixing cars in my carport , for money, at 15. That was 1968.
I pass these words on to you. Don't ever buy a new car. Buy a year old...
You finish that sentence, and pass it on, someday.
George Dennison i cannot explain why or how, but that was oddly deep...
@ Semper Fi
LOL...
I guess the question I need to ask is:
was it odd that it was 'deep' or was it just deeply odd?
LOL
GeoD
George Dennison It was oddly deep. Lol I honestly don't know why, but it felt like there was a deeper message in there hiding somewhere. Even if, including you, did not see it. Some weird psychology shit right there.
Truth! I'm a lifelong mechanic and even my worst beaters had very, very few problems. They get new battery cables (always ensure a good ground!), complete fluid change and periodic maintenance. The only vehicle in forty years I've had shit the bed was a 4.2 F150 that hydrolocked like they all do, and I'd driven it over ten years by then.Not buying new trucks paid for my tools, my welders, lathe, mill, machine shop tooling and six (one new, five used) Harleys, two Norton Commandos and more plus paying my mortgage off early. If someone gave me the new vehicle of my choice I'd sell it so fast it would leave shock waves.
Wrenching everything you own saves absurd money over time and you get fast enough for most of it to be dead easy.
I've been a mechanic for years and frankly most all of my cars have been hand me downs from customers. The car I drive now is a 1976 Monte carlo that i've drivin for 16 years. I fixed a wiring problem on a truck and got that car and a new set of plugs for pay. I guess my reasons are I can't afford a new car I buy tools. As cars get newer I like them less. I would rather fix a car that I like rather than drive a car I hate. And mecahnics CAN fix a junker. You can drive them forever if your willing to keep fixing it. You can never really get stranded. You are the master of the car, not the other way around.I have had some of the mose fantastic cars that i've been privledged to drive and I miss them all. And they were all junk cars.
Well said. I used to drive one of those. It was my dad's. Swivel bucket seats are cool.
I had one with swivel seats as well, Best part of the car! I don't know why they didn't catch on. It made it so easy to enter and exit the car. Cars are so different now, just not the same.
They also made 'tailgating' more fun. They probably did away with them because of some safety issue or cost. Still a great feature.
Go Steelers!
i just drive a shitty fiat from 2004 problem after problem but thats why i love it if i get annoyed i just give it a kick then i feel better lol
My dad is a fence maker... We have a shitty fence lmao
sounds like me. i work in IT but all my Pcs at home suck. when i get home i dont wwnt to work on any damn pc.
😂
my dad did real estate growing up and we had a shity house lol and he was makinng 250k a year
I have a shitty car, shitty fence, shitty garage, shitty boat, shitty yard, shitty computer, shitty hot tub, shitty bbq. But hey, I have all those things!
+Matt Roy I have a shitty girlfriend.
I Worked for a Dodge dealer and other dealers as a mechanic, I always noticed that a lot of new devices, accessories, technology that goes into cars has a time period of falling apart before they get it right, that is why I will never buy a new car.
Great Video, Thanks
I'm not a mechanic, but I've experienced the phenomenon you described. I managed movie theaters for twenty years, and can no longer enjoy watching movies in theaters. I notice every little detail most folks miss or don't care about, and end up missing parts of the movie lost in thought.
If your $1500 blows up, who cares? If your $20,000 car blows up, you're screwed.
If your $1500 car breaks down youre fucked, if your $20,000 car breaks down you use warranty.
+fragwits Thats true
we all know a warranty only gets you so far and never ever does it get you far enough
Warranties companies are all about the (what nobody ever reads) fine print. Many warranty companies do not want to pay the going labor rate. Many will only pay for used replacement parts. Some even have the nerve to ask the Mechanic to tear some components apart and find the particular reason for the failure. It ends up coming down to having a warranty that will almost never completely pay for the repairs without YOU having to pay out of your pocket. Now new car warranties can be as simple as what dealership you go to and how concerned the dealership as a whole is about reputation and return customers.
$ i'd scratch my ass for $20000
Back when I worked as a mechanic, my philosophy was that I can drive farther in ten $1000 dollar cars then I could in one $10,000 dollar car. Especially if those ten cars had interchangeable parts. Same engines, same transmissions etc..
Good point most GM vehicles have interchangeable parts from the 60's to the late 80's. I drive a 91 Chevrolet Caprice with 245K miles on the original engine. I bought it for $900 with 205K and invested $600 in repairs. It paid for itself.
j agree absolutely...
Keep it as long as possible. Trust me when I say you want nothing from today's GM corporation, save maybe the 2wd pickup trucks.
Roy Riederer n
exactly,A 30,000$ new vehicle?I can buy 30 of them and get maybe 5 years no problem out of one.That would be a car for 150 years.
I'm almost 17 and I'm taking my dad's 1990 Volvo 240 DL sedan on the road again. It's been off the road since 1997 and was a parts car for my grandma's 240. Given that these cars are so reliable, not much was taken but the essentials have. It needs a starter, sending unit and secondary fuel pump. I've got the old, worn out starter from hers on it now but it seems a wire is missing. I don't need to work on it. I get to!
Patrick Wamsley great attitude, you're gonna have a ton of fun.
Great car you'll be fine .
So did you ever get that volvo going bro?
I love the old cars, they are easy to maintain and cheap, whereas the modern cars are just like a big TV/Computer on wheels
I don't have to worry about rust when swapping computer parts though xD
Not true at all.
@@DawnBriarDev You have to worry about shorting and your car’s essential functions shutting down though 😂
@@OGLOC1574 You’re obviously not a mechanic.
@B-35 My car was $200 because someone abandoned it in a hurricane. I'm pretty well acquainted with fixing electrical shorts by now.
Still f'n hate the rust problems though I'm encountering them less and less.
plus no one is going to steal a piece of crap
my friend even left the keys in his piece of crap. Nobody ever stole it.
I think that's a little crazy thou.
I got my car from a lady who bought it from a farmers field. It looked and sounded like the motor would fall out of it any second but I got it for $500. Fixed a bad catylitic converter and I've driven it ever since. Part of the bumper is missing from a blowout she had, all the plastic has crumbled, dash is curled up away from the windshield and the ac belt squeals no matter what I do. But it runs fantastically. One of the best running cars I've ever owned, including better than the brand new dodge I bought a few years back. Plus I can leave the windows down and the keys in it anywhere and it'll be there when I get back. It's a 5 speed and looks like if the wind blows the fenders and wheels will fall off. I've had to do 0 work to it so far besides the cat. When it dies it'll go to scrap (it's not worth $500 new)
What kind of car?
It's a Kia sepia. It's not going to last much longer though.
+Gregory Kitchens R.I.P
Although I'm only a DIY mechanic,
I've always preferred basic junk cars. For the following reasons:
1. I hate to buy from dealers, and I feel very nervous spending big bucks on a private sale. The price is low, therefore the risk is low if I buy a lemon
2. Cheap Junk cars are a lot more easy to bail on than something that costs a lot more. You can always just drive the car to the junkyard when it's too far gone, and you are never in the position that you have to spend money because it's too "good" to throw away
3. A good understanding of cars makes you realise that even a new car can give problems, and even the cheapest oldest car can be just as reliable if it's a good buy and it's maintained well
4. You don't have to worry about dents, scratches, where you park it, if it gets stolen
5. The biggest one is that I see so much more value in a car that's 500 and lasts for 5 years than one that's new. You can never get this kind of value from a new car. Its very satisfying to get 5 years worth of driving for so little money.
i bought an old non running f150 about 11 or 12 years ago. $300 then, some work and headache later i've dumped about $150 more in it and it's up and going still. that straight six is outlasting the body. i have gotten a truck to replace it in the past but ended up selling it and keeping the old trusty rusty lol. it's getting tired and i get it only get it out occasionally. in the past couple years i've bought a taurus for $200 (was able to drive that one home without working on it believe it or not) and a ranger that my uncle said he was tired of fucking with. ranger was more costly, up to about a $1000 counting the parts and buying the truck but it's rolling. to me, i can't justify $1000's for something that's still gonna break down on occasion and some dumbass might hit and total. there's a lot of dumbass drivers out there to. i see them in their nice late model vehicles damaged from what i can only assume is negligence.
