Younger people don't look after cars.
Discussion
Or at least hardly any of them seem to 
If it isn't due to sheer f
king ignorance on the need for servicing, then it's because they genuinely don't give a st about anything. Not even servicing, just the most basic of bloody maintenance like checking the tyre pressures or oil. They never do it. I know people who've owned a car for months without opening the bonnet once. I also know people who've only opened their bonnet to show off their awesome 1.4 ecotec, because it's the pinnacle of motoring engineering 
Now, is this due to a cultural change of late or has this always been the case? A lot of the older blokes I know tend to be at least reasonably good with getting their car serviced, as are many women. But it does seem like the only people who bother in my age range are people who are actually into cars (not in a "I put on a big exhaust tip so it's awesomezzzzzzzzz" way, which automatically excludes 99.9999% of people my age who claim they are into cars). If it was a money thing, I could understand, but it isn't (above anything else, if it was an issue and they actually cared they'd learn to do it themselves, which I get the impression was the done thing not THAT long ago). It is a genuine concept in their tiny little minds that it doesn't matter, and if the car breaks... oh well, they can get another one.
I look after my £200 banger more than they do to any of their three grand 04-plate superminis funded by the bank of mum and dad. I do some work to it myself, and I get the full services done at my local indy. I don't drive like a in it, because I don't want to bend it and subsequently get raped on insurance (a mythical beast among some individuals I know, but that's another fking story). Yet they don't even see fit to look after what is for all intents and purposes a very expensive gift. It's like they take it as a given that there'll be another when they either break it through driving stupidly or complete mechanical neglect.
The thing is, I don't even live in a wealthy area and mummy-daddy culture is prevalent. Thinking about it, the only other guy I know who properly services and looks after his car bought it himself, with money he earned from a part-time job. It's a Corsa C, but with no chav tat on it, and isn't driven stupidly.
And another couple of things this mixture of ignoramii and wkers do that piss me of. Thrashing the engine from cold. Makes me cringe, but the slightest query as to whether that's a wise move and I'M the one talking out of my arse. Just as bad are the sheer number of people who are convinced that insurance fronting is legal Like, utterly utterly convinced and apparently (once again) I'M the silly for having mine in my own name. I bloody feel like one, the premium I pay compared to most of them.
Please someone tell me this is just the area I live in? That one day, I'll be able to move somewhere where people actually care about things and have brains and insurance fraud isn't the standard way of doing things?
Has this always been the case or is it really just my generation?
It's a st rant, and I apologise for that, but I've just properly realised that I have absolutely zero hope for my generation. It isn't just with cars, it is with treatment of everything. If they aren't bona fide wkers who know that their manner of treatment is bad for the item in question, then they are just so oblivious to how ANYTHING works in the world then it genuinely doesn't even register.
If it isn't due to sheer f
king ignorance on the need for servicing, then it's because they genuinely don't give a st about anything. Not even servicing, just the most basic of bloody maintenance like checking the tyre pressures or oil. They never do it. I know people who've owned a car for months without opening the bonnet once. I also know people who've only opened their bonnet to show off their awesome 1.4 ecotec, because it's the pinnacle of motoring engineering Now, is this due to a cultural change of late or has this always been the case? A lot of the older blokes I know tend to be at least reasonably good with getting their car serviced, as are many women. But it does seem like the only people who bother in my age range are people who are actually into cars (not in a "I put on a big exhaust tip so it's awesomezzzzzzzzz" way, which automatically excludes 99.9999% of people my age who claim they are into cars). If it was a money thing, I could understand, but it isn't (above anything else, if it was an issue and they actually cared they'd learn to do it themselves, which I get the impression was the done thing not THAT long ago). It is a genuine concept in their tiny little minds that it doesn't matter, and if the car breaks... oh well, they can get another one.
I look after my £200 banger more than they do to any of their three grand 04-plate superminis funded by the bank of mum and dad. I do some work to it myself, and I get the full services done at my local indy. I don't drive like a
in it, because I don't want to bend it and subsequently get raped on insurance (a mythical beast among some individuals I know, but that's another fking story). Yet they don't even see fit to look after what is for all intents and purposes a very expensive gift. It's like they take it as a given that there'll be another when they either break it through driving stupidly or complete mechanical neglect.The thing is, I don't even live in a wealthy area and mummy-daddy culture is prevalent. Thinking about it, the only other guy I know who properly services and looks after his car bought it himself, with money he earned from a part-time job. It's a Corsa C, but with no chav tat on it, and isn't driven stupidly.
