What nonsense...

The complexity of modern cars has brought the era of the do-it-yourself mechanic to an end, research has revealed. Sophisticated onboard computers and diagnostic systems mean that the vast majority of car owners are unwilling or unable to do maintenance, such as changing oil, themselves. Those who do venture under the bonnet of their new vehicle even risk invalidating its warranty.

A survey of 2,000 motorists by Kwik-Fit found that only 6 per cent of owners whose vehicle is three years old or less believe it is simple to service - compared with a third whose car is 11 years old or more

'Step by step, year by year, as technology has come into modern vehicles, the chances of the DIY mechanic being able to carry out servicing to their car has reduced,' said David White, the firm's customer services ­director. 'Opening the bonnet is like taking the lid off a PC.' Caroline Ofoegbu of the FIA said the trend is also being driven by the business model of franchise car dealerships, which do not make large profits from the sale of new cars. She said: 'Where the profit comes is in the repair and maintenance afterwards because they have access to all the codes and diagnostics necessary to repair the vehicles provided to them by the manufacturers.'

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For straightforward servicing (oil/filter changes, plug replacement, coolant/brake fluid replacement, brake pad changes, etc), a modern car is no more difficult for the DIY man than is an older car. In fact, most modern cars are a damn sight easier to maintain today than old cars. When did you last need to crawl about underneath using a grease gun on the prop shaft UJs, or on the track rod ends etc?

Reply to
Ret.
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Every weekend ... especially if I've been off-roading.

Mind, I don't think a '97 Discovery 300 Tdi is particularly modern ...;)

Never touched our lasses '2000 Laguna other than the card reader 'fix', an oil, filters, brake pad change and fitting spring assisters for towing.

Reply to
Paul - xxx

"Ret." gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:

Who did this research? The Department of the Bleedin' Obvious?

Wrong. Your Golf doesn't have an electronic parking brake, I presume?

Reply to
Adrian

Pray tell how changing engine oil is more difficult on a modern car than older ones? My BMW has the oil filter mounted at the top of the engine - far less of a fiddle to change than most of the older cars I've owned. The service indicator is also easy to re-set - although you might have to pay out for a special 'tool' to do this. But no different from having to pay for a spanner to fit the drain plug.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

It happens that Ret. formulated :

There really is not a massive difference between a three year old versus an 11 year old car, so far as looking after it. The difference is more to do with is it worth taking an 11 year old car in for a dealer service versus doing the work your self.

Say it often enough and people will start to believe it is true!

I must say when the modern complex cars first appeared, I was at first slightly intimidated as well as wondering what I might be able to do should it break down at the roadside. That was in the mid to late

1980's, since when I've had nothing but 'complex motors'. Despite their growing complexity, their reliability has been outstanding. What few problems I have suffered, have been much easier to resolve and there is much less work needed to keep them in top form.

For each complex car I have bought, my first step has been to ensure I have some sort of gadget to plug into the diagnostics. I have such a gadget for my current car and the car also has a built in PC - so I now have the means to diagnose problems at the road side, without even getting out of the driving seat. How much easier can it possibly get?

Reply to
Harry Bloomfield

lets see you change the oil on a smart car.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

I've no intention of ever buying such a thing. Can't see the point in them.

But one swallow doesn't make a summer anyway.

I think most just don't remember just how much servicing was needed on older 'simple' cars. Changing points. Greasing things. Adjusting brakes. Tappets. And so on. Add to this they were very much less reliable than a decent modern one - and had poorer performance and economy. Then factor in an engine change perhaps twice in the car's life...

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

Is it tricky? Doesn't a Smart's engine just have a hole at the top and the bottom with a cork in each like most other cars?

Reply to
Douglas Payne

On Sun, 12 Dec 2010 08:53:59 +0000, Adrian boggled us with:

Kwik-Fit. Presumably of 2000 of their customers, which would be people who believe everything KF tell them I suppose..

Reply to
Mike P

It would be quite interesting to know the comparable circulation figures of Car Mechanic, now as against say, 30 years ago. My bet would be that it's well down.

Reply to
Andy Cap

No, they don't, which is why I pointed out that an oil change on a mocern car can be trickier than an old car. most modern cars also are very low at the front which precludes the easy use of ramps. Some use Torx oil drain plugs which are now becoming problemmatic, and you need to keep several different spare types. Many oil filters require special tools to change correctly. So no, even an oil change can now be a problem to do.

Reply to
Mrcheerful

It may be easy to diagnose a problem on a new car, but try repairing it! Recently I had a clutch slave cylinder blow on a Rover 75. When this happened years ago with my Ford Cortina, 20 minutes later it was repaired with parts brought from local shops. The Rover a right off, gone to the scrap yard. Why? cause the whole car has to be dismantled to get to it, outside DIY repair and quoted from £800-£1100 to get it done. Bring back the Morris 1000, I say.

Reply to
RD

If you have a modern car, it's worth investing in an OBDII cable and the relevant software - 3rd party offerings are available for most popular brands.

If you ahve VAG-COM, you can wind the rear pistons back in to replace the pads. Even Thick Fuck have the correct software to do it these days.

Reply to
SteveH
[...]

Only the early Smart cars have no drain plug; the later ones do.

There is a modified sump with a drain plug incorporated available for early cars for 58UKP.

FWIW, I'm with the school of thought that says in general, routine servicing is much less demanding on modern cars, if only from the POV of the increased intervals.

Older cars usually had intervals of 3,000 miles; you would be doing four services a year if you did average miles, rather than one.

When you factor in things like changing oil viscosity to suit summer or winter, and the fact that most cars needed the anti-freeze replaced every year, things are much easier now.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

No it doesn't.

Reply to
Ret.

I'm sure that it is - but that, I would suggest, is more down to the comparative affluence of today's motorists compared to, say, 30 or 40 years ago. People are prepared to pay ridiculous prices for abysmally poor garage servicing today!

Reply to
Ret.

How the hell did reps etc cope back then? - that would be one service a month for a lot of people, if not more!

Reply to
SteveH

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Given most people only own one car then that's still only one torx plug. And if you've got an early smart car you just buy a vacuum extractor, that's easier than pissing around underneath the car.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

Yes, it was.

Reply to
Duncan Wood

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