Percentage of people that do their own vehicle maintenance at home.

[road_rascal]

I do most of most routine maintenance either at my work (heated garage with plenty of tools, floor jacks and jack stands) or in my garage at the cabin (same amount of tools but no heat). We currently live in a townhouse and the garage is too small for any big projects, although I did replace the spark plugs in my wife's Equinox last year but that only took 15 minutes.

 

[Torrid]

I was thinking that first of all, very few, to answer the question. There’s nobody at work that I can have a conversation with about fixing cars. Very few have a vehicle out of warranty.

Progress is changing things. I now have been exposed to AGVs, and the system that controls them.

Yesterday my son and I got to see behind the scenes at an ice rink. We saw a Blackstone Fireball skate sharpening machine. I googled it and it’s $18k. One of its selling points is you don’t need to keep training associates on how to sharpen skates.

So progress on purpose is eliminating the need for humans to know how to do things. But, what if it’s their livelihood?

We continue to lose skills by nature of reliable, convenient technology. Sure it can make our lives easier, but if no one has a reason to learn that skill, the skill slowly gets lost. There might be something I haven't done in years that I'd be able to stumble along and get back into practice on if I needed it, but that doesn't help someone that's never done whatever that skill was in the first place.

 

[Rmay635703]

I was thinking that first of all, very few, to answer the question.
So progress on purpose is eliminating the need for humans to know how to do things. But, what if it’s their livelihood?

Welcome to ideocracy, worse now you need access to specialized software, usually hacked to do basic things with many cars.

The Volt honestly isn’t complex to repair but you need to own a Russian windows 2k laptop and dongle to keep one running once it’s of the age the battery gets tired

 

[Pew]

In my eyes it doesn't matter if people do it themselves or not; they either do it or pay someone else to do it. If it doesn't get done or if it breaks from lack of maintenance then it wasn't needed or deserved in the first place.

(That goes for everything.)

 

[eljefino]

Yesterday my son and I got to see behind the scenes at an ice rink. We saw a Blackstone Fireball skate sharpening machine. I googled it and it’s $18k. One of its selling points is you don’t need to keep training associates on how to sharpen skates.

So progress on purpose is eliminating the need for humans to know how to do things. But, what if it’s their livelihood?

This is on purpose. I worked Master Control at a TV station. When I went into the business it was a craft-- we switched everything "by hand" and had all sorts of engineering options to improve picture quality. It devolved as automation crept into the business, taking a big step going from NTSC to high-definition. Management loved getting rid of the "invisible cost." Near the end I was just a poorly paid IT guy dealing with robot overlords.

But if you look at marketing materials for, say, a wheel alignment machine, they'll mention how easy they are to use for idiots. So your local tire store can offer "free alignment checks" and the computer screens show the tech what jam nut to spin off, and what tie rod to turn this-clockwise to make things right. The highly visible implication of course is you can hire "kids" for cheap with this one capital investment.

 

[tedsweet]

WALMART MANAGER told me derease in auto section is due to thetft. many items are in locked cases

 

[oilfan99]

Advanced Auto Parts claimed part of the reason for their upcoming closures were people not DIY anymore and cars becoming too complex.

 

[Torrid]

Advanced Auto Parts claimed part of the reason for their upcoming closures were people not DIY anymore and cars becoming too complex.

I wonder what they're doing wrong then? Every time I go into O'Reilly's here usually for detailing products these days I'm never the only one in the store and there's people looking up specific parts. AutoZone is next door and Napa is 1/4 mile down the road. I don't know about Napa as I've only been in there once, but AutoZone and O'Reilly's seem to be regularly busy.

 

[Pew]

I wonder what they're doing wrong then? Every time I go into O'Reilly's here usually for detailing products these days I'm never the only one in the store and there's people looking up specific parts. AutoZone is next door and Napa is 1/4 mile down the road. I don't know about Napa as I've only been in there once, but AutoZone and O'Reilly's seem to be regularly busy.

I think this would be a great time to bust out some GIS info. I wonder if they for that data public somewhere.

 

[Lyman]

I live in a mobile home Park—probably the nicest one in the city. I do all my own work in my driveway, up to heavy suspension work. I am not able to do that due to some past injuries. When I slide one of my shed doors open you will see a roll-away toolbox inside. My Park manager is a DIY guy and has zero problems with it even though it's against the rules. I've been here 9 years and I see others doing the same. I have even seen a guy with the wheels off for a week. He covered it up with a car cover when he was not working on it. Around here DIY is alive and well. I have a lot of my coworkers ask me how to do certain jobs on their vehicles also.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

Is it just my perception or does it seem like fewer people are handling their own oil changes and vehicle maintenance at home ? In this crowd it seems pretty high but have the normal people moved more to having it done by a shop ?

I think you really are on to something.

I recall that I would always see folks working on their own cars , trucks and even boats in their yards or drive ways etc..... (like I did and lots of guys I know did also) when we were younger of course.

Guys with their friends or sons doing brake jobs or oil changes. I sometimes even saw folks with small lifts swapping engines or doing tranny work. Brother in law and I did some of that too at our houses in the yards before we both had our shops.

These days, I would bet if I drove all around in a five or more miles radius from the house , from what I have seen the past 10 yrs or so that I may find very few folks doing any type of auto work at home. Why not? Good question with probably lots of reasons.

