Longevity - Lack of

[OldGermanHeaps]

Sorry, but the gist of those posts was just plain untrue. Its a myth that grows everytime someone parrots it without researching. Electronics don't have to mean diy isn't easy and just because some numpties that dont want a job tell you its main dealer only, doesn't mean it is main dealer only.
Diying is easier than ever now in many ways due to the information available on websites and youtube, tools are much cheaper and more easily available, and stuck fastners and corrosion problems are far less than they used to be.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Tuesday 16th January 22:01

[eldar]

OldGermanHeaps said:

Sorry, but the gist of those posts was just plain untrue. Its a myth that grows everytime someone parrots it without researching. Electronics don't have to mean diy isn't easy and just because some numpties that dont want a job tell you its main dealer only, doesn't mean it is main dealer only.
Diying is easier than ever now in many ways due to the information available on websites and youtube, tools are much cheaper and more easily available, and stuck fastners and corrosion problems are far less than they used to be.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Tuesday 16th January 22:01

Broadly correct. However a lot of the modern electrics require coding, often with specific hardware & software as well as the skills needed to do it. A lot of people don't have the knowledge or confidence to do the fixing or diagnosis.

Some of the youtube stuff is just wrong and/or dangerous. For example changing brakes or suspension with the car wobbling around on an old scissor jack.

[OldGermanHeaps]

The hardware is cheap and readily available, and the knowledge to use it can be gained quickly and easily if you actively seek to learn it. Its just a shame when people who haven't tried hard enough loudly spread false information that others just blindly accept. It does mean that some interesting cars are available at mega discounts, but it is saddening to hear the extent people get ripped off for things that can be put right easily and inexpensively, and it does drive a lot of the massive debt that too many people in this country are in.
Yes there are some dodgy tutorials out there amongst the good stuff but it doesn't take a nasa scientist to work out when something is dangerous.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Tuesday 16th January 22:40

[rxe]

Ease of repair depends on the car. My weakness is Alfas, and all of the ECUs have had reading software for years. I don't think the product has got the Giulia onboard yet, but the Giulietta is certainly "open". This makes all of the computer side an absolute walk in the park. Connect cable, fire up laptop and I've got dealer grade diagnostics, all for EUR 50. Without this I'd be hosed. Mechanicals are the same as they've ever been, only modern packaging means you need to invest in low profile tools.

The wife drives a 58 plate 159 - this is considered "new" in our family. My 54 plate 3.2 GT and 53 plate GTA are also fairly new. The 51 plate 156 is "old" and the M reg 155V6 is very old - that has cloth seats for god's sake. My latest 54 plate 3.2 166 has not found its place yet - feels pretty new to me.

[Geekman]

OldGermanHeaps said:

Thats a £50 part from the scrappy and the cable and software to do the coding is under £50 from ebay(carprog can read the old eeprom then dump the contents on the replacement from the scrappy you cant do it with vcds), 45 mins to strip the one from the scrappy, about an hour disassembling both and copying the eeprom over, and about an hour putting it back in your car as you take more care than you do stripping parts in a scrappy. With an hour or 2 reading on the internet and learning some new skills there is no need to get raped just because electrics are scary and complicated. Unfortunately a lot of garage mechanics out there don't want to learn either and just turn the work away in favour of doing stuff that can be done with a couple of spanners and a hammer.
Even if you dont want to learn how to flash an eeprom yourself you can send your old unit to bba and they will do it with a lifetime warranty on the repair for £295, and they can turn it around in under a week, so no worse than audi. Those glass palaces need to be paid for somehow i suppose.

Edited by OldGermanHeaps on Tuesday 16th January 21:00

What's the use in getting a part from a scrappy which is highly likely to fail again, leaving me stranded potentially miles from home? If you google it, you'll see it's a common issue. When getting a part from another source, or repairing this one, as far as I could see, the security system and key needed to be recoded and I can't believe that would be so easy? On top of that, the module is held into the steering column by screws which cannot be undone and need to be cut. They don't make it easy for you, and as I don't have a garage I wouldn't fancy attempting to disassemble the steering column and remove the module at the side of the road.

I'm no stranger to fixing issues on modern cars - I replaced various air suspension parts on my Jags for instance, plus several other items the dealer wanted a large sum of money for, but in this particular case it doesn't seem to be that simple. And if there is some simple workaround which I missed, you can hardly blame me for not being able to fully research everything whilst stranded in my work car park.

My point is that I'm no mechanic, but I know more about cars than a lot of the general public, and am more willing to work on them. So if an issue stumps me, it'll stump the vast majority of people.

[OldGermanHeaps]

No ones blaming you, if you were in a rush you were in a rush but it IS quick and easy and the information is freely available. I amn't particularly clever and I sussed it out easily just from online resources along with cloning peugeot bsi units, reprogramming keys and immobilisers, jobs like that.
Cars end up in the scrappy for loads of reasons. Scrapyard parts do have a small risk attached but if you inspect the parts it isn't likely they will fail any sooner, and the savings are hard to ignore for certain items.

[eldar]

OldGermanHeaps said:

No ones blaming you, if you were in a rush you were in a rush but it IS quick and easy and the information is freely available. I amn't particularly clever and I sussed it out easily just from online resources along with cloning peugeot bsi units, reprogramming keys and immobilisers, jobs like that.
Cars end up in the scrappy for loads of reasons. Scrapyard parts do have a small risk attached but if you inspect the parts it isn't likely they will fail any sooner, and the savings are hard to ignore for certain items.

No problem, you have the ability. Lots of people don't, not the basic grasp of the principles. Could you learn to play the violin in a few hours to a reasonable standard in a couple of days? A few can, most can't, even with helpful youtube stuff.