Geoffrey Hughes-Hubbold
Well said Godfrey
Geoffrey Hughes-Hubbold
Geoffrey Hughes-Hubbold great to practice repairs on, too.
We had an 84 Caprice from Grandma from 2010-2017 (Father hit a pole in it and lived with his belt on, someone else stayed in the overtaking lane a long time) and outside basic maintenance and new tires the only 3 things that went wrong with it were the transmission indicator not working at first, a slow oil leak and the car overheating shortly after we got it. Otherwise, it was a free car.
I am a 63 Year old recently (last year) retired mechanic with 41 years experience. I was fortunate enough to never have worked for a stealerdealer, I spent the entire 41 years working for a large city fleet services department. I have been a car guy since before I was even a teenager, mostly '50s and '60s cars. I rebuilt my first engine, a small block Chevy, at age 14. Over 5 years later it was still running when the owner of the car sold it. I started my job as a shop rat with a lot of mechanical experience, and actually became a professional mechanic while working there. I not only got a lot of experience, but they paid for me to go to school a number of times. At first it was a great job, but as cars became more and more like computers than cars, I started disliking and eventually actively hating it. I am a wrench turner, not a computer technician. I noticed just how much less reliable cars became as they became more computerized, how much harder and more expensive they were to fix, and how much less fun they were to work on. I have always driven beater cars. Being a government fleet department, one of the cars that I spent a huge amount of time around was the Ford Crown Vic. They were one of the few computer cars that did not seem to break down constantly, and they were mechanically simple. They were built like tanks, tougher than some trucks. I started driving them over 25 years ago, and am still driving them, my current car is a 2006 Crown Vic with 217,000 miles on it. It used to be white, but about half the paint has peeled off (all the white models, which is all my employer bought, had defective paint) It looks like crap, but is mechanically sound. And there is nothing about it that I cannot fix. So far, after driving it for 7 years and over 150,000 miles, it has been extremely reliable. Very few things have gone wrong, and they were simple and inexpensive to fix. They quit making them in 2012, just before cars really started getting loaded down with trash technology. There are a zillion of them on the road, and they will be around a lot longer than I will, and so will parts.
While I have never bought a new car, I know a lot of people who have, and they all got scammed big time. When you consider the actual OTD price of a new car, which is going to be WAY over MSRP, plus interest on the loan assuming you financed it, plus full coverage insurance for at least the term of the loan, plus the insane depreciation over that same time, I could buy seven or eight nice used Crown Vics for less than the overall cost of just ONE new car, and it will be a LOT more reliable. It's also a big comfortable car, V8 engine, rear wheel drive, solid rear axle, and body on frame construction. Mine even came with a cassette player stock. They are also very conservative looking cars. When I parked it behind my recently sold 1964 Ford Fairlane, the basic shape was almost exactly the same. They are well suited to someone my age.
As for why mechanics drive old junk cars, first of all, they are rarely junk. They make be old and LOOK like junk, but most mechanics take very good care of their cars. I seriously over maintain mine. I also have many of the same reasons Eric mentioned. You can get them cheap, a mechanic knows how to keep them going, how to fix things and where to source parts, you don't have to worry about them, they are not likely to catch the attention of thieves and vandals in a parking lot, I don't even wash mine. All I clean are the windows and lights. I also drive it wearing dirty greasy work clothes, and carry tools and dirty greasy car parts in it. I may be retired, but I still work on cars, just not newer ones. I can sit my steel tool box and car parts on the hood or trunk and not care if I scratch something. I personally think that anybody who buys a new car is just plain STUPID, or has more money than they know what to do with. Or maybe they feel the need to impress others with their expensive new cars and go without everything else to have them. But it's an expensive trap. In order to keep an expensive new car, you have to keep replacing them, because they become cheap old cars in a hurry.
Perfect vlog. This articulates exactly how I am as a mechanic with cars. I constantly drive junk cars and do not care about looks
I drive a junk car and this more or less nailed it. For one thing I invest a lot in my tools, my box, my home box and tools so I can do side work, etc.
As a result I have less disposable income for a nice new car, but also as a result I kind want to get the maximum return on my knowledge and my tools. I'll drive a POS because I know that mechanically it's sound, but also because I know that if something DOES go wrong, I know how to work around it and how to fix it. If you knew a great mechanic who would do your work for peanuts, wouldn't you be inclined to roll the dice a little more and cut a few corners on your car purchases? If you're a great mechanic yourself, then you know a great mechanic... yourself.
When I knew nothing about vehicles, I always wanted a newish car, because I wanted reliability that I couldn't guarantee myself. The idea of a car breaking down, having a big repair bill, and never knowing when to "cut bait" so to speak and ditch that car was a nightmare, so I just accepted the higher cost up front. That the car looked nicer too was a side benefit.
Now I look at cars differently. I see an older car on the road and I think "Hmm, the body is okay. The tires are bald. I can hear the brakes squealing. The engine sounds good. I wonder how much they'd want for it?"
yep!!!!!!!
+thevoxdeus 100% correct, I also invest both in my own knowledge and in my tools. This is both a hobby of mine and also a way of making some extra money repairing cars for people I know, collegues and so on. If you dont want to be depending on someone other - learn to fix everything yourself.
I use, drive and collect old Audi 200 turbo quattros for that reason, I wanted a 4wd car with a decent amount of HP cheap so the only option here in Sweden was to get involved with old beat-up Audis.. Today I know almost everything there is to know about these cars and it´s great to know that you are capable of fixing almost everything on your car.
My patience has grown thru the years also, there is always a sollution even to the most difficult problems, just be patient! :)
+thevoxdeus >> I been driving older cars my entire life & I can tell you that I prefer to own an old car vs a new car. Because I enjoy the freedom of not having a car payment and having a vehicle that is paid for. Plus I have the ability to make the car as reliable as I want to by doing my own maintainance on it. I am not a certified mechanic.. but I have a legion of tools in my garage and I love to tinker on my old clunkers that I own. I have 3 very old vehicles. A 1995 Chevy S10, a 1992 Geo and a 1985 Olds Delta 88 Station Wagon. They run and are dependable & one has a rebuilt engine and transmission which I had installed some years ago. I do most of my own repair work when possible.
+midos67 You're a lot like me or vice versa. I have a 2005 Mercedes E-Class and a 1992 GMC Sierra with the long bed. When one breaks I have the other to drive and I can work on the down vehicle. I do 99 percent of my own repairs. My wife's got a 2007 Saab and a 2002 Dodge Grand Caravan. I work on those too. It's been educational to read about how to repair these vehicles and I feel I do a better job than the local mechanics who seem to be just "parts changers". I use a torque wrench while most mechanics I see tighten things by "sense of feel" I say BS, especially with the aluminum components on the modern vehicles. BTW, Eric the CG has a great channel and is a great resource to get a person in the right direction.
Lockemeister
>> Thats awesome
I'm not a mechanic, I'm more of a UA-cam tinkerer. I've had my 98 Honda Civic for almost 9yrs now. Started to lose some faith in it 6months ago when I noticed it just didn't run as good as it used to. Started using the web to diagnose the problems and UA-cam to start fixing things myself. After a proper tuneup my civic is running good again. It saves me money working on my car myself and I gives me a better understanding of how the car works. Thanks for the videos, they help guys like me out allot. Keep on the good fight
nice, I just bought a honda civic coupe 97 and its not.in bad shape at all and talked the guy down to let it go for 1100. had 150k miles and rn im 159k, im trying to get minor fixes like my two front axels but at the shop the guy said 200$ for each axel. cant afford it rn but im just had an oil change, I plan to start off with changing the stock intake to a cold air intake.
+Al T I highly recommend getting it running in top condition before applying mods.get those axles replaced if one breaks your car will be useless.and a cold air intake on a stock motor won't have much improvement on performance.better off starting with cam and ignition system specially for that d16 you got.learning how to tune an engine will also be incredibly beneficial
+Ryan Worrall atleast for now when I fix the minors, ill start with the intake just for efficiency at least. then steadily work my way up, but yea iam focues on repairs.
