guys over 50 doing maintenance

It is just a number. People have injuries etc. that prevents them from work at much younger age.
Then on other hand, you can go to some local ski place here, and always find some 80+ year old guy drinking beer at the bar after doing couple of hours of black slopes.
I am 45 and I try to do as much as possible. But some things, I am not pushing it. Tiguan needed new left strut bearing. Decided to replace all struts and shocks. I am not compressing spring with some cheap stuff, and paying for some expensive tools doesn’t make sense. So, I gave local shop that specializes in suspension work to do the job.
 
Decided recently that I am only doing 3 more oil changes before I pass on the ramps. That will be the last of my inventory. By then I'll be 72 maybe 73. The last three changes have resulted in neck and shoulder discomfort, that lasts for 2-3 days. By then who knows how my currently good overall physical condition will be
 
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52 and still do all my own work. Yeah I feel it the next day, but at least I know it was done right. Really hard to find competent mechanics around here, and an oil change at the dealer is like $100 for our mazdas. I will keep wrenching on our own stuff as long as possible.
 
At 68 I find I don’t have the energy to do as much as I want to do on a daily basis vs when I was younger. The desire is there and I can pretty much do everything, though I am careful not to exceed or get close to my limitations like cleaning the gutters on the roof. Life is too short to act your age.
 
Just helped my 63 y/o neighbor install a Subaru accessory trailer hitch on their new '25 Crosstrek. When I handed him the torque wrench and told him the torque spec for the four fasteners that secure the hitch to the frame were 110 ft-lbs. (he didn't have his peepers available :oops:), he managed to get them "good-and-tight", as he didn't have the strength to make the 1/2" Craftsman Torque Wrench click.
 
This thread is making me feel old, turning 65 in a few weeks! Been dealing with health challenges for many years, the worst of which is severe arthritis. I've made the conscious decision to push through and try not to slow down too much. Bought a new Honda Pilot about six weeks ago and have changed the oil twice already. Also, installed a factory trailer hitch and wiring harness... by myself. Yes, the next couple of days were a bit more difficult, but it is what it is. No doubt being a cheap b-tard when it comes to paying others to do work I know I could still do plays into it. If the job isn't done right, I know who to blame, although my wife will deny she had anything to do with it. That leaves the dogs.

I am blessed to still be able to do as much as I do. Although I'm slower than I used to be, I can walk (sometimes pulling up lame), have sight (with the help of glasses), hear (with the help of hearing aids), etc. I truly am blessed. Many others are not as fortunate.
 
Does the 81 year old mechanic at work count? He is an interesting fella but he’s made it this far in his career. Says he doesn’t believe in retirement or saving up any big money. The only time I saw him get hurt was last year during his 4th of July party he lit a Roman candle in his hand and burnt the heck out of his hand and that was just stupid. He is an interesting old man with lots of strange thoughts on stuff but he does work hard but very slowly which I don’t fault him for that he goes at a pace he can go. He tells us multiple times that one day we will all walk in the shop and find him laying there dead because he practically lives there. I can’t share much of what he believes because most of it has to do with women but I can tell you that he bought his wife on the internet in 1997 and had her shipped here from the Philippines and has documentation for it. And also when he gets mad he says he is going to throw an apple at someone which is funny as heck.
 
I'll be 56 next week. I still enjoy doing my own work, it just gets tough. Both knees have been operated on but arthritis / crepitus just adds daily pains. Most of my cartilage is gone on both knees. Someday I'll be in the new knees group. I hate spending money to pay someone for what I can do (or should be able to do).

Doing the weed whacking, cutting grass on my 1/2 acre definitely hurts the knees. My wife helped a lot today by power washing the pool ladder and back patio. I felt bad I didn't have the energy / time to do it. Her knees and other issues are worse than mine. She was feeling ambitious but definitely is feeling it now.

I need to try to do at least some of the things each day. Lots of branches to trim and clean up. I hate starting and not completing a task but something like that I need to be Ok with only doing 1-2 trees/bushes and then stop. I work nights so I'm in bed by 2pm everyday which just kills a lot of motivation.
 
I’m 61 and retired, and I’m at an odd point where I’m comfortable enough to pay someone to do stuff but I have the time and am interested in learning how to do new stuff. I always did oil, fluids, plugs and brakes but recently I did front and rear struts on my Rustoleum xB. I think having five vehicles is contributing to that LOL.

If I know I’m facing a hard day’s work that involves a lot of lifting and crawling I steal one of my wife’s Celebrex the evening before and down a couple of Tylenol PM before I go to bed. The combination really helps a lot, so much so that I’m going to ask my doctor to write a prescription for me at my next checkup.

My current rule is that I’ll pay someone to any sort of moderately complex work on my two good vehicles but I’ll do almost everything on the three beaters unless it’s just too complex or too tedious. I paid a professional $80:to install a new ignition switch on my 98 Chevy and I consider that money well spent. Same for replacing the belt tensioner on my Mazda. I didn’t want to be the guy banging around right next to the AC lines.
 
Will turn 67 next month retired 5 years ago, still doing 22 car's from friend and relatives doing basic maintainnace now with A Fib probably to stop sooner or later and to drop it it to maybe 8 car's. Just love helping out and fun around car's.Any big major job on I have mechanic friend to help out.I hate to see they paid dearly and most of the time crappy work even some of dealers work,
 
bilibako2 said:
Will turn 67 next month retired 5 years ago, still doing 22 car's from friend and relatives doing basic maintainnace now with A Fib probably to stop sooner or later and to drop it it to maybe 8 car's. Just love helping out and fun around car's.Any big major job on I have mechanic friend to help out.I hate to see they paid dearly and most of the time crappy work even some of dealers work,
Click to expand...
Sad but true. Anytime I try to refer something outside my wheelhouse, the "experts" do a worse job than I would with minimal knowledge (and ten minutes of online research). I can usually find the non-conventional fix online and say with a sigh, "Just bring it me so I can fix it correctly" -- after the experts screwed it up and charged $$$$$

Dealers can be the worst because they're unable to consider anything not stated or issued from on-high, and there can be a real hubris there, too
 
At 77 I only do the fluids and oil changes at needed. Put a Fumoto valve on the Subie so everything is easy. Almost takes me longer to get down on and up from the garage floor than the oil change itself. The old bones don't like to cooperate.
 
B6_Dolphin said:
Just helped my 63 y/o neighbor install a Subaru accessory trailer hitch on their new '25 Crosstrek. When I handed him the torque wrench and told him the torque spec for the four fasteners that secure the hitch to the frame were 110 ft-lbs. (he didn't have his peepers available :oops:), he managed to get them "good-and-tight", as he didn't have the strength to make the 1/2" Craftsman Torque Wrench click.
Click to expand...
U can buy a 110# torque stick for $15 and then use an impact wrench.
 
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