And another couple of things this mixture of ignoramii and w
kers do that piss me of. Thrashing the engine from cold. Makes me cringe, but the slightest query as to whether that's a wise move and I'M the one talking out of my arse. Just as bad are the sheer number of people who are convinced that insurance fronting is legal Like, utterly utterly convinced and apparently (once again) I'M the silly for having mine in my own name. I bloody feel like one, the premium I pay compared to most of them.Please someone tell me this is just the area I live in? That one day, I'll be able to move somewhere where people actually care about things and have brains and insurance fraud isn't the standard way of doing things?
Has this always been the case or is it really just my generation? It's a s
t rant, and I apologise for that, but I've just properly realised that I have absolutely zero hope for my generation. It isn't just with cars, it is with treatment of everything. If they aren't bona fide wkers who know that their manner of treatment is bad for the item in question, then they are just so oblivious to how ANYTHING works in the world then it genuinely doesn't even register. Blue Meanie said:
Maybe it's because they get charged so much bloody money for insurance that they can't afford to do bits and bobs on their cars?
But it doesn't seem to be a lack of money; it just seems to be genuine ignorance. The whole reason this came about was because I've had my car serviced today, and the number of people who've asked me why is depressing. Not just because the car's cheap and they don't see it as worth servicing because of that (I can just about understand that view, even though I don't agree with it), but asking why would a service even benefit it.Edited by vit4 on Tuesday 2nd November 02:03
vit4 said:
Blue Meanie said:
Maybe it's because they get charged so much bloody money for insurance that they can't afford to do bits and bobs on their cars?
But it doesn't seem to be a lack of money; it just seems to be genuine ignorance. The whole reason this came about was because I've had my car serviced today, and the number of people who've asked me why is depressing. Not just because the car's cheap, but why would a service even benefit it.
Oddly enough you have 2 'old' cars in your garage, and I presume they were tatty at some point.
Edited by Blue Meanie on Tuesday 2nd November 02:04
Perhaps it is because of modern cars looking more like they have big plastic boxes powering them and their computer/electronic systems scaring people off tinkering with them. Or maybe it is that more people simply see newer cars as disposable white goods.
When I was between 16 and 21 me and most of my mates helped each other with little jobs on each others cars to keep them running as most of us could only afford old sheds, and I had some uni mates with access to a barn and lots of tools meaning we played around with engine swaps and stripping old motors for spare parts or to modify boring stuff.
Now the guys who were into serious modding have either got very good engineering jobs or have moved on to family life. The group of mates I spent time keeping cars running with all did the same as me and got jobs and bought things that needed little or no tinkering so the same social aspect of modding or maintaining cars just wasn't part of our lives.
I do think lots of young people do pay proper attention to their cars though, most visible are those involved in Japanese or VW car scenes but lots of others too, its just that the ones who are dumb or don't care are usually more obvious.
When I was between 16 and 21 me and most of my mates helped each other with little jobs on each others cars to keep them running as most of us could only afford old sheds, and I had some uni mates with access to a barn and lots of tools meaning we played around with engine swaps and stripping old motors for spare parts or to modify boring stuff.
Now the guys who were into serious modding have either got very good engineering jobs or have moved on to family life. The group of mates I spent time keeping cars running with all did the same as me and got jobs and bought things that needed little or no tinkering so the same social aspect of modding or maintaining cars just wasn't part of our lives.
I do think lots of young people do pay proper attention to their cars though, most visible are those involved in Japanese or VW car scenes but lots of others too, its just that the ones who are dumb or don't care are usually more obvious.
Who cares? It's a car, not a pet. What is a hobby or interest, maybe even an obsession for some, is a means of getting from A > B for others.
I've had plenty of cars I've not given a toss about, despite being a 'petrolhead' with a background in mechanical engineering. Cars can be disposable white goods to some people. Big deal.
I'm more purplexed by people who need to re-calibrate their sense of outrage.
I've had plenty of cars I've not given a toss about, despite being a 'petrolhead' with a background in mechanical engineering. Cars can be disposable white goods to some people. Big deal.
I'm more purplexed by people who need to re-calibrate their sense of outrage.
Generally, I suspect that fewer folks are brought up with a "hands on" attitude.
