I remember when motor cars were simple to fix.

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NorthernDave

Never used Über Member
I'll take modern reliability over old ease of repair any day.

I fondly remember my first few cars - despite being well maintained at this time of year every journey to work was preceded by the anticipation of "will it start today?"
Or trying to juggle keeping the revs up to prevent the engine dying while braking to a stop at traffic lights?

My modern, safer, cleaner car just works when I want it to, all in exchange for one trip a year to the garage for a service.
 

NickNick

Well-Known Member
I agree that many things have improved. But I also think some things aren't progress to some people who don't mind replacing headlight bulbs (though an led headlight cost may well force you to scrap the car given the cost) or replacing spark plugs (if you can remove whatever is now in the way or in some cases have use of an engine hoist.) I question this "progress".

I also think that we could have some of the modern efficiency/emission improvements whilst retaining some of the potential to do your own repairs. I also wander how much of the benefits of modern efficiency are wiped out by drivers getting a new car every couple of years. Would it maybe be better for the planet to keep cars on the road for longer but maybe retrofit particulate filters/improved catalytic converters... My gut tells me that would be a better option, could be wrong, but we never have the debates/discussion/scientific research into it as its goes so against the grain of the will of the car industry and our wider economic views.
 
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Dave7

Dave7

Legendary Member
Location
Cheshire
Progress?

Certainly. Old cars were unsafe, uneconomical, unreliable, and terribly dirty for people an the environment.

I'm happy to take the modern inconveniences to know that a break down is rare with cars these days, and I would certainly take the inconvenience over being around the old dirty cars.
My experiences are contrary to yours.
From the 80s on I had new cars every 2 years with very few problems.
Since the computer type cars we have had one that cost me a small fortune as no one could diagnose why the master warning light kept coming on (in the end I had to px it..........a 13 plate that kept giving warnings....and now this thing that may have to go in JUST SO I CAN PUT AIR IN THE TYRE.
(capitals directed at car...not you^_^)
 

screenman

Legendary Member
What I find annoying is the fact that modern technicians , ( they are not called mechanics anymore), rely entirely on computers to tell them what the fault is. If the computer says "no fault" , then they are not capable of using their own brains and detect the fault the computer missed.

I would completely disagree with you on that one, there again I work alongside technicians most days.

I cannot figure out some of the moans on here, you all do still have a choice of what car you want to drive.
 

Globalti

Legendary Member
I do think it's supremely arrogant of car designers to assume that their car will never break down. They also seem to ignore the possibility that the car might last so long that DIY mechanics will be maintaining it, possibly because cars are designed to run well for about four years before things start to wear out, so minimal is the engineering. Notice how no car manufacturer ever stresses the reliability and longevity of their cars? I suppose that if cars were still as over-built as the Victorian bridges, buildings, railways, docks, sewers and all the other infrastructure that we are still using, they would look something like Foden steam wagons and weigh four tons.
 

FishFright

More wheels than sense
What I find annoying is the fact that modern technicians , ( they are not called mechanics anymore), rely entirely on computers to tell them what the fault is. If the computer says "no fault" , then they are not capable of using their own brains and detect the fault the computer missed.

Use a better garage ?
 

MrPie

Telling it like it is since 1971
Location
Perth, Australia
Ran a TVR Chimaera for a wee while. There was always a ‘will she run sweet today’ thing. Nothing major went wrong; just some wee fettling with the ‘dizzy’, vacuum hose and other wee stuff. The biggest pain was the battery holding a charge. Battery compartment is in the passenger footwell.....which is just daft, but ultimately all fixable with a bit of patience.
I really, really grudge paying £100 + vat to a main dealer if my newer cars go ‘ping’
 

screenman

Legendary Member
I drive a cobra with a 1978 small block Chevy in it.

So far I've spent 12 hours trying to track down a misfire. I WISH I had a computer to tell me what's wrong.

Have you run the engine at night in the dark with the bonnet open so that you can see anything amiss. Seems odd but just sometimes you can see sparks of flashes where there should not be any.

It is justs something we used to do often in the trade back in those long ago years.
 

Sandra6

Veteran
Location
Cumbria
My first car was a B reg 850 mini....back in 1970. I am clueless on mechanics but recall replacing eg fuel pump, thermostat and even a new fibreglass bonnet.
My 65 plate Astra is computerised and impossible (for me) to understand.
EG......a warning light tells me tyre pressure is low. Apparently cold weather will cause it.
To fix it.....
I have to put air in.....then find a re-set button. Then I have to drive the car.
IF.....that doesn't work I have to re initialise ??? By pressing the reset 3 times then drive for a minimum of one hour at a certain speed.
IF.....that doesnt work I have take it in.
I only want to put some ****** air in the thing.

Or you could just put some air in the tyre and then ignore the warning light - or turn it off.

Yes, I feel like this. Gone are the (in)glorious days when you could get a car running with a screwdriver and a box of Swan Vestas. Mind you it has to be said car ignition systems do seem to be more reliable now and I don't miss points......

But there seems to be a creeping movement towards fancy dancy inaccessible things. I also particularly dislike the movement towards having no dipsticks but relying on sensors that you have to plough through umpteen menu choices. I'm far from a techno grouch but really, was the dipstick that unreliable and hard to use? Is it just using techno gadgetry for the sake of it?

A lot of people don't like to get their hands dirty, and don't know what the dipstick is or where to find it, let alone how to use it.

What I find annoying is the fact that modern technicians , ( they are not called mechanics anymore), rely entirely on computers to tell them what the fault is. If the computer says "no fault" , then they are not capable of using their own brains and detect the fault the computer missed.

Working alongside technicians as I do now, I'm going to disagree with this. They actually have to have a lot more knowledge now and work to stricter regulations.
 
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