So if you DIY Everything or damn near it......

[B'stard Child]

So following on from This thread clicky

I've looked at the results (and enjoyed the discussion elements)

29% said - No I DIY everything on my cars:
28% said - It's getting harder but I still DIY

I'm really interested in the age profile for the above two responses as I'm begining to think it may be age group related

I'm not really interested in the age groupings for the answers below - I'll see how this thread goes and maybe give you lovely PH'rs your own poll one day.

20% said - I only DIY a little:
2% said - Probably / Maybe / Unsure:
4% said - It's dying - take it to a garage/specialist:
8% said - I would if I could but I can't:
3% said - Hell Yes:

Note 1 - I am expecting the 6% who voted MX5 to ignore all instructions or requests and vote MX5 again so I've given them the option as that result doesn't mean a thing

Note 2 - if you hadn't voted in the previous Poll and would like to please do.

If you are in the top two answers feel free to add your age grouping here after

So anyone wnat to do a sweep on the results?

Good lord my typing was bad!!

Edited by B'stard Child on Monday 2nd July 13:46

[B'stard Child]

Oh and it's car related DIY not "house improvements and destruction" before the Mods move it to "homes and gardens"

PS nice to see the MX5 Option wasn't wasted

[IWantAVolvo]

Bits and bobs, plug and play (bolt on and off) stuff. Anything to do with the engine though and I'll stay away.

I'm 19 and only know what I've been told from other people. Father isn't a mechanic nor is anyone in my family.

[spoodler]

Shouldn't we all just put "bloody old" as we all are to someone. When I was seventeen I couldn't imagine what it was like being an ancient thirty year old, now I can't remember what it was like...

[kambites]

I'm in my early thirties and I'll try anything on any of our cars that I have the tools for, which is most things. Biggest jobs I've done would be things like head gasket replacement; full engine swaps; suspension rebuilds;...

[B'stard Child]

IWantAVolvo said:

Bits and bobs, plug and play (bolt on and off) stuff. Anything to do with the engine though and I'll stay away.

I'm 19 and only know what I've been told from other people. Father isn't a mechanic nor is anyone in my family.

Good going at 19 but not yet in the top two catagories if you stay away from certain items - like engine

Have a look at the other thread linked in and see what I meant.

Not sure if you can retract a vote

[RWD cossie wil]

31, still love getting my hands dirty! No fun in the winter though

[Twincam16]

I do 'Haynes Manual' stuff related to engine and electrical jobs, plus all the usual maintenance stuff, but I'll fully admit I'm out of my depth with anything involving rusty bodywork, faulty gearboxes or the more complicated bits of engines. I could probably do suspension and brake-related work, but I just don't have the tools or garage space.

So I'd say yes, I am DIY up to a point. However, most classic/kit/homebrew motor sport people I know do far more than me and most other people do far less than me, if anything at all, to the point where they'd get the garage to top up their oil, antifreeze and screenwash.

I'll take a wild guess and suggest I'm fairly typical of most PHers.

[B'stard Child]

spoodler said:

Shouldn't we all just put "bloody old" as we all are to someone. When I was seventeen I couldn't imagine what it was like being an ancient thirty year old, now I can't remember what it was like...

Hmmm is that really relevant??

I stuck it in like that as I figured anyone on PH who is over 70 and sticks a vote in as doing pretty much everything DIY - would be one internet savey and have a massive pool of experince to share.

I'd want to find him (or her) to both shake their hand and spend an evening in the pub nattering about cars.....

[crofty1984]

I think a lot of it is to do with the reliability of the average car nowadays. I'd say there are a lot more "new" cars on the road than there were.
I can't imagine a 20-year-old of my parent's generation paying "just £xx a month for a brand new Ford Tippex!"
Like it or not bland washing machines on wheels are a lot more accessible for the majority.

Back in t'day the mechanicals were
a) simpler
b) more likely to need some fettling either by virtues of the design or that the average man's car was 10 years old

There are probably the same numbers of "enthusiasts" who will buy something that interests them an that they are prepared to work on. But in the past it was "enthusiasts + average joe"

That's my 10p's worth anyway.

[B'stard Child]

While I'm here

cheesesliceking said:

I like turtles.

Just to save cheesesliceking a job

[Changedmyname]

On BMC minis,and escort mk1/2/3 yes but then that was back in the day,now when I look
under the bonnet I see more tubes and plastic bits that wheren't there before.
The modern engine is too complicated for my understanding.

