Hacker News Reader

Well, increasingly not even independent mechanics can fix various parts of cars, let alone enthusiasts with only cheap tools.

View on HN

and a lot of that is by design, which is sad, and also is why I am buying older cars.

Amen to that. I am seriously thinking about going out and buying a 1975-1985 or so Chevy C-10 pickup with a small block V8. Those things are dead simple to work on, parts are cheap and plentiful and readily available, and there's plenty of room in the engine compartment to get in there and work.

Contrast that with my 2000 Ford Expedition where you have to jack the truck up and crawl underneath just to change spark plugs. Never mind the need for more specialized tools when you're dealing with fuel injection and messing with the ECM, etc.

Yeah, I think it's time to go back to older cars. I want something I can work on myself without needing a $5,000 tool that I'll use once, and that you probably can't buy in the first place. :-(

Reply on news.ycombinator.com