Al T If you live where u get allot of snow in the winter get an intake that stays in the engine compartment. I had an aem one on mine that put the filter behind the bumper cover and when I drove in snowy conditions the filter would clog up with ice from the road splash. I chopped a foot off the pipe so it sits inside engine compartment and it works so much better. I won't have to clean that filter for years now.
Ryan Worrall My civic came with a air intake n it ran the same as my stock civic. Cold air intakes are made for high performance engines that crave more airflow.
Hey Eric, Thanks for the shrink job. Good job! I am not a professional mechanic, but I started working on cars as a teenager. It was a relief to hear that even you get angst when working on cars. Me too. I am constantly in angst that I may loose a bolt and can't replace it without a lot of time and grief, or I may make a problem worse, or buy an expensive tool only to find it is not the right one, etc, etc. So far, it all comes out right for me in the end. Usually, in the end, the only thing I have lost is about 10-times the amount of time I thought it would take. I like new cars, but as you said, a new car causes more angst because I am always thinking about that miss hit ball as I drive by a golf course or a rock chip, a wet swim suit or some other danger that can dirty or damage the car. They all turn to junk eventually anyway. If you start with junk, all you have to do is junk it when you are tired of putting it back together or when cleaning it no longer brings instant gratification because it looks the same before and after.
My driving years are behind me now; but when I did drive, my favorite vehicle of all time was a '71 VW Vanagon. I had it rebuilt from the ground up: new tires, brakes, engine, tranny, windshield, etc. But I never did anything about the cosmetics. It had a dent all across the front, just above the bumper, where the previous owner rear-ended another car. I spray painted it flat black and painted the bumpers safety orange (think Harley colors). The interior was stripped down to the bare metal walls (I lived in California and didn't need the insulation), and removed the rear seats.
It ran like a champ, but looked like it wouldn't make it to the next corner; but nobody ever tried to steal it, or break into it. I could park it anywhere, unlocked, and not worry about it.
And if it got a scratch... out comes a can of paint for a quick touch up.
It was actually my high school auto shop teacher that told me "never make your passion into your job, you will only grow to hate it." That has stuck with me ever since. I did not become a mechanic, but I kept learning and working on my vehicles. Now I find that at the end of the day I am anxious to get home and work on my car. I don't think there are too many mechanics that feel that way. Nobody wants to spend all day doing a job just to go home and keep doing that job in their off time.
TheCommonS3Nse you teacher was talking about his sad job. He was jealous of the rich guy nailing his wife when he was away. Pay him no mind trust me do a job you love it will never get old.
+BossWafflez this is what i also heard, and personally think that this makes more sense.
TheCommonS3Nse I'm in exactly that same boat, er car I mean. I just bought a new Jetta so I have something reliable that is nice and I don't have to work on, but I'm restoring a '70 VW Type 3, I look forward to going home after work (not a mechanic) to putz with it, even if I only get a few hours to mess with it.
That's cause his passion was cars, but he was a teacher, not a mechanic. He wasn't much of a teacher to tell you that, either.
I can say that with authority, I have been both, as well as teaching teachers at the college level.
I have made my passions my work, and it never felt like work. I would have done it for free. I've done it a couple of times in my life.
Forget that joker.
great point. I have a job that is really not related to any of my interests but pays well and is only 8 hours a day and I work unsupervised. the true thing that makes one happy with work is how much control you have over your environment not necessarily what you're doing.
Eric, I wish everyone were as well-spoken as you are. It's a gift!
Thanks.
I've been a mechanic for over 23yrs, thank you for saying it for what it is.....keep it real and keep up the good work bro.
I've been a diy guy since I was 16 and I'm 45 now and I'm not a pro mechanic but I sure have done alot of repairs and have alot of tools that I've collected over the years and I know that it's physically demanding and my opinion is that a professional mechanic works his or her butt off all day long and the last thing they want to do at the end of a hard work day is go home just to do yet more wrenching. That's just my take on that topic. Love your videos Eric and I really admire fixing it forward. There needs to be more mechanics like you, Eric O, Scotty Kilmer and Charles the humble mechanic.
Why I never wanted to be a gynecologist...
LOL
+IamMagPie That's a truly perceptive observation; deep, in fact.
Haha.
LMAO
Very valid point.
I'm 31 and have been a mechanic for most of my adulthood. I daily drive a 1999 Honda CR-V with 346k on it, it had been hail damaged, dented down each side, scraped up all over, punched by drunks on the street and I wouldn't have it any other way, lol, it starts every time and goes anywhere I want it to and the factory AC still works fine after new AC clutch, pulley and electromagnet. I only paid $519.50 for it and that was to three different people just to get it. $100 to the owner, $220 to the state to register it and $199.50 to retrieve it from police impound. and this is just one example of the over 400 cars I've owned in the past 14 years of doing this. You are 100% on this, we drive them so we don't have to worry about them. love the videos @EricTheCarGuy
Mr.Everyman punch back the drunks.
my civic has 247k miles hondas are awesome
dwl..@ punched by drunks
I own a 91 Honda civic hatchback survivor. 174k daily driver never fails and it's insanely great on gas. paid $700 for it. couldn't be happier to own such a gem. Only downside is I'm 6' 4" haha..
I own a 91 Honda civic hatchback survivor. 174k daily driver never fails and it's insanely great on gas. paid $700 for it. couldn't be happier to own such a gem. Only downside is I'm 6' 4" haha..
Driving an old but mechanically sound car is a liberating feeling I wish everyone could feel.
Eric, you are so right about that feeling changing when you do it as a job rather than a hobby. Also, cheap cars are life.
Reasons us mechanics drive older/junky cars?
1 - Cheaper and easier to fix and keep on the road
2 - Cheap to buy
3 - We have better things to spend money on, like a $15,000 scanner from Snap-On :)
4 - We get a thrill out of taking a "junk" car and making it good again
5 - We don't want to ruin the interior of a new car
6 - Tools, Tools, and More tools! (oh yeah, don't forget the toolbox too!)
7 - We have a perspective about cars that the general public lacks. We fix these things daily and know what is good and what isn't in general.
8 - Most mechanics/techs that I know loathe new cars because of their expense to repair and complexity.
I worked as a diagnostic tech for my step-dad for 15 years (and still do on occasion) in his little shop that he has had for 50 years. One time we went to a guys house that he was selling to tow away 2 junk cars that he had to remove. One of them was a 1988 Grand Am that sat in his backyard for 12 years because some mechanic told him it would cost him a thousand bucks to fix a bunch of things on it, right after he had a new manual transmission, clutch and flywheel installed in it. We aired up the tires and jumped the battery and DROVE it back to the shop (other one needed a wrecker, it was totaled). I bought that thing off my step-dad for junk price (like $200 at the time), and fixed it up. Needed tires, belts, hoses, thermostat, rear brakes and wheel cylinders, exhaust, all stupid stuff that costs us next to nothing, and I drove that car for 10 years and had it pushing almost 280k miles. I loved it. It was ugly but it never once let me sit on the road, I never cared if i had grease on my butt or anything and got it dirty, and I could fix nearly anything on it for less than $100 and 3 hours of time! I would still be driving it if someone in an F-150 wouldn't have fallen asleep and pushed me into a guard-rail on the interstate therefore totaling it (I wasn't hurt either).
New does NOT mean better! I'm not a full time tech anymore, but I still have old cars. 2001 Chevy K1500 with 289k miles on it and a 1992 Oldsmobile Toronado, and a 2003 Saturn L200 are what I have now, and probably the newest cars I will ever drive!
