Just a question and a comment here...
Would anyone agree with me that the 'newer' model cars (1994 on up) are much more difficult to work on for the home mechanic than the much older models? Or do you cars have gotten much easier and simpler to work on over the years? My belief is that they've become more compact, and as a result are much more difficult to service.
I used to have a chevy corsica '94, and that car was extremely difficult for me to work on. It was just very compact and there wasn't much space to move my hands around. For example, In order to change the alternator belt, I'd have to spend a ridiculous amount of time unbolting a top motor mounts in order to get to the belt. And changing the rear spark plugs was also a lot of trouble, as this car was a V6, and 3 of the spark plugs were in the back of the motor - or should I say near the firewall in the back. I'd have to go to the trouble of removing the distributor cap and then had to use a very long extension to remove and replace spark plugs. Because it was difficult to manuever, I did end up stripping one. And replacing the front shocks were also an amazing amount of work, as it took me all day long to do. I certainly wouldn't have had this trouble if it had been an older model car, but the problem with purchasing those cars nowadays is that they are usually too decripit & worn down.
Now that my chevy corsica died out, I plan on purchasing another used car this month. I was thinking about maybe purchasing a ford taurus or some other
1995+ on up model car, but a question I'd like to ask is, which cars out there do you think are most friendly to the home mechanic? I'd personally like to be able to do as much work as possible on my car, unless if there is a catastrophic breakdown that forces me to take it to a mechanic. I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way as I'm not trying to put down the mechanics industry as a whole, but over here where I live most of the licensed mechanics are flat out rip offs and price gougers, so looking for a model of car that is most friendly to the home mechanic will be a huge consideration when I go car shopping.thanks