Hands On Skills Mean Greater Choice and Freedom to Buy Used

[Fumesucker]

This is a recent article from a motorcycle blog I read fairly regularly, it's specifically about motorcycles however the ideas can be extended to a lot of things in the consumer world but most particularly cars. A car is the second most expensive thing most of us will ever buy and the most complicated thing most of us will buy too, it behooves the frugal person to know something about their most expensive and complicated gadget.

http://thekneeslider.com/archives/2012/01/10/hands-on-skills-mean-greater-choice-and-freedom-to-buy-used/

Given all of our recent talk about hands on skills and the positive reception it has among readers here, think about another real benefit the hands off crowd might not consider, the freedom to buy used. Take a minute to check out the motorcycles for sale. Look through those listings for a few minutes, how many are really out of consideration if you don't do your own work? If you need a knowledgeable mechanic you can trust to fix and maintain your bike and there's none nearby, you might as well write off almost any vintage model. Those good looking BSAs, Nortons, all vintage British bikes really, forget it. Even early models of some current brands would be questionable, along with recent models of bikes not sold anywhere near you. If all you can do is pay for service instead of doing it yourself, you eliminate many potential choices.

In a world where everyone is supposed to be able to buy whatever they want or need, many often don't consider the narrowing of choices a lack of skills creates. Even if you buy it new, if it breaks and no one is around to repair it, you replace it or do without. (Whether it's designed to be repairable is an issue for another day.)

If you want to buy a new Triumph, Moto Guzzi, Ducati or even a BMW, the dealers are spread a lot thinner than they are for Harley and Honda. If you go the distance and buy new, who does the required service if you can't? Another long trip, time and again and pretty quickly you cross those off your list. With this economy, those dealers are getting spread even thinner and the lack of DIY skills makes it tougher for those brands to hang on to territory if everyone needs dealer service for every oil change or valve adjustment.

With the impressive reliability of a lot of current new motorcycles, some non DIY owners might take a chance and buy from a distant dealer anyway, but it doesn't take overwhelming skill and years of experience to get to the level of basic maintenance and for the effort necessary to learn, the reward of so many more potential choices is a strong incentive to get familiar with a tool box.

[Tsiyu]

1. WEll, I was just wondering where

this nice slash on my finger came from...and then I remembered FINALLY fixing my windshield wipers yesterday, the harrowing details of which I will spare you.

One blade is held on with the 4-fastener HillbillySystem : (by the order of application) - some horsefence electric line, a bread tie, a bent paper clip and one of those brutal looking claws you use to bun up your hair.

The hair clip was the charm. But I was switching a Saturn blade for a Honda blade. You do what you have to do.

And I drove in the snow safely.

But my hand really hurts.

Car repair is real risk-taking.

[freshwest]

2. The person who can repair things and working people in general will be uplifted in this.

In the eighties the repair business was seen as outdated and those who worked with their hands degraded in many jobs. We've gotten back to something like the days prior to the Great Depression. People have been angled one way to make a living and it has not worked out for many.

The biggest problem I see for doing this is the lack of parts. There is no longer a network of iron shops, if you know what I'm talking about, to create parts by hand. The tools for creating things aren't even made here since the post-industrial era was forced on us from above. It's made us dependent in a way that the Founders never intended us to be.

There's been too much ridicule from media of people who work with their hands and make used things work for many years. I've seen websites dedicated to making fun of those who repair things at home.

Sure, duct tape or tie wraps isn't exactly a professional fix, but rather than spend $600 on a broken piece on a right front fender/light array, a mechanic used a tie wrap would do the job to repair it. Free, functional, safe and doesn't show. A way to escape the costs involved with the dumb engineering that manufactured parts together so they can't be fixed.

The best thing about these times is the make/grow/buy local movement and frugalists. We can do this although it won't be 'a job,' for a while. In the meantime, kudoes to all of you!

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. My son's car was hit while parked last year, tore the front bumper half off..

He was freaking out about the repair costs, while I calmly gathered wire and cutters and gloves. I walked him out there and within 15 minutes we had it secured and you could barely tell. Never thought I'd be happy about plastic bumpers, lol!

anyway, Mom was his hero that day.

[freshwest]

4. Way to go!

[Sherman A1]

5. I have done a few of my own repairs on small things

however, I think it's good to know one's limits.

I did get the lawnmower going again last year after a belt broke, still going strong since 1979 and did a quick clean & oil on a 1940ish fan that my Mom gave me. The kind with a real open fan guard & metal blades.

[lumberjack_jeff]

6. Hiring someone to do anything feels like personal failure.

Rough and finish carpentry, wiring, plumbing, accounting, web design, drafting, boat design and contstruction, welding, furniture building, designing and constructing woodworking machinery, sewing, cooking, earthmoving, auto, small engine, motorcycle and diesel engine repair.

In all honesty, many if not most of the tasks I've hired out I've regretted because I could have done it better myself, if only because I know "the customer's" needs.

When faced with a problem, my first stop is the library, not the yellow pages.