So don't judge your mechanic because he has an old car. He has to practice on something! :)
The mechanic I used to use before moving towns used to drive a beat up CL Valiant ute, although his wife currently has a 2014 300C SRT8 Core and he also has two completely restored Valiant Chargers (one E55 and the other a 770). The mechanic I use now for things I can't do myself has an XH Falcon ute (he knew my XG Falcon ute inside out due to this).
i think the general public is misguided to think the exterior looks of a car and power options define the car.. new is always better for them. essentially people are marketing victims
Can't agree with you more there. The newest car I've owned myself was a 2001 Holden Statesman. While it was still pretty modern, it had a more old school (albeit with EFI and all alloy construction) pushrod V8 under the bonnet. At the same time I also had a 1994 Ford Falcon ute which was less complicated again (albeit with multipoint injection) which I had until it was written off last year due to an inattentive person reversing into the rear left quarter panel. I now have a 1999 Subaru Liberty which is by far the most complicated car I've ever owned and I wish I still had the old Falcon.
that pushrod V8, would that be the old flat head style or does it still have rocker covers on top?
+75925mike pushrod v8's are typically single cam in the engine block.a sohc or dohc would not have pushrods as the cam would be in the head and contact to rockers directly...ohc motors generally less parts = more efficiency....
In my mind a mechanic driving an old beater is in a way a badge of pride, and even advertisement for your skills. I could see someone getting the feeling of "Well, if he can keep that on the road, he'll be able to keep mine going." Also, if I see a mechanic driving a shiny new expensive car, I would suspect that I can find a more honest mechanic with better prices somewhere else.
And in terms of practicality, mechanics can get an old rustbox back on the road quicker and cheaper than anyone else. Most mechanics I know have pretty much full use of the shop after hours. They know which problems are serious, and which are cosmetic. They know where to go for the best price on parts, which parts are built well enough to try the pull it yourself junkyard, and which other cars they can pull from. Mechanics are more likely to know someone that can get them a free tow. Combine these with the fact that the vast majority of mechanics make a fairly modest living while having to provide their own tools, and it just doesn't make financial sense to buy new. Leave that for a guy who might lose a sale or get passed up for a promotion if he showed up at work one day with grease under his fingernails and some bashed up knuckles.
+Benjamin Shaw (dontpanic2342) for what you said as a badgoe of pride, i know one of the mechanics at a local shop who drives a very early 90's (91 maybe?) chevy 1500, it's an old, rusty truck, has a manual transmission, looks like something a poor person would own, however the truck is mechanically perfect, the A/C even still blows quite cold, though i will say it does look funny when you see the guy's house (it's really nice, even from the outside, definitely a rich person property) and that truck is always the only vehicle in the driveway, if you ask me that is almost getting into the range of being super loyal to a car, because can he afford something much newer, oh yeah, definitely, but does he want to? no, simple reason, no need
+Benjamin Shaw (dontpanic2342) - What it boils down to, is that Mechanics know - Even new cars will end up needing work at some point! Why have a car payment and have to buy parts!
+Benjamin Shaw (dontpanic2342) would you assume a doctor driving a new car is a crook? No? then why woul d you judge a mechanic on such superficial basis?
+carryclass what has a doctor driving a new car got to do with anything? Most doctors are crooks cause they haven't got a clue what they are doing and are grossly over paid. I'm a mech and I drive a 98 freelander (not td4 bs) why? coz I know the car inside out, if it goes wrong its not just sensors that have failed but usually a real mechanical issue. She sounds like a tractor when cold started and smokes like an old sailor - but shes mine. I look after her she looks after me. Every 3k miles a FULL service - I do at least 200+ miles a week, I recently drove her for 24hrs none stop - she never missed a beat.
+carryclass I agree with you on the subject. I own three new cars, 2014 Chevy Sonic, 2013 Scion FRS, 2015 Hyundai Tuscan. They are bought and paid for... I make a good living because I went to school, got my degrees and certs. Then worked my butt off everyday for the last 15+ years. 7days a week (minus a few vacations) for the last 10 years. I still own my older pride and joys (2001 golf gti, 1989 Skyline R32 GT-R), however it is nice to be able to jump in to a vehicle and not have to think... or worry about OK where is the nearest parts center to where I am going. Don't get me wrong I have never been let down by anything older I maintain. Just have to keep in mind certain things when you do drive classics. You can fix everything wrong on them, but they are a bit of a gamble. That being said I would not change my love for older vehicles, but owning a new "under warranty" vehicle has its perks and joys too. Besides the new leather seats with heat are oooohhh soooooo nice right about now :)
Im a mechanic and i daily drive a 67 impala!
I thought you drove the mach 5 ;)
My very first car was the 67 impala I was given when my dad finally got something newer.
im a engineer, and my daily drive, 1 year so far, is my 74 El Camino. Its one of my four vintage GM-cars, btw.
The costs is about .... El Camino+fuel = brand new Tesla S .............. LOL
Hi dean
I love my 68 Impala, haven't driven it since late 76, top of my bucket list.
As a 25+ yr automotive/ Diesel/ V-Twin motorcycle Technician I always drove older cars/ Bikes because your literally always being offered great deals so damn cheap you can't pass up by your customers and you can get some incredible deals, only for the last about 7 years have I been driving a new Quad cab truck and a newer Harley because it's just so much easier as you get older to load up the family for a long trip and not have to worry if old Betsy is going to break down as she is also aging. I have not stopped purchasing or driving cheap project vehicles but there comes a point when you need to tow or your family (that can get cranky on breakdowns) is involved that dependability, free towing, loaner cars so your not all sitting on side of the road while Dad wrenches and a warranty all come in pretty dang handy.. just my two cents, just found your channel and I Love the great down to earth vlogs from a true brother in the automotive world please keep them coming.. John, Pennsylvania
Thank you!
By driving older cars I KNOW what to expect from it. It's like hindsight before you buy. For example I sought out a 1998 Buick Park Avenue because they're roomy and LIGHT. The calipers and engine cradle are all aluminum. The one I bought got 36 mpg highway and I thought it looked great with it's peaked fenders etc. My wife HATED IT! She thought it was an "old person car." I bought it for $800 with a leaky fuel rail o-ring and some noisy struts. I sold it (per my wifes request) after 3 years of use and $400 or less in parts for $3,000. That just makes DOLLARS- not just cents.
Amen to that. I only drive and buy $3-5K or less cars. I am a mechanic and machinist and by gar I have squeezed decades out of cars that other people were ready to throw away.
The other thing I like about being a mechanic is I know what cars I can rely on and "abuse" vs what cars are high-maintenance.
I actually liked those cars, especially the wagons. You're right, comfortable, good power, nice ride. Good American car which is kinda rare in my experience. Thanks for your input Brian.
I'm a pretty green mechanic but since getting into the business I totally agree with you about the blinders being off. Before entering the field, I'd totally be into a cool, fast car. Now I want something cheap and easy to work on because I don't get paid to fix my own car!
I don't drive a junker but I'm planning on driving my current car until the wheels fall off. I'd say most mechanics probably look at cars in a different light after a career in the repair biz. There's always going to be that soft spot for an awesome hot rod but I couldn't care less what I drive to work as long as it's reliable.
EricTheCarGuy Too Funny Eric a lot of your thoughts on growing up here the same my own . Good one .
YAHOOISNOTG Well-built, share some parts with other Toyotas, quick and good balance. Lots of forums and clubs for information, good aftermarket parts supply, smart engineering for ease of repair and access.
But some hard to find parts are very hard to find. If you can get a complete original non-rust belt car with lower miles you will do really well with 3-5K
Or buy a Supra. Stay Gold.
I'm not a mechanic anymore, but I still learn a lot about cars and how to maintain hem the best way possible - I bought my first car that required a loan about 3 years ago, and next year i will finally be done with the payments, and I never want to buy another car ever again!!! It is a huge pain to constantly have hundreds of dollars blocked each month for your car payment, and in the end cars are nothing but a negative investment only to show others as a vanity symbol. I am 28 years old now and learned a lot about how the world really works and just how much buillshit society is filled with, all those fucking house wives in their husband's entry level bmws stretching themselves thin just trying to act like they are better than everybody else - it just makes me sick and its completely stupid.
I worked couple years at a dealership and I am 100% convinced that cars are one of the biggest wastes of money in the lives of Americans.