I'm probably two generations removed from the OP, meaning, from a child onwards I was always making and mending stuff, as did many others, such that when motorcyles and cars came on the scene, it was only natural to maintain them myself.
I'm probably two generations removed from the OP, meaning, from a child onwards I was always making and mending stuff, as did many others, such that when motorcyles and cars came on the scene, it was only natural to maintain them myself.
Stu R said:
Who cares? It's a car, not a pet. What is a hobby or interest, maybe even an obsession for some, is a means of getting from A > B for others.
I've had plenty of cars I've not given a toss about, despite being a 'petrolhead' with a background in mechanical engineering. Cars can be disposable white goods to some people. Big deal.
I'm more purplexed by people who need to re-calibrate their sense of outrage.
The point I'm vaguely trying to get at, admittedly in a very bad round-the-houses way is that it seems just a ridiculous number of 'yoof' don't seem to treat ANYTHING with respect. Cars are what I naturally notice the most, but it goes for anything; mobile phones and computers, for instance. It seems to either be a lack of respect for said object - usually it has to be said conjoined with a 'mum and dad will replace it' attitude - or a genuine oblivion to the fact that you need to look after things in order to keep them working. The sheer number of people who seem to fall into one of these categories is worrying as much as anything else, and that's coming from someone within the age range in question. These are the people who have to run this country in the coming decades, and they either can't tell their elbow from their arse or don't give a sI've had plenty of cars I've not given a toss about, despite being a 'petrolhead' with a background in mechanical engineering. Cars can be disposable white goods to some people. Big deal.
I'm more purplexed by people who need to re-calibrate their sense of outrage.
t about anything. Obviously, there are people like this in all age ranges and always have been, but going by the older people I know of different generations, it is a hell of a lot more prevalent nowadays, and seems to be getting ever more so. Whether this is just the picture of the area I live in or is an accurate portrayal of the country as a whole, I don't know. But it's how it seems from my eyes.I'm not even making sense to myself anymore so I'm gonna have to sleep on it, but oh well
Reading back over my op it didn't quite convey the message I intended to, so I hope that this makes it a little clearer, and that it isn't solely car-related.What you're noticing is a technology led culture shift that has been going on constantly since mass production began. You just happened to notice it because it relates to something you have an interest in.
Things are disposable because they're cheap to make and buy - cars, appliances, furniture, buildings, computers, etc.
Paying for people's time, however, is expensive. Hence the death of so many industries creating bespoke stuff, and the rise of automated manufacturing processes.
Who spends a couple of hundred quid on parts and labour to resurrect a dead fridge when you can buy a new one instead? Then there's the fact that people like to have new things, youth having a higher percentage disposable income, micro-components being non-serviceable... it's kind of self explanatory.
People still fix things, I fix a lot of stuff and enjoy it. But if my fridge breaks I'm not going to bother, I'm going to replace it with a new one. I won't cry when doing so, well not unless I smash myself in the knackers lifting it out of the truck or something.
Things are disposable because they're cheap to make and buy - cars, appliances, furniture, buildings, computers, etc.
Paying for people's time, however, is expensive. Hence the death of so many industries creating bespoke stuff, and the rise of automated manufacturing processes.
Who spends a couple of hundred quid on parts and labour to resurrect a dead fridge when you can buy a new one instead? Then there's the fact that people like to have new things, youth having a higher percentage disposable income, micro-components being non-serviceable... it's kind of self explanatory.
People still fix things, I fix a lot of stuff and enjoy it. But if my fridge breaks I'm not going to bother, I'm going to replace it with a new one. I won't cry when doing so, well not unless I smash myself in the knackers lifting it out of the truck or something.
Edited by Stu R on Tuesday 2nd November 02:51
I agree with you VIT4. Young'uns on the whole are spoilt rotten these days. The girlfriends son has an Xbox, Playstation3, Wii, Nintendo DS, a wall full of games and an HD tv to play them on, oh and 50mb broadband for hassle free on-line gaming. He also has a laptop and a decent phone, but all this is still sometimes not enough, he still *needs* another game or something. It's unbelievable what kids have come to expect.
When I was younger, I had a battery operated single speaker radio which was handed down through the family and er...that was it! I've never had any handouts and I've had to stand on my own two feet since I was 15 or so. It taught me a lot about the value of money and I still think of phones and the like as being luxuries. That may sound strange, but my family always struggled and having a house phone in the Seventies was a luxury!
