re: I couldn’t imagine being a mechanic nowadays.

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It just feels like this stuff is crammed down our throats

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It is. They make mostly higher trim models because the profit is so high. Put a $200 screen in the car and charge $5K for it.

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You think people want to go back to 140-hp shitboxes? That are overall less reliable?

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He’s saying you are wrong that a 140 HP engine was the only option.

It wasn’t.

Was that in Farmerville?

In some ways, current cars may be more reliable but when something breaks - the cost is often very high to fix.

Also - many of the parts - especially electronic and options - will be unobtanium at 15-20 years.

"will it start" videos will not be applicable to cars of recent vintage

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Is there a reliable vehicle made today that can last 10 years? I don't think there is

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I do think that Toyota and Honda still make good cars that will last for a long time. I have a 2008 Lexus SC 430 with 68,000 miles on it. I bought it new and it still runs like the day I drove it off the showroom floor. All I’ve done is change the oil, air filters, and gotten three new batteries (basically one every 5 to 6 years).

However, even that car is pretty crammed in the engine compartment. I remember working on cars as a teen/20-something-year-old and the engine compartments just didn’t seem that cramped. You always had lots of room to move around. However, those cars didn’t have all the fricking gadgets and computer modules. Hell, we had a Cadillac ('78 I believe) and even that thing had tons of room to work with.

But, I think you and the other poster who said that they purposely make it extremely difficult for DYIers to do what used to be minor jobs is correct. In the past, I’ve replaced starters, alternators, generators, timing belts, carburetors, electronic fuel injectors, etc. However, because of all the computer shite in modern cars, I just don’t feel comfortable doing that any longer. If I had to, I would do some of that stuff on my 2008 car, but I would never do it on a friend's or family member's newer car. It seems like everything that’s done on newer cars has to be synchronized with one of the newer iPad-looking specialized OBD tablet scanners.

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They come with 10/100k warranties regularly.

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No they don't. Kia does. GM has 36k bumper to bumper and 60k powertrain on all vehicles. Ford and Dodge are probably similar and I know Honda doesn't have 100k mile warranty. You have to buy extended to get that.

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I miss the days of the old 350’s in the 80’s where you could sit under the hood and work on shite.

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My first truck was a 1974 Chevrolet Cheyenne with a 350. The motor looked tiny in the engine bay. We once put 2 coolers of beer in the engine bay and closed the hood because the cops were coming.

Just had to take my entire front dash and console out to retrieve a plastic piece that fell into the ac blower. 7 hours or so bc Ford cheap plastic pieces. They don’t actually want you to fix shite.