Why people don't keep older equipment running

[dnw64]

^^yes...and is the nephew getting paid for his work?

I am expecting him to be. He may be young but seems to be a decent enough businessman that he realizes he needs to get paid for his work.

 

[Hay Dude]

I am expecting him to be. He may be young but seems to be a decent enough businessman that he realizes he needs to get paid for his work.

At one time, I had a great situation where I had a good apprentice mechanic working for me that could also do construction work and farming. He could quickly fix broken equipment. When not fixing, he was swinging a hammer or driving a tractor.
Then he got smart and became a full time mechanic and makes 3X what I could pay him.

 

[fried1765]

Pick your poison- repair by pro or DIY repair. Either way, you’re paying. All a man has is his time and money.
Repair work done yourself costs you time you could otherwise use to make more money and don’t forget another aspect-it can be dangerous. Seen plenty of former mechanics now working in parts or sales with a missing eye or hand.

All true when you are a working stiff!
Not true when you are retired!
I have nothing BUT time....but I rarely use it wisely anymore.
Age is the biggest problem now!
I am just getting too old do do some chit!

 

[dnw64]

Try asking a shop to turn your rotors...you will get dirty looks, mostly because techs dont know how to chuck the lathe.

The rear brakes on my wife's '15 Explorer were getting worn out so the dealer told her she needed new pads and rotors. She asked "Can't you turn the rotors?". Well, in addition to being shocked that a WOMAN even knew of such things they said "No, we don't do that any more". I talked to my brother-in-law who runs an indy repair shop about it and he said that most rotors made nowadays are made too thin to be turned.

 

[Hay Dude]

All true when you are a working stiff!
Not true when you are retired!
I have nothing BUT time....but I rarely use it wisely anymore.
Age is the biggest problem now!
I am just getting too old do do some chit!

I am amazed at your youth and exuberance!
Hoping to still be going at it like you are in my wiser years! :thumbsup:

 

[two_bit_score]

All true when you are a working stiff!
Not true when you are retired!
I have nothing BUT time....but I rarely use it wisely anymore.
Age is the biggest problem now!
I am just getting too old do do some chit!

I know the feeling! :laughing:

 

[ovrszd]

I agree with what you've written, but since we're talking about money, you missed an important item. How much time did you spend repairing it and what is your time worth? Most people neglect the value of their time when it comes to repairs, but employers realize the value of time and pay for time. Only when this is done strictly on a hobby basis, then time doing repairs has no value.

I based the repair costs on paying a shop to do them. No personal time involved.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I thought parts costs were just astronomical for my Electric Gator on account of it being under their TURF equipment umbrella. Maybe all Gators?

Makes me wonder. Would I rather be RICH and totally clueless mechanicially, or POOR and able to fix some stuff on my own (less and less stuff all the time it seems). Tough call.

 

[Hay Dude]

I thought parts costs were just astronomical for my Electric Gator on account of it being under their TURF equipment umbrella. Maybe all Gators?

Makes me wonder. Would I rather be RICH and totally clueless mechanicially, or POOR and able to fix some stuff on my own (less and less stuff all the time it seems). Tough call.

Not for me. After being poor most my life and spending spare time fixing junk, Id take rich and mechanically clueless. Own everything you want and when it breaks, pick up the phone and get it back fixed? Oh yeah! :dance1:

 

[Industrial Toys]

My jury is still out on that. It would be one matter if stuff actually got fixed. "Pick up the Phone"? And talk to who, Voice mail? lol

 

[two_bit_score]

My jury is still out on that. It would be one matter if stuff actually got fixed. "Pick up the Phone"? And talk to who, Voice mail? lol

If you are rich enough you never get voicemail. People answer your calls.

 

[ovrszd]

I'll take enough money to not be "needing" anything and the mechanical ability to work on things I choose.

 

[fried1765]

I'll take enough money to not be "needing" anything and the mechanical ability to work on things I choose.

I am pretty much right there, but.....I am nearly 80 years old too!

 

[Industrial Toys]

If people only know of the totally clueless mechanics and technicians that were working on their stuff back at the "Dealerships". Don't get me wrong. In most cases it's not the employees fault. There are exceptions though. I know some dealerships, and it's a daily occurance when some mechanic has to put a blade or lights on some UTV, and has never seen either before, or has to repair something he has never worked on before. How in any way shape or form, does that make a dealership "THE EXPERTS" on such stuff? AND, worthy of high hourly rates?