Buy a cheap 10 year old, used car. And yes, stop showing off!
😐
what u gotta do is save up, buy one then be broke for a while. but you wont be paying off a loan after. at least thats how i do things and it works out better in the long run. short term yeah you'd be broke for a few months but at least you dont have a loan to pay for years after the fact
new cars are not worth the $$$$$.
TheRoshan89
Mech Tech here - 17+ years in industry. Society vehicles, military equipment, (currently) quarry equipment. 2018 Buick Regal (daily) and 86 GMC Jimmy full size square body (toy). Joined industry excited to learn "how" and "about", "function" and "repair". In the beginning, waited for the stock 350 in the GMC to pop and finally dropped a 383 stroker in the bay. As years progressed, completed a number of modifications to the GMC but found my enthusiasm tapering off.
Point being - You nailed one of your points - I do this all day. I want to get in my daily driver and have no hassles. Just go. Come home and really don't have "as much" desire to wrench on the GMC (It's in great condition currently from how I found it, but there's always something "else" for an idea to do.). I take the GMC to work maybe once every 2 weeks - really once a month - and drive the Buick everywhere else.
The GMC was junk when I found it - But I fixed it and made it gorgeous (w/ a monetary expense). The Buick I don't see as a monetary loss tho - I keep my vehicles for around 2 decades (seriously). Prior to the Buick was a 2000 Dodge Neon, sold to brother (2017) in tip top shape (other than horizontal paint peel) - Knew it inside and out, no problems, and any problems easily handled. The Buick is the next century set of wheels. :)
Awesome change for the channel - Just found it - Now I have twice as much tubing to view.
Keep up the great work, stay healthy.
im a self taught mechanic and i love my car because of the amount of space under the hood and whatever start breaking up i can easily recognize so i agree about the mechanic "stress" factor.
Worked as a restoration tech and mechanic among other auto related trades. I much prefer the old cars from the pre computer era. They are much easier to work on and don't require near the types of tools, and expensive ones at that, a new late model will require. Making you have to constantly buy "specialized tools" to keep up.. I drive a 64 Chevy II Nova everyday. Rebuilt it from a wreck with parts from the local salvage yard and 2nd hand parts nobody wanted that I would typically barter for. Has an inline 6cyl that I rebuilt / upgraded myself from the bare block out from parts off several junk engines..Been driving it everyday for the last several years. Only problem I've had is with this crap ethanol laced fuel That I have to sometimes run in it..I can get to everything on this engine with ease and doesn't take long to remove and replace something if it does go wrong. Unlike these late models that require you to do some of the dumbest things to get to the once simplest stuff. Example: Change a serpentine belt on a 03 saturn and you'll find you will need a engine hoist to hold the engine up as you have to remove the passenger side engine mount , after taking off an bunch of other non related stuff first , in order to even get the belt off to change it. Takes time to do it..., My Nova takes less than 5 mins to change the belt in my driveway. change the thermostat on that same saturn engine and it requires disassembly of the entire induction system to get to it under the intake plenum. My Nova take maybe 15 mins to change it..After working on this complicated new late model stuff, you learn to appreciate old and simple.
Old stuff is crude but simple....I like simple....
You are an amazing guy sharing your context and cognition with the world, helping many benefit. People like you are real gems of this earth.
Thank you very much for that.
shivo hum ,, i totally agree with you
I'm a mechanic from over the pond in rainy old Blighty. My vehicles are 28yr old mk2 Golf Gti, daily beater 20yr old BMW e46 touring & work van 2009 Citroen Nemo. They were all very cheap when bought & with maintenance they all run faultlessly. I would never buy new, complete waste of money, plus old vehicles have a personality - just something you cant really describe, that makes them so much more rewarding to roll in. Oldskool kool!
Thanks Eric for all the work you have done and all the how-to videos you have made they are extremely helpful, almost crazy that its free. Thanks bud.
I was a professional mechanic & I spent my whole life working on cars & trucks, now that I'm retired, I bought a new truck b/c I'm tired of working on stuff! lol
for the same reason a painters house needs paint,
So true. lol
That's cause no one pays you to do your own house.
whoodiestyle Yes that is the point he is making.
There barbers son has the longest hair lol.
The cobbler's children always need new shoes.
Having been a mechanic for more than 20 years I have also developed a theory on this topic. I personally think that we drive beaters because after spending all day working on customer vehicles we don't want to spend "our time" working on vehicles. Plus it helps (or hurts, depending on your point of view) that we know what problems can wait and what problems need immediate attention. We aren't concerned about every little rattle. As for my vehicle, 1997 F-150 4x4 w/ 4.6L 2 valve. But this one's not a beater. It's as ETCG1 would say #builtnotbought. I built the motor, trans, transfer, and both axles w/ 6 inch lift blah blah blah. BUT mainly because my wife. She doesn't ask for much, but she loves our truck.
So that's my 2 cents for whatever it's worth. Thanks for the vids ETCG1. I know this is an older one, but a good question. Anyway, thanks for your time and efforts. Stay dirty
I’m a mechanic and I own two vw gti and a 92 subaru svx. I love my cars but sometimes I be too tired to work on them after being long hours at the shop. But when I do work on them and fix whatever problem they are having is one of the best feelings and makes me love them even more.
mechanics drive junkers, maids have messy houses, landscapers have overgrown lawns......this isn't for all people in the above mentioned careers, but generally speaking people don't like to bring work home.
PS. nice video, I'll be watching more ETCG.
You are the realist mechanic I've seen. Great video sir. Liked and subbed.
Thank you!
technician
I have a 1986 Ford F 150 and it's a piece of shit I don't care I still love it and plus I ain't got to worry about people running into it or denting it
Technicians are parts changers, mechanics can fix parts. Mechanic for over 25 years.
Wow, you sir are wrong (you must be a mechanic/parts changer.)
When I was a mechanic, all of the mechanics I worked with had a “work” car and a new(er) car. Drove the old work truck because I didn’t care if it got dirty, almost impossible to get completely clean after work. Drove the new truck on the weekends and when going out. By far, the most reliable vehicles I have owned are the newer ones. Love my classic cars, but they are always needing something before I drive more than 50 miles. Never worry about my new vehicles.
I'm a shade tree mechanic. I've always bought used cars. I will not buy a new one. It is to much hassle and you get ripped off at the Dealership.
Since I have UA-cam to figure out how to fix things. It is so much simpler and people like you have helped me out tremendously.
Here's a couple of examples.
I had problems with my Heater and air-conditioning vents in my car. They had to go into the - to change out a part. They're going to charge me $500 So I looked it up on UA-cam found out how to do it. It was $25 for the part and One hour to fix It.
Had a security light go on. Stayed on. So I looked it up on UA-cam found the problem went to RadioShack. Bought some resistors for $10 fixed it in an hour. The dealership told me there had to pull the steering wheel and replace the key For $800.
I have never buy a new car. Thank you for all your videos. They are awesome
I'm a motorcycle builder and mechanic and I ride old junky bikes I have brought back to life. I
+Ichiban Moto reminds me that some guy found a nitro RC car in the trash with a seized engine, he revived it, and then probably set a world record for fastest pencil sharpener
+Justin Noker I saw that video. It was quite a remarkable sharpener
ZerunoxRides339 i want it, so i can go into school and be like "may i sharpen my pencil" then the teacher says "sure" then i'm there pull starting my pencil sharpener in the middle of class lol, would be so worth the suspension
+Justin Noker knowing my school I'd get extra credit XD
ZerunoxRides339 yeah, my school just has a lot of anime fans, sluts, and drugs, that's the best way to describe my school, and when it comes to my town there are a lot of classic american muscle guys, my entire town is just odd
I'm a mechanic and i drive a 2001 Tahoe. I got it used and love it. It had a few problems but I got a good price on it because of the problems. I replaced both front wheel bearings and tie rods and brakes and rotors and she is in fine running shape now. Love your videos man.
Getting quite philosophical, you’re evolving before our very eyes. Thank you Sir!
