Quote:
Originally Posted by JSH
Today's non-hybrid cars are much more complex than cars made decades ago. We live in an era where computers are required to change the lead acid starting battery and brake pads. Where HVAC controls and other basic functions are controlled by touchscreens. Where the typical car has miles of electrical wires and 1,000 or more chips. These aren't cars that are going to be fixed by the typical DIY mechanic 15 to 20 years from now.
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I think this is an excellent point. For an example, the radio doesn't work on my 9-year-old Avalon and I have no idea of how to fix it, except take it to a mechanic who can, which would likely be at a dealership, which I won't do because they had already "fixed it" and a couple years later it stopped working again.
It became too complicated for me to replace the brake fluid, so I had another shop do it, which bothers me because I'm weird and have a phobia of mechanics saying they did something but never really did do it. Plus they didn't use the brake fluid I would have preferred, assuming they actually changed the brake fluid.
This brings up the question, then what can a person do for cheap transportation? Yes, one could get a better paying job, move where other costs are cheaper, etc. But what if someone has a reason not to do that? What would be a cheap option in 15 to 20 years from now? Or is this going to be like the smartphone craze where years ago no one in their right mind, except the filthy rich, would spend more than a couple hundred dollars on a cellphone, if that. But now you go to a country where the average wage is $100 per week and somehow everyone has a $1,000 brand new iPhone.
This also brings up right-to-repair of course.