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 mean, this isn’t 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 it’s 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 can’t even change my battery without updating my ecu to readapt to the new battery. If I don’t 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 don’t 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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Listening.
Integrity.
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
Basic it skills
Manners.
It's true. Habitually saying "please." thank you," "hello" to people can open a lot of doors. Also, it's just amazing in an awful way just how many people are not doing this.
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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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.
Empathy
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.
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.
I'd say the ability to write. My Prof would lose her mind if she saw Lemmy.
How to turn greenhouse gasses into pure drinking water. I wish I knew how to do that.
How to build a usable nuclear fusion power plant. Zero is way too many for such a difficult task.
literacy, and essay writing. they almost neve rpush it MS or HS anymore.
Critical Thinking Skills