Easy. Don't even have to watch the video. They're too busy working on family, friends, friends of friends, and neighbors cars.
you Mr.Frog NAILD IT!! 💣🔨💥💢🔥
DDS029 This ones easier to stop than you might think. Not saying don't help people in a serious bind just don't get taken advantage of too much. First trade work for work. They need help? Well I'm sure you can think of something in trade they specialize in or you just don't have time or want to do. The second is teach. Break out your chair and direct an able bodied person to help themselves. Requires patience but you might create a few more wrench heads.
DDS029 you nailed it!! You must be a genius or something, that was great!
I'm a mechanic and I drive a 97 camry. love that car.
Mike Haley, *95 same brother
I'm looking to become a mechanic and have spent the past year teaching myself how to work on cars. I have a 2000 honda accord, which came from a police auction and runs great when it wants to, as well as a 1996 toyota camry which is mechanically sound. It's the opposite story when it comes to the bodies of the cars. Guess which one has more miles on it
I’m a mechanic as well. Drive a 2001 4Runner 300,000 miles. Runs great. 3.4 v6 . Does not need anything
95 celica and same.🤘
Joshua Vaughn fuck a car payment.... that’s for suckers
im absolutely amused how well this video has withstanded the test of time! 8 years dayum! awesome job eric!
on a side note it has been almost 4 years ive been driving that junk of a french car (from 92) and she still not trying to die, it has taken absolute good care of me for so long and ive only spent $400 on it... but finally the water pump said no more and overall the engine and trans are very tired after going for a measly 17.5 laps around the globe... now i got a newer junker for basically the cost of fuel to go pick it up and shes a non runner! 😂 imma have fun with it!
Many years ago, I owned a 1992 Acura Vigor. It was a great car, never had any problems with it. I think that everyone should try to learn as much as they possibly can about cars. That helps, to a large degree, to keep unscrupulous mechanics from telling you whatever they feel like is wrong with your car and robbing you without a gun. Even learning to do some fairly basic things will save you a ton of money.
I have worked on cars my whole life and I own a 92 Ford Ranger that I have had for 16 years and replaced everything but the axle and engine. It has 220k and I keep it because I know every bolt, parts are cheap, and it is very easy to work on it. It is all banged up and is a little rusty. I do abuse it but I also take great care of it. It does not burn oil, with sandbags gets around great in winter. Someday I will likely do the body work. But mechanically it is perfect. I have had several other nicer cars along with it and sold them all. I even sold my restored 74' Satellite before I sold my Ranger. There is something to be said about having an old beater lying around that you know you can start it up anywhere and anytime and will not break down. For me I buy another car in part to make sure I keep the miles low on my Ranger. I have a special attachment to my Ranger and would find it very difficult to get rid of it, even if it was a desperate situation. So I totally get it.
I love this. I have a 92 Nissan D21 pickup that I drove off the lot new and will not get rid of. That truck and I have a special bond. And more importantly everything you said is accurate - the truck is a simple machine that I am intimately familiar with, that is reliable, and at the end of the day is a lot easier to fix in comparison to my sedan.
Old cars are easier and cheaper to work on compared to the new cramped vehicles of today. I work at a dealership and all the technicians continually yell and scream with the type of materials used nowadays. Plastic and lots of recycled materials. Even the seats are made up of soy which bugs love to eat.
Got a '65 Barracuda, and when I was working on it I could sit inside the engine compartment and work on it. Sadly I've neglected it for 10 years and the body is rusting away. I know it'll run if I ever try and start it.
I drive a 78 ford fairmont and I finally got done restoring it. It's the most reliable car I have due to the ease of access to all the parts. I've changed the alternator, vol regulator, freeze plugs, radiator. All shocks and I've POR-15 all the rust on it. This car has lasted 38yrs. Todays cars are lucky to even last 10yrs. I work at ford and the instrument cluster on my 14 fusion has already failed at 38k. Lucky I have the dealership without it I'd be broke.
Sophia Mefford Hope you can restore the rust on that baby one day !!!
I'm not a mechanic. But the opinion I get from most mechanics is after spending the day greased up under the hood of a car. The last thing they want to do when they get home is work on another car. So they're cars tend to become neglected
Just like the cobbler's kids always go barefoot.
I AM a Technician, and I can tell ya you're 100% right! I'm onto my 6th VERY used car since 5 years ago. They've all went down in flames (almost literally). I just repaired what I could until the work wasn't worth it anymore.
That's also part of the reason why the wife has a new car: she's got warranty and full service coverage. I don't have to fix her car either.
I'm not one of the "most" then. Look forward to the weekly checkup and adjust sessions each weekend. An hour or 2 of preventative maintenance goes a long way, and much cheaper than $100 - $150 a week repayments on a new 'warrantied' car.
my girlfriend is a pastry chef. in 9 years she's made me one peach pie, a few eclairs and creme puffs. Usually I don't even get a birthday cake, unless my mom bakes one.
It really just depends on the tech. I take great care of my Jeep, the tech in the bay next to me takes care of all of his cars, and the tech two bays down hasn't changed the oil in his Subaru in almost 15k miles
I'm no mechanic, I just enjoy turning wrenches, I own an 05 ford ranger and a 99 dodge 2500. I've turned about 95% of the bolts on the ol cummins and my wife always just asked "why don't I sell both and get a nice new truck that I don't have to mess with?" My reply is always the same. And that is: when you put so much time and effort and know the sizes of every bolt on the truck, how it handles, drives, the creaks groans and moans, and how it should sound. That when something is out of place you catch it right off the bat. It's a certain intimacy that one has with a vehicle that very few understand. If I were to get a new truck, that process starts all over again, which I for one DO NOT have the time for. That is why I couldn't bring myself to do it.
@ETCG1 i was a mechanic for 32 years myself,have know mechanics who drive junkers and new cars.only car i ever bought new was an 1987 pontiac grand prix,305-4bbl. drove that car with minimal work until 2001 when it got totaled by an unlicensed uninsured driver.
best car i ever owned.
step-sister works @ ford dealership, ragging on my "beater-with-a-heater"...
1. i got no car payment.
2. i got cheaper insurance.
3. i bought new tires, it doubled in value!!
4. i've spent more on gas than i paid for it!!
5. not really worried about incidental damage; scratched paint, etc.
6. repair parts are usually cheaper
7. i can modify it any way i like!
p.s. she's still making payments......
My brother is a mechanic and his car is a mid-90s Chevy Cavalier. 200K+ miles, body panels from 3 different cars, recently acquired a motor from another car. Just a real dog of a car. But it turns over every time, always gets to the destination and back home. It won't win any car shows but it does the job.
that's all that matters
Did he changed the motor by himself?
Wildman not difficult.
+Wildman Yes he did but he had access to a lift which really helped.
+Goat Boy Maybe not for you but for me it would be a nightmare! Big respect for anyone that can do that without setting their car on fire in frustration.
A car - unless its hauling your tools, is not an asset.
idiot
Willie or unless you use it to deliver pizzas and make fat tips
@@circusboy90210 what car goes up in value every year and not only that but what car goes up greater than the rate of inflation.
I'll wait.
The first car that bought when in high school was a '71 Ford LTD - 4-door, white over forrest green. Big ole 400 cu V-8, 3-spd auto, cold AC. I was SO proud of it. It finally gave up the ghost around 210-220K miles. I was not prepared for the effect it would have on me when the salvage guy came and winched it onto a flatbed truck. That car had gotten me through thick and thin as a college student at UT Austin. That car got me out to County Line barbque where I was a busboy, with not enough gas in the tank to get home, but we got our tips in cash every night. That car is where I sat and talked until 3 in the morning on the first date with 'me wee bonnie lass' who I have now been married to for 36 years. That car never left me on the side of the road, and it never failed to start. It never. Failed. To start. (!) Those cars had really unique brake/tail lights, with this narrow bar of lights that went all the way across the back of the trunk lid, just one more thing I really liked about that car. So I'm standing in the parking lot of this big Exxon station on Bee Cave Road, where it had coasted me into with the exhalation of its last breath, I had been looking down at the 2 $100 bills the salvage man had given me, when the sound of a revving truck caused me to look up and see the red light bar on the green paint and big chrome bumper up on a flat bed truck as it disappeared behind some trees. It was at that instant that something inside me stated the obvious - "that's the last look you will ever get of that car.. Your car .. ". It's gone, now. Friends, I have to tell you, that was one of the blackest days in my young life. I can still even get a thickness in my throat if I think about too much. Not really much now, compared to some of the things that I have been through in the last 3 1/2 decades ; we can only see things against the background they happen to be in front of at the time we encounter them, and I guess that was one of my first lessons in what real loss feels like, that I maybe had more to lose than I thought, and I have no idea why I'm even writing this - I'm so sorry .. I'm just going to click send oh now I remember , it was the back ground of the thumbnail for this video - made me kinda sad - a video about junk cars.
