Hello all; To some degree I agree with the defence of new style mechanics in general but there are exceptions to the rule. Just like in the old days there are good shops, bad shops, and mediocre shops. Unfortunately the bad ones bill you for fixing things that didn't need fixing and the mediocre shops are into needless parts swapping both of which are costly. One of the big problems is that the modern cars contain a lot of electronic control systems that the mechanics are not trained to troubleshoot like a T.V repairman would. So the solution is to swap out parts until the car starts working again. A case in point is the 1981 to 83 EFI Imperials; they were branded as lemon cars because the mechanics that were servicing them were not adequately trained in how the systems functioned. The trouble with many of these modern systems is that they are custom made for each make of car and that they are modularised. Unlike generators or starter motors in the old days there are very few control systems common to more then one make of car and, to top it off, they keep changing them from year to year. This wouldn't be as much of a problem if they at least made these control circuits serviceable but quite often they are constructed inside little modular boxes potted with silicone. Not only can you not service these units in a timely fashion but you can't even get at the circuit board to change parts. The bottom line is that our old cars were built in an era when everything, or near everything, could be serviced or repaired. Now cars are built to last with minimal servicing for five years and then to be replaced with a new one. Television sets and other electronics are the same way, in fact sometimes they can't be repaired. Someone said that people would be more willing to spend $200 dollars getting a $500 T.V fixed then they would their $20,000 car, I disagree. For one thing many T.Vs now are no where near $500 new. Second, how many people are going to spend $60-$100 getting a five year old T.V fixed when they can buy a new one for $250. This is why I decided not to go into T.V repair for a living, you can't win when people regard home electronics as Dixie cups. Best Regards Arran Foster 1954 Imperial Newport Needing A Left Side Taillight Bezel and other trim parts. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jim H Fielding" <bonhoffer@xxxxxxxx> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Wednesday, March 06, 2002 2:14 AM Subject: Re: IML: in defence of mechanics - old & new (long & sorry to spout off) > I missed out on teh early part of the mechanic discussion but I agree > with this post. I think that all of that was worth saying. Sometimes we > tend to forget that mechanics are there to try to make a living. They > can't do that with our cars because there aren't enough of them. Also, > we're supposed to be the hobbiests. More than most of us will ever need > to know is right there in our shop manuals and available right here in > this club. Instead of worrying why our mechanic can't tell us how to > rewire or repair this or that, why not get out the books and some tools > and dig in? > > ________________________________________________________________ > GET INTERNET ACCESS FROM JUNO! > Juno offers FREE or PREMIUM Internet access for less! > Join Juno today! For your FREE software, visit: > http://dl.www.juno.com/get/web/. > >