[HustleRussell]

23 here and I can't remember the last time I paid to have work done on any road cars. Dad was a skilled mechanic until 1985 when he set up a body repairs shop so I've got back-up in case something goes wrong and access to some pretty nifty tools and facilities. I have done work up to and including a cylinder head rebuild as well as brakes and suspension.
The race car has had it's gearbox and differential rebuilt which was done by a specialist, although I removed and re-fitted them myself.

[B'stard Child]

crofty1984 said:

Back in t'day the mechanicals were
a) simpler
b) more likely to need some fettling either by virtues of the design or that the average man's car was 10 years old

There are probably the same numbers of "enthusiasts" who will buy something that interests them an that they are prepared to work on. But in the past it was "enthusiasts + average joe"

That's my 10p's worth anyway.

I guess more for discussion on the other thread but I think we've already established that modern cars aren't a block to DIY and yes it is an enthusiast rather than the average man on the street.

This is a motoring related forum after all

[crofty1984]

Yeah, I did think that after I posted it, but never mind

[hairykrishna]

I think it's related to your dad's attitude to be honest. Mine would, and does, begrudge paying money to anyone to do something he can do himself. Even if it takes a ridiculous length of time and he ends up spending more on parts, buying tools he needs and fixing stuff he broke while trying to do it than he would have paying someone to do it in the first place.

I've inherited the attitude despite my lower practical ability and it drives my OH mental.

[Twincam16]

crofty1984 said:

I think a lot of it is to do with the reliability of the average car nowadays. I'd say there are a lot more "new" cars on the road than there were.
I can't imagine a 20-year-old of my parent's generation paying "just £xx a month for a brand new Ford Tippex!"
Like it or not bland washing machines on wheels are a lot more accessible for the majority.

Back in t'day the mechanicals were
a) simpler
b) more likely to need some fettling either by virtues of the design or that the average man's car was 10 years old

There are probably the same numbers of "enthusiasts" who will buy something that interests them an that they are prepared to work on. But in the past it was "enthusiasts + average joe"

That's my 10p's worth anyway.

I think it might be a sign of quality/non-dating design in that case (or a sense of stasis in modern cars design perhaps), because if you look around you soon realise that most cars are about ten years old.

Rewind 30 years - that's like people in 1982 driving around in cars from 1972, which they did, only they were much more rusty, far more unreliable, and worth next to nothing as they were often on their last legs.

Even today, we see far more 20-year-old cars in regular use than you would have thirty years ago. I'm about to take delivery of a 1992 Toyota MR2 as a daily (no, it's not the SOTW). The equivalent in 1982 would have been like driving around in something built in 1952. Look at street-scene snaps of 1982 and you won't see many Wolseley 1500s or Humber Sceptre Mk1s. Nowadays we don't bat an eyelid at cars that old, simply because they still seem vaguely new.

[PanzerCommander]

I do as much as I can that doesn't require ramps or specialist tools. Though I am slowly gathering a selection of tools

[Twincam16]

hairykrishna said:

I think it's related to your dad's attitude to be honest. Mine would, and does, begrudge paying money to anyone to do something he can do himself. Even if it takes a ridiculous length of time and he ends up spending more on parts, buying tools he needs and fixing stuff he broke while trying to do it than he would have paying someone to do it in the first place.

I've inherited the attitude despite my lower practical ability and it drives my OH mental.

I'm like that.

I find most people my age shockingly wasteful.

They think I'm a nutter with no regard for 'peace of mind'.

However, they seem to think that you can get 'peace of mind' by hurling £hundreds a month at something just so you can avoid having to deal with people who might use language they don't understand (ie mechanics).

Frankly I'd rather take my chances with mechanics than banks!

[OldSkoolRS]

Well I'm doing/have done everything on my RS2000 Mk2 (bar the front struts many years ago as I wanted to get it retested for a failed MOT and didn't have the spring compressors necessary).

Looking at the pole I don't know if there are fewer in my age group (approaching 50) because they have lost interest in working on cars, have got enough money now to pay for others to work on their cars (though mine are just 'hobby cars' as I don't service my daily company car) or someother reason(s) (like they don't know how to use a computer ).

I've learnt most of the disciplines required for car repairs over many years, pretty much all self taught including bodywork and trim as well as mechanical, electrical and welding. I think it's more a matter of having the right mindset and self confidence to approach a job that you've not done before, in a logical manner. It helps having an Engineering background and for more recent cars, having a background in computers too.

A willingness to learn new technologies helps too and I wonder if some of my age group have become more set in their ways and aren't prepared to try to learn new things (such as using a laptop/code reader for diagnosis for example). I've come across this in my work environment too, so I wouldn't be surprised if it's part of the cause.

Interested to see how the figures go over the next few days, thanks for putting the pole up.