Love your videos Eric! You and Scotty Kilmer are my heroes. The two of you, and a few other UA-cam folks, have helped me through many car repairs.
I'm not a mechanic, but I'm a DIY'er on a fixed income. I drive a 15 year old Ford Focus wagon. Love it. It's got some dings and dents, and a mismatched driver's door, I don't care. It runs great, gets good mileage, and I don't worry about it. I can drive it down through the field to the hen house (almost a daily event) haul feed and straw or whatever in it. My husband was always much more hung up on a car's looks than I am. I love not having payments or higher insurance premiums to deal with.
I'm happy to help. Thanks very much for your comment.
In other words, when the blinders come off, it's a textbook case of 'The honeymoon is over and the magic is gone'.
Pretty much.
+ETCG1 you cracked me up. meant for flogging definitly. i feel that after working on cars all day the last thing i want to do is work on my own car.
i drive a 97 Volvo 850 wagon with 662 000 kilometers....I call her Squeaky Jean as she has the typical dash squeak of all older Volvos....I too enjoy the fact that it was affordable with no car loan, still very comfortable to drive, holds all sorts of stuff and is simplistic (relatively speaking) to repair. Although i am not a mechanic I have always tried to save money by fixing myself and for sure have used your videos to help me thru things i wasn't familiar with...especially with fixing my older vehicle a 2003 CRV.... As a side note there I feel there is also a bit of a badge of honor or bragging rights associated with driving a older vehicle....people see the old brick running down the road or parked at the grocery store and always take a second look... and many people ask "things such as: What year? How many KM's? etc, I love to see their faces when they here the answers...especially when i tell them things like i just took it on a 4000km trip with the whole family....! lol thanks for the videos!
Well phrased! Though the 'consumption' momentum and power of Madison Ave to buy and the Wizards of Wall street have found a way to indebt the planet, not everyone steps off that cliff. There's a certain 'elegance' in keeping the old machine going and it does save money. Have a an old Jeep with 0.54mil and it is appreciative of not being in the boneyard like most of its generation. Plus, it gets me to the office way before the boss' German vundermobile arrives. Rec'd reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for sound reasons to learn to do most repair and service oneself. Note just took aside an old timer who stopped for fuel like me to discuss his '74 IH Scout that had been to the moon and back. He was quite happy to tell some tales and they were 'good' ones!
I am a former diesel technician and currently in a career as a journeyman industrial maintenance technician (electrician/millwright). I have a standard trans '06 Ford Fusion with 220,000 miles on it, and an '03 F150 Supercrew with 210,000 miles on it. I have always had the philosophy that my wife will have the newer vehicle. Hers is an '09 Chrysler Town and Country 3.8 with about 80,000 miles on it that we bought used.
Honestly, the reason I drive what I drive is because it is what I can comfortably afford, meets our needs, and I like to drive vehicles that are easily serviceable. (My F150 is somewhat an exception to that rule with the engine set so far back under the cowl/firewall). Many of the new cars require lots of specialized equipment to repair, and as time goes on, it is only getting worse.
I value design. I value getting to know your vehicle and its quirks. The only reason I give up on a vehicle is because my wife doesn't like it, our family outgrew it, or rust destroys it.
I'm an electrician, some lights in my house don't work (but they are safe), can't be bothered hahaha
+Jeff Parks
yep carpenter has a house with sagging stumps and the plumber has leaking taps and the mechanic has a crap car the electrician has lights out
you do the stuff all day the last thing you want is to come home and do it
exaaaacctly hahahah
+gremlinkiller in spanish we say "En casa de herrero, cuchillo de palo" which translates to "At the blacksmith's house, wooden knife". It means exactly what you described :)
+Jeff Parks Me too. My ceiling fans, and even some lights, disconnects, and gfi's were good used freebies. Even the 10-2 for my water heater lol
+Josh My father in law is a plumber, and had been for 30+ years.... his shower terrifies me.
I'm a mechanic and i drive Mercedes S600 v12 AMG .why not , i got it for cheap fixed it drove it enjoy it .
Back a few decades ago in the mid 80's when I was earning a living turning wrenches many times I would buy a car from a customer of the shop that the repair bill would be higher than they wanted to pay to fix the car for a song. At times that purchase cost may be as cheap as what they owed the shop to diagnose the problem and since I was working on a 50% commission basis on labor I would only end up paying the shop owner about half of what the customers bill actually was to get the car.
My favorites were to buy a late 70's cars like T-birds or Cordoba's that needed a transmission replaced or rebuilt. I knew all the guys at the wrecking yards and could get a good transmission for about $75 and end up with just a couple of hundred dollars in in a nice car which usually I would drive for a while then flip at a profit.
Another good one was something that needed a timing chain or maybe a head gasket replacement.
You would be surprised at the number of people that would decide to just buy another car rather than just fix the one they have at a much cheaper cash outlay.
I was a Mechanic for over 49 years and still tinkering with lots of stuff.
My vehicle always ranged from 20 or thirty years old to new. New was for formal events..........weddings, funerals , events. The every day cars were complete.......fully operational and no problems. Now that i am retired.......two vehicles........ 14 and 15 years old........run like clocks and look just fine. Three motorcycles.......2003,2004 and a 2013.........all run great....... look great. I am set for the rest of my life. Tools.......still have about 100k in tools but slowly thinning the herd.
Then i will be set there too. Still working on family cars and equipment......... not really interested in anything new in the vehicle market today.
Love your videos........have watched since you started and was a Honda tech as i recall. I spent 30 years with
VW/Audi. So happy to be retired!!
basically this video makes me think of something i've often said and still to this day truly believe. Want a good way to ruin a fun hobby? Do it 40 hours a week.
I used to be a mechanic in a shop that mostly worked on newer cars. Every year they became less and less like cars to me. I am a mechanic, not a technician. Front wheel drive, computerized car management systems, air bags, ABS, emissions crap, basically everything mandated by the government. I developed serious contempt for these "things" I refuse to drive them, and I finally got fed up with working on them. I became a vintage car mechanic, and found my true love. I drive a 52 year old Ford, which looks a little beat up and ratty, but I love it. It took very little, both work and money, to go through it and make it mechanically new again. IF there are any problems, I can easily fix them. And I found that working on vintage cars, without a time clock to deal with, was actually enjoyable. And so is dealing with their owners. People who own and drive vintage cars are very different than those that drive the new crap. They are much more likely to be enthusiasts, and they take care of their cars. I have bought one new car, a 1987 Pontiac. And I got ripped big time on that car. I lost more money on that car in sales taxes, dealer fees, insane registration fees, depreciation, and much higher insurance than it cost me to buy and rebuild my current half a century old car. But, like I said, it is more than just a matter of money. I hate what cars have become, and want nothing to do with them. Old cars are not only fun to drive, but they free you from all the govt. laws that pretty much prevent you from doing anything with new cars. My car is so old that seat belt laws don't apply to it. I call it my freedom car. Unless it gets wrecked, I can keep it going for the rest of my life.
amen!
Well stated.