 

[Brett776]

I changed my own oil, spark plugs, etc until my mid 30s. Back then I had less money and no kids. Now I have more money, live in the burbs, and have 2 kids under 5 yo. Now I just pay for it, I value the time more and the garage is packed enough with kids stuff. I still change out the air filter and wiper blades though.
If I ever move back to a place with land and space maybe I’ll change my mind. 100 bucks or so twice a year isn’t so bad for oil changes.

 

[dlundblad]

I do all my own maintenance if I’m up for the task. (This isn’t saying much though because the only newer vehicle I have is an 5th Gen 4R. It’s not exactly difficult nor has it needed much.) Engine or transmission rebuilds are a bit over my head, but I’d entertain doing the work on a non DD.

AAP recently had many store closures and blamed new vehicles and that their owners don’t do their own maintenance. I don’t know what their sales were in comparison to Oreilly or AZ, but I do know for a while, AAP has been slowly disappearing from this area for the last 5 years.

 

[John105]

This is on purpose. I worked Master Control at a TV station. When I went into the business it was a craft-- we switched everything "by hand" and had all sorts of engineering options to improve picture quality. It devolved as automation crept into the business, taking a big step going from NTSC to high-definition. Management loved getting rid of the "invisible cost." Near the end I was just a poorly paid IT guy dealing with robot overlords.

But if you look at marketing materials for, say, a wheel alignment machine, they'll mention how easy they are to use for idiots. So your local tire store can offer "free alignment checks" and the computer screens show the tech what jam nut to spin off, and what tie rod to turn this-clockwise to make things right. The highly visible implication of course is you can hire "kids" for cheap with this one capital investment.

I experienced what you did in my career. I started as a "phone guy." I was trained at and by Lucent Technologies. This was hot stuff in the mid 90's and with the stock, technicians were buying new Corvettes, boats, retiring early, and were generally happy all the time. It was a niche and imho proprietary by design. Well, by 2015 it came to a screeching halt--cos threw out this expensive technology and one of the selling points on the cloud and subscription based providers was that you can get rid of your in house staff (six figures times often 6 or 7).

Again my point is tech is designed to replace humans, that's how the ROI is done. Today, a co will spend a mil. dollars to enable voice with the tech that humans use. Imagine what they're willing to spend to get rid of the humans. And to their point, humans are getting lazier as well, shopping at Costco on co. time is applauded, not scorned today.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

In general. We are ALL are very lucky as motorist these days due to the so many innovations and improvements in newer vehicles thru say.... the last 30 yrs or so. These better built vehicles, most of us are owing now could certainly be another reason we not seeing too many working on their own. Simply = far less repairs needed , unless one has habits of "dogging them" or ignores the few predictive & preventive maintenance items the manufacturers call for.

 

[zzyzzx]

But if you look at marketing materials for, say, a wheel alignment machine, they'll mention how easy they are to use for idiots. So your local tire store can offer "free alignment checks" and the computer screens show the tech what jam nut to spin off, and what tie rod to turn this-clockwise to make things right. The highly visible implication of course is you can hire "kids" for cheap with this one capital investment.

Not kids, it will be an adult who does not speak English. Yes, this is based on personal experience.

 

[John105]

Not kids, it will be an adult who does not speak English. Yes, this is based on personal experience.

I wonder if the guide also cautions techs that if a nut is frozen, when it breaks free, their tool can potentially rip out a sensor wire. It should then have instructions on how to cover up the mistake and blame the customer. BMW had it in 2016 but maybe all makes have it now.

 

[64bawagon]

I think you really are on to something.

I recall that I would always see folks working on their own cars , trucks and even boats in their yards or drive ways etc..... (like I did and lots of guys I know did also) when we were younger of course.

Guys with their friends or sons doing brake jobs or oil changes. I sometimes even saw folks with small lifts swapping engines or doing tranny work. Brother in law and I did some of that too at our houses in the yards before we both had our shops.

These days, I would bet if I drove all around in a five or more miles radius from the house , from what I have seen the past 10 yrs or so that I may find very few folks doing any type of auto work at home. Why not? Good question with probably lots of reasons.

Strictly anecdotal but I think some folks have bought into the "factory trained" BS line at the dealer and so they believe that an oil change there is superior. I have had a couple people that I offered an oil change to tell me they will take it to the dealer and instead of paying just for materials (likely better than the dealer uses) pay 3 times as much. I grew up in a pretty frugal family and I find it almost humorous.

 

[Capt W]

Self-sufficiency is a lost art.

I think this is the best answer. The U.S is now full of beta-types who are neither capable nor interested in doing things for themselves. The whole "I can just pay for it" notion would horrify our forebears.

This extends to other tasks besides vehicle maintenance. In my neighborhood about 80% of residents use lawn care services (for pretty small lawns), order home-delivered fast food almost daily, and (quite recently) pay handymen to install their exterior Christmas decorations.

How lazy have we become? And the way people fritter their money away, is it really any wonder why most Americans can't write a thousand dollar check in the event of emergency?

You'll now excuse me...I have to finish installing the roof on my new patio I designed and built myself...

 

[eljefino]

I do everything but my state inspections.

Notably, I mount and balance tires, and program their TPMS sensors.

This is great, I don't have to put up with tire shop shenanigans and "we know what's best for yous."