Anyway, enough of my rambling. I had an old nail of a Datsun 120Y for my first car which cost me about £200, and I had to insure it myself too. I tried to look after it the best I could (serviced it myself) while my mates were flying around in brand new AXgt's and R5GT turbos (which they didn't really look after either) bought and insured by Mom and Dad. Sure I was jealous, jealous as hell!
I knew it was better to stand on my own two feet though, keep my nose clean and build up some ncb and one day, I would have my day. I'm still waiting for that day mind...
When I was younger, I had a battery operated single speaker radio which was handed down through the family and er...that was it! I've never had any handouts and I've had to stand on my own two feet since I was 15 or so. It taught me a lot about the value of money and I still think of phones and the like as being luxuries. That may sound strange, but my family always struggled and having a house phone in the Seventies was a luxury!
Anyway, enough of my rambling
. I had an old nail of a Datsun 120Y for my first car which cost me about £200, and I had to insure it myself too. I tried to look after it the best I could (serviced it myself) while my mates were flying around in brand new AXgt's and R5GT turbos (which they didn't really look after either) bought and insured by Mom and Dad. Sure I was jealous, jealous as hell!I knew it was better to stand on my own two feet though, keep my nose clean and build up some ncb and one day, I would have my day. I'm still waiting for that day mind...
7/10s of all mini-vans in the U.S. have blown head gaskets (just a guess) and the 30 & 40somethings driving them don't care. And they won't clean up the baby vomit, musty sleeping bags or thier rock collections before they bring them in for a recall notice that was sent to them last year...
....how young were we talking anyhow?
....how young were we talking anyhow?
I recently raised the issue of young'uns today not buying their own car, or insuring it themselves and was poo-pooed by a lot of parents with excuses such as "they can't afford it" or "newer cars are safer than old bangers."
My first car was a Mini 1000cc which cost £600 of my hard, apprentice-earned wages. My parents could have bought it for me or even a much newer/"safer" car, but it would have taught me very little. The lack of outright grip, but superb dynamics taught me how to hustle a FWD car through the twisties and the fact it was a BL car meant I had to work on it myself or I wasn't getting to work in the morning. Yes it was unpleasant bleeding a clutch or changing a leaking water pump, etc on a dark, cold, rainy January night but this baptism of fire, with help and advice from dad, really taught me how a car works.
My second car was a GTM Coupé, a kit based on a Mini and that needed more fettling than the thing originally thrown together by the Yam-Yams. When the clutch went on my third car, a Capri 2.0S, my mate and I promptly dropped the gearbox on his drive (literally, as it turned out he didn't have it supported on the jack like he thought) and got on with replacing it. These things were common amongst all of my mates. Yes we came from middle class backgrounds, but rather than just throw money at us our dads would give us a hand fixing it. All this, and I'm still not quite 30 years old.
Fast forward a decade and I think this kind of mentality has all but gone. I actually worked with a colleague who took his car for a service because it ran out of windscreen fluid, and had an ex-girlfriend who asked me why her oil light kept coming on around corners. 3 litres of oil later and she could turn the stereo down as the tappets stopped sounding like a skeleton w*nking in a biscuit tin.
The sad fact is most kids these days wouldn't know a cambelt from a Gucci belt and they'd only ever spend daddy's money on the latter.
My first car was a Mini 1000cc which cost £600 of my hard, apprentice-earned wages. My parents could have bought it for me or even a much newer/"safer" car, but it would have taught me very little. The lack of outright grip, but superb dynamics taught me how to hustle a FWD car through the twisties and the fact it was a BL car meant I had to work on it myself or I wasn't getting to work in the morning. Yes it was unpleasant bleeding a clutch or changing a leaking water pump, etc on a dark, cold, rainy January night but this baptism of fire, with help and advice from dad, really taught me how a car works.
My second car was a GTM Coupé, a kit based on a Mini and that needed more fettling than the thing originally thrown together by the Yam-Yams. When the clutch went on my third car, a Capri 2.0S, my mate and I promptly dropped the gearbox on his drive (literally, as it turned out he didn't have it supported on the jack like he thought) and got on with replacing it. These things were common amongst all of my mates. Yes we came from middle class backgrounds, but rather than just throw money at us our dads would give us a hand fixing it. All this, and I'm still not quite 30 years old.
Fast forward a decade and I think this kind of mentality has all but gone. I actually worked with a colleague who took his car for a service because it ran out of windscreen fluid, and had an ex-girlfriend who asked me why her oil light kept coming on around corners. 3 litres of oil later and she could turn the stereo down as the tappets stopped sounding like a skeleton w*nking in a biscuit tin.