I'm not a mechanic but I get a feeling of what you mean. I just bought a 2010 car and have already had an argument with the voice system and now the computer keeps telling me that three particular light bulbs are out even though they'' re working. I replaced them and it still says they're out.
dude trade that shit in asap for any hope of a decent financial future
I'm a mechanic, trucker, locksmith and pipefitter. I've bought one new car in my life, a 69 Mustang Grande. Some kid ran a stop sign and totaled it and I never bought a new car again.For me the reason is mostly because I can usually predict what's going to break or wear out and catch it before it shits the bed. Right now I have a 2001 Jeep Grande Cherokee Laredo that I bought in 2008. I'm the second owner and right now it has about 220,000 kilometers on it and I've spent about 3 grand on repairs/maintenance. My dad was a mechanic so I started learning very young. As soon as I was old enough to pick up his tools I was helping him wipe them off and put them away. What you said about spending money on tools is right and I learned early that there's no such thing as cheap tools.
Very heavy DIY guy here. I have my nice vehicle that I like to keep the miles off of and I bought a 99 CRV recently with a blown engine that is my chief daily beater that I don't have to stress about where I park it and I don't have to worry about how many miles I'm putting on it. I think another reason mechanics typically Drive older cars is they like the Simplicity back when there was less technology in things. I personally love 90s Hondas. I think they were just really well built and they have minimum technology and are just very simple and hearts can be found anywhere for them
I think it's similar in other professions, too. I'm an IT (network/hardware) expert yet I'd never spend $4,000 for latest and greatest gaming or high-end PC. At the house, I run an 8-year old dual-core with Windows Vista as our home multi-media center. In fact, my 70-year old neighbor has more powerful computer than I do but I'm fine with that! (You won't see me buying an Alienware or the latest Macbook anytime soon!) When I see people driving the latest vehicle all I see is a huge monthly car bill...I'll keep our paid-off 2008 Toyota Corolla and 2014 Tundra running as long as possible!!
Of course in IT work you use a lot more text editors and less reliance on bloatware to get the job done....maybe mechanics feel the same way about an overengineered car. Mind you saving money on a car is a much bigger impact on the budget than on a computer. hoping to learn a bit here and keep my 11 year old mazda running till 2025 XD
Gotta love the Core 2 duo.
It depends on what you use your hardware for i'm also an IT technician, but i've been a gamer all my life, so i tend to get shiny new toys pretty regularly. But on the other hand, i've been using a Q6600 with 3GB RAM as a home server for ages, i just upgraded it, all second hand parts, Xeon X5660, and old Asus Rampage II a friend gave me... the only tihng i bought new was the RAM (6x4GB) and the SSD for the OS.
Yea........iono bro. Im cheap as all can be but I still like to get new stuff. Not too many people are buying Alienwares as that a specific niche market but I know plenty of IT guys with Macbooks. More so you see IT guys with the latest and greatest phones (Samsungs, Sonys, LGs, Motorolas) and smaller laptops though (ie Chromebooks and such ).
I work in IT, I buy used parts and build a $3000 computer for $900 and sell it for $1500 after a couple years. Now I do this with cars too. I showed my mechanic how to fix computers and he showed me how to fix cars.
Even though my finances allow, I agree it's a waste of money to drive a new vehicle. I would much rather use that money for the entertainment/travel portion of my budget.
I have a 2001 Dodge Ram for my landscaping business and a highly modified, 1997 convertible Eclipse Spyder. Would like to add in a CJ series Jeep at some point. But all are easy to work on, easy to pay cash for and don't drain my account for insurance payments.
As a mechanic you stated very well that we spend a lot of money in tools, and it's a life saver to have a cheap reliable car, I have a 2001 Mitsubishi Montero and hasn't failed me at all. I'm planning to change the rotors and breaks soon, just basic stuff. Loved this video.
I drive a 93 Accord with a manual trans. It is Built like a tank and easy to work on, plus used parts are easy to find at the pick-in-pull lots. No inherent design problems, has proven to go very high mileage on the stock engine and trans. The car is actually fun to drive, it does not feel isolated like the new cars. Plus new cars all have smog control engines. I actually find it fun to look for things to repair before they go bad. I drove a 89 prelude for 16 years and 280K miles and it still ran like a top.
A plumber's pipes always leak.
Nice!
WRONG!!!! MINE DON"T LEAK! Most who attempt to be a plumber should be a tire changer or oil . I was raised by an inventive engineer ,If you can do the math.
You are a drain mechanic not a plumber...
Nothing In my house leaks
you drive customers cars every day. all kinds of different ones. so after a while , they are just cars that bring you front point A to point B.
I had an Acura Vigor in Japan but I was called a Honda Accord Inspire. Loved it. Ran so smooth and comfortable. That 5 cylinder was taken for granted.
I'm a 77 year old Englishman, retired VW Beetle specialist living in Spain and I drive what was a basic 1991 Fiat Tipo 1.4. Bought it in 1999 as a stop gap car, but grew to like it , mainly because it's 'modern' for me, reliable, comfortable, rust free and doesn't have any (apart from ignition) electronics, catalytic converter, or any other 'unnecessary' stuff to go wrong. It didn't even have a glove box, power steering, or A/C, so I had fun adding those items and a few others to it over the years.
I've never owned a new car because I've always hated the idea of how much depreciation it suffers on the day it's bought.
Have a 2001 Taurus. only 128, 000 km's on it mechanically perfect (need to change the front breaks though) but hella rusty and denty. If a shopping cart gets in the way I ram it out of the way. If I back into something, zero fucks. If someone opens their door and hits my door, could give two shits less. It's a beautiful thing.
thats why i need my Peugeot 106 1L 50hp, i like cars but it is only metal and rubber stuff, i dont want to argue over anything.
H Majhail exactly the 2001 Taurus I had was mechanically sound, engine never burned oil, it always cranked, never left me stranded, and was very good on gas, transmission was perfect, it did have a deteriorating paint job so I didn't care about someone bumping into it or even less someone stealing it, I had expensive tools in the trunk, no one ever knew . I regret selling it now ad my jeep I have now gets 11 mpg and I have to wash it frequently
You must of gotten the one they should of kept at Detroit.
My 94 blew 2 holes in the brake line trying to park on a steep hill. Still drove 50 miles, and by the time I got home it would creep forward while standing on the brake.
a few years ago i asked a few questions to you. i was placing a audi s3 engine on a ford escort. At the time i loved the car, when i finished the project i was so saturated that it turned to be just another car for me. everything you said in this video is completely true, after you spend so much time building and working on a thing, you just want it to work and be reliable, it completely lost all apealing to you after all the trouble.
+Vanguard Detonados Yep, it happens. Thanks for your comment.
ETCG1 thanks for the help at the time. You don`t realize it but that car only exists part because of all the tips you gave me by then.
+Vanguard Detonados I'm always happy to hear that my work helps people. Thanks very much for your comments and good luck with your future projects.
PROFOUND post.
As a mobile mechanic I drive a $500 Ford Ranger pos. Solid as a rock and it lets me know what it needs.
Thanks Eric, my last new car was in 1994. I prefer getting at least a 3 or 4 year old car to have others deal with huge depreciation. I also own two very old cars a 1968 Chrysler 300 and a 1972 Volkswagen Super Beetle. I like to tinker with them as much as I can.
the new cars are the junk
really can you explain please? i thought they were getting better esp. hondas & toyotas
poptarts new cars have a lot of plastic parts and expensive electrical components that just don't last if you drive on salted roads. I had a BRZ and after 3 winters the undercarriage had so much rust it looked like I had driven it for 10 years. I think there are certain cars that are better designed than others, e. g. using MPI instead of direct injection, aluminum components, quality of steel, etc.
+Dan Lee thanks!
Theyre plastic 50%
Hard to fix, engines are made from as much aluminium and plastic as possible to cut costs which affects reliability and longevity. Classic example in the 70's to 80's ..... Almost all car/small truck engines were built to last from cast iron and could be rebuilt 3 sometimes 4 times.... these days once the engine is No good you buy a new one... no rebuild. the Newer Toyota V6 Petrols have steel sleeves in the aluminium block, the sleeves are webbed so they cannot be taken out and replaced they are inserted into the block in the casting process. These engines cannot be rebuilt......