Having a basic idea of how a car/engine works. Most people waste so much money on basic repairs they could just do themselves. Feels like majority of folks couldn't even put on their spare tire. Plus, mechanic is job that less and less people are willing to do over time so the cost of their labour will only keep getting worse
this post was submitted on 16 May 2025
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I'm like a few year older the driving age and I don't even have a driver's license π
I feel like I'm being called out π₯²
Depends where you live, maybe your life is just fine without it
I mean, this isnβt helped by the odd proprietary bolt patterns and specialty OBD communications required by some brands.
My wifes car has a bad pcv system, turns out itβs built into the valve cover and intake manifold so instead of unbolting a part and putting the new one on I have to take apart a heafty amount of the engine to fix what should be a basic repair.
I drive a golf and canβt even change my battery without updating my ecu to readapt to the new battery. If I donβt it starts frying sensors and the alternator because of voltage irregularities. Have to have the $80 dongle with the yearly subscription to access the necessary code input.
Car companies over the past decade have built cars that are harder and harder to maintain yourself. I donβt blame people for not knowing how to do some of the basic stuff when that basic stuff has become more complex, expensive, and unreasonably difficult for the layman to parse.
My dad has ran an auto repair shop for 40 years and it stopped being any sort of fun like 15 years ago.
That's not even the biggest problem though. It's customers and their entitlement. Worse every year.
Parts took longer to ship than promised? Mechanics fault
Car needs to go to the dealer? Mechanics fault
Something plastic piece broke on your car during disassembly because it was designed to break? Mechanics fault
Job supposed to be 10 hours labour but took you 15 because it's not easy? Guess you just lost money helping someone cuz you have to eat the cost of those 5 hours
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I'd say the ability to write. My Prof would lose her mind if she saw Lemmy.
media literacy
Critical thinking: We would be in a better world if more people were capable of it.
Basic math. I don't talk about solving differential equation. But if you don't want to get scammed you need to understand what's a 10% discount, how do interest work, price per kg, or price per m^2
searching for things in the internet.
i think LLM/PISS now has a bigger place because people dunno what to look for / what they want specifically.
there's some legit use for LLMs, but to help you 'search' feels like you're giving away some freedom for an unknown set of weighted biases.
Working with your hands and tools. It's amazing how far it can take you and how much money you can make and/or save by DIY'ing things around your home with some basic skills. Like there are people that will pay $100 for something easy like mounting a TV when it's a few minutes of finding studs and screwing down the bracket.
Then as things progress and you get more comfortable, you can start helping friends and doing side work. I've been doing industrial electrical for 10 years now, I'm gonna be re-wiring a whole house from the ground up in July
Driving. Most people know how to operate a vehicle, but a lot donβt know how to actually drive properly.
Patience.
I've taken up several hobbies (game dev, gardening, woodworking, etc) where results aren't always well seen until weeks, months or even years after starting a project.
Everyone seems too interested in getting results fast and now, and the world seems all too keen to sell you something to try and make that happen.
Knowing the right tool for the job, specifically when it comes to repairing the things they own. I get that familiarizing yourself with your car's engine bay isn't the sexiest thing to do if it doesn't interest you, but most systems are incredibly intuitive once you know how to use a couple of basic tools. Competency in hand tools is something I think everyone should have TBH
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Understand and knowledge that they are not an island. That the things they do, even if they believe it only affects them, affects those around them.
Empathy
Changing tires or oil on a car.
A lot of cars don't include a spare tire anymore.
Last couple times I looked, it was more expensive to buy the oil and filter than to go to my local mechanic to get an oil change.
I appreciate that it's good to know how to do these things, but it really seems like there's no reason most people need to actually do them with a current model year vehicle.