repairs

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Sat 15 Oct 2005 21:26
repairs - bedfordrl
Ever vehicle i have owned ,and it is 30 odd now, i have nearly always been able to fix them when something breaks or falls off.
Is this a dying art ?,most cars on the road now are so electronically complex that they are beyond the skills of the average owner to repair.
I will not buy a vehicle with a chip or computer in, they are fine when new and under warranty , but will they get to the age of my Range Rovers (22),let alone the age of my Bedford (49) ?, they will become uneconomic to repair at about 10 years of age so there will be a growing gap in age of cars on the road from elderly fixable cars to brand new cars with nothing in between.
At Royal Mail we have now got rid of our fleet of Escort vans, which were uncomfortable to drive , but virtually bomb proof and have replaced them with Vauxhall Combi vans that fall to bits around you.
The only new vehicle that did impress me ,but is full of whizz bang electronics, is the Range Rover Sport.
We went up to Gaydon for Range Rovers 35th anniversary and we had a ride in this car around Land Rovers test track ,it was interesting,its got this G force do da that means it can go around sharp corners at 100mph plus and that is what we did, with 130mph on the straight.
When he did an emergency stop to show off its brakes my step father blacked out !!.
Glen
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Sat 15 Oct 2005 22:04
repairs - Civic8
>>Is this a dying art ?,

The art IMO died out a long time ago,its only the mechanics of old that seem to have an idea of whats wrong with older motors-even new.but as most are so called teckies that have had six weeks training is it any wonder,But also think modern electronics is the better way not worst as some think ie more reliable certainly no less reliable than years ago
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Steve
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Sun 16 Oct 2005 09:14
repairs - L'escargot
Give me a modern car any day. Better equipped, more reliable, more durable (both mechanically and body-wise), better performance (in all respects), better fuel economy, more comfortable, more safety features, better rainproofed (now that windscreens are bonded), more rattle-free, longer service intervals, less items to service. In fact, better all round. When people say "They don't build cars like they used to" I reply "Thank goodness for that"!
In any case, as you get older you get bored with DIY repairs and maintenance. Well, I did.
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L\'escargot.
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