The sad fact is most kids these days wouldn't know a cambelt from a Gucci belt and they'd only ever spend daddy's money on the latter.
Edited by BrewsterBear on Tuesday 2nd November 07:17
It isn't just the young believe me..... a great majority of UK car owners never check the oil/water/tyres between services or MOT's.....
The latest seems to be that the get the car "fixed up" at MOT time and all is okay till the next one where Mr Garage man will sort everything but give them an unreasonable bill for the work needed......
Thought for the day........ Japanese and European car owners treat having a car as a privilege where as UK owners treat having a car as a necessity.... hence the poor maintenance ...... and why I buy Jap grey imports....they are like new motors....
The Japs always do Preventative maintenance not Reactive, meaning if they see anything showing signs of wear they replace the part(s) not When it breaks/wears out.....a lesson to learn..... Did my annual wiper blade change last week....how many of you do that...Change Wiper blades before every winter so that you have a decent set for that time of the year and then your fine for your MOT.... How many change headlight bulbs in pairs when they have a failure?... the list goes on...
The latest seems to be that the get the car "fixed up" at MOT time and all is okay till the next one where Mr Garage man will sort everything but give them an unreasonable bill for the work needed......
Thought for the day........ Japanese and European car owners treat having a car as a privilege where as UK owners treat having a car as a necessity.... hence the poor maintenance ...... and why I buy Jap grey imports....they are like new motors....
The Japs always do Preventative maintenance not Reactive, meaning if they see anything showing signs of wear they replace the part(s) not When it breaks/wears out.....a lesson to learn..... Did my annual wiper blade change last week....how many of you do that...Change Wiper blades before every winter so that you have a decent set for that time of the year and then your fine for your MOT.... How many change headlight bulbs in pairs when they have a failure?... the list goes on...
skene said:
Well if it helps, im extremely proud of my car, it get a full wash and polish every weekend and is garaged during the week because I haven't passed my test. But yes, there is problems with it that I can't afford to fix, doesnt mean I don't want to?
Spoilt brat! We're not saying all young drivers are the same.
I do try to look after my car but by the current mud-splattered look you wouldn't believe it simply because I don't mollycoddle it. I'll quite happily drive it through mud etc to get to marshals posts (being at Abbey Pit Wall for the Britcar made everything and anything I had on me muddy!) because it's doing what it's meant to do. When you're a student as well the time/inclination/money becomes an issue.
The safety thing I think is fair enough. Two things can happen to a less safe car, they either crumple madly (see the old Fiat Scicento thingy) or they don't which as a marshal slightly scares me because the energy that would have been lost when the car crumpled has now probably worked itself out on the driver's organs or the driver. Sonething parents don't want is that call from the emergency services saying that their child got hit and is either suffering organ damage or trapped in their car. I know that was my own parents thinking after seeing some rather nasty accidents involving some of the first car brigade...
I've not had a part time job unfortunately (geographical limitations, university and voluntary work make it hard for me to get one) but I know that my car is not disposable so I treat it like I do my other valuable thing that I own. Annoyingly however some people I know of think that their car is just a thing that their parents will bail them out of should they have an at-fault accident, I don't have that luxury and my parents made that very clear when I first started driving!
N.B. I don't dislike people for having more money (I'll admit I'm lucky to have the parents I do) but I do dislike what it does to some of them...
The safety thing I think is fair enough. Two things can happen to a less safe car, they either crumple madly (see the old Fiat Scicento thingy) or they don't which as a marshal slightly scares me because the energy that would have been lost when the car crumpled has now probably worked itself out on the driver's organs or the driver. Sonething parents don't want is that call from the emergency services saying that their child got hit and is either suffering organ damage or trapped in their car. I know that was my own parents thinking after seeing some rather nasty accidents involving some of the first car brigade...
I've not had a part time job unfortunately (geographical limitations, university and voluntary work make it hard for me to get one) but I know that my car is not disposable so I treat it like I do my other valuable thing that I own. Annoyingly however some people I know of think that their car is just a thing that their parents will bail them out of should they have an at-fault accident, I don't have that luxury and my parents made that very clear when I first started driving!
N.B. I don't dislike people for having more money (I'll admit I'm lucky to have the parents I do) but I do dislike what it does to some of them...
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