Musings On Car Repair

[landar]

Thirty years ago, when cars were beginning to have a lot more electronic controls, I heard a lot of moaning from old-timers saying we would not be able to work on our own cars much anymore. They were becoming too complex, too specialized for a weekend mechanic. Only the dealer could diagnose, repair and maintain them. I remember somberly agreeing with them. Gone were the simple points and distributors. Mysterious machines we faced.

My, how things have changed. Enter the internet age. I could not have imagined that, while engine control and cars in general would become more complex, so readily available would be the information in which to deal with the new machines. I find it, perhaps, even easier to deal with maintenance and issues now that we have so much more info available and communities of owners sharing experiences.

I wonder what the future holds as far as car repair for DIY'ers. I would love to see an age where you just plug your OBDxx port into your computer and get diagnostics over the net! Far fetched? I don't think so. However, somebody still has to turn that wrench! What does the future hold? Hmmm.

[pj8708]

Thirty years ago, when cars were beginning to have a lot more electronic controls, I heard a lot of moaning from old-timers saying we would not be able to work on our own cars much anymore. They were becoming too complex, too specialized for a weekend mechanic. Only the dealer could diagnose, repair and maintain them. I remember somberly agreeing with them. Gone were the simple points and distributors. Mysterious machines we faced.

My, how things have changed. Enter the internet age. I could not have imagined that, while engine control and cars in general would become more complex, so readily available would be the information in which to deal with the new machines. I find it, perhaps, even easier to deal with maintenance and issues now that we have so much more info available and communities of owners sharing experiences.

I wonder what the future holds as far as car repair for DIY'ers. I would love to see an age where you just plug your OBDxx port into your computer and get diagnostics over the net! Far fetched? I don't think so. However, somebody still has to turn that wrench! What does the future hold? Hmmm.

I guess I'm a believer in the adage that what the mind can conceive, the hands can build. If the manufacturers listen to us, the users, they will hopefully consider the DIY'ers when they are making up the future designs.

Paul