Why Don't People Take Care of These Cars?

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by cn90

The vast majority of ppl treat cars like Styrofoam cups.
After it serves its purpose, they discard it.

It is down to:
- Interest...most ppl don't have an interest in cars.
- Desire to fix...it is a challenge to learn how to fix cars.
- Even if you want to fix cars, parts brands (made in Germany vs China), forum reading, reviews can consume a lot of your time.
- Then very often, the repair is not going well, things break, strip, seize etc.
- Not to mention your significant other complains you spend too much time with the car, while you should spend time on vacation.
- Time: between work, family, and other chores...who has time to mow the lawn or fix cars?
- Budget: dealer is both expensive and mostly incompetent; best is to have a mechanic who moonlights on the weekend but they are difficult to find
Dealers often rip you off. Private shops...are they competent/fair?

If you have a FT job, owning a car and fix it yourself can consume all the time you have left...
But it may be the necessity bc without a functional car, you can't get to work.

So, for young ppl with a FT jobs, find a weekend mechanic.
For old ppl that are retired, you can spend as much as time fixing cars as you want lol...

I'm older (67) and have a full time job. My X is my only car and frankly, if I didn't work on it myself, I couldn't afford it. As it is, it has been less expensive to own on a monthly basis than a new car with a new car payment. It probably helps that I enjoy working on it. Except when it fights back, of course. When I've completed a repair or maintenance I have a feeling of satisfaction of a job well done.

Your points are well taken, but it still upsetting to see a nice machine that could potentially last a long time in good condition with some time spent treated like it is disposable. I've never treated any of my vehicles that way. If you own something, you take care of it. If you stay on top of maintenance items it doesn't take that much time per week. Sometimes there will be things like oil pan gaskets that take a huge chunk of time to replace, but you can plan for those. It makes me wonder if they take care of (or don't) their homes that way.