 

[fried1765]

Not for me. After being poor most my life and spending spare time fixing junk, Id take rich and mechanically clueless. Own everything you want and when it breaks, pick up the phone and get it back fixed? Oh yeah! :dance1:

Reminds me of an airline employment requirement test that I took in 1967, called the "Stanine".

Choices !!!

I have always wondered what the correct answer was for the question:

"Are you a snob or a slob"?

I answered "slob"..... and my lady of 20 years now, says....CORRECT!

 

[beenthere]

and it's a daily occurance when some mechanic has to put a blade or lights on some UTV, and has never seen either before, or has to repair something he has never worked on before.

I've been one of those.. and it most always was just a matter of figuring it out.. After retirement, I did just that kind of work for the local Deere dealer and figured out how to do these jobs.. Not much different from having to figure out things that break down and just use intuition and mental skills to determine what has failed and how to go about fixing the failure.
Most problems are not rocket science.

Don't think anyone is saying the dealership is "the experts" but likely they have more than one person who has some experience with the problem, the tools to work on the problem, the literature and service manuals to lean on, and willing to take your money to do what you cannot do or are not willing to be bothered with (for many reasons already stated).

Just recently heard a bearing going out in my shop vac motor. Never had experience or before-hand knowledge of how to go about putting in a new bearing. But the shop vac is a 50 year old dual motor Craftsman that has been flawless for all these years. But managed to get the motor apart, find two replacement bearings for under $20, and after some fumbling with the right order of parts, put it back together.
Can't buy a replacement motor for this, nor find a service center for someone to work on it (they'd have to do the same as me.. remove all the peripheral parts, put in the new bearing, and put it all back together... AND get paid for their time!!).

Repaired motor on the left, and working motor on the right.. had to open up the working motor to compare that the repaired one was put together correctly. It wasn't, but managed to figure out what was assembled wrong.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I see it as a Catch-22...

The people that cannot fix their own equipment, pay to have it done for them, then have to work longer and harder to have enough money to pay someone else to fix their stuff.

That to me is just a product of someone's own lack of confidence in fixing something themselves, and them talking themselves out of a great life experience.

I do not remember my Dad sitting on the couch watching this television show or that, but I sure remember him and I in the garage working on tractors, small engines, and the cars. That was time spent together, and teaching me valuable wrenching experience and lessons!

Today; working on stuff has actually gotten easier. Just about any part for anything can now be found on the internet, and just about anything someone has to fix, has been fixed with full commentary on Youtube showing you how. When you already know what you are getting into, time spent fixing the offending mechanism is drastically reduced.

 

[BrokenTrack]

I saw this first hand in my family. We grew up poor, and on a farm, and so we ate lamb, veal, beef, pork, and chicken...all raised on the farm.

Then we "made it", and no longer had to do that stuff, and that was also when the divorces started happening, we started eating a lot of pasta, packed on the weight, and started in-fighting among the extended family.

If that is "making it", then I want to fail.

But the ironic thing is, I did not fail. 85% of American's live paycheck to paycheck and do not have a even $1000 in the bank for emergencies. But yet money is a funny thing, because despite being BROKE, people will tell you why what I do will never work...

"And you want me to live like you", I have to ask?

But I also eat humble-pie by getting my hands black with oil, skin my knuckles, and scrape rust off old parts. In short, I fix my own equipment, and run my vehicles to 250,000 miles. I also let my (4) daughters watch me do all this, and hope, when they pick their husbands, they will pick doers and not lazy-bones. Equally, I am not sexiest, and hope they pick up the wrenches as well.

All this talk about spending time with kids is hogwash: kids take in what they see you do, not what you tell them. My one and only job as a parent is not to baby them to 18 years old, but to raise them so they can be adults. My job is to ensure they need me less and less with every passing year.

 

[fried1765]

I saw this first hand in my family. We grew up poor, and on a farm, and so we ate lamb, veal, beef, pork, and chicken...all raised on the farm.

Then we "made it", and no longer had to do that stuff, and that was also when the divorces started happening, we started eating a lot of pasta, packed on the weight, and started in-fighting among the extended family.

If that is "making it", then I want to fail.

But the ironic thing is, I did not fail. 85% of American's live paycheck to paycheck and do not have a even $1000 in the bank for emergencies. But yet money is a funny thing, because despite being BROKE, people will tell you why what I do will never work...

"And you want me to live like you", I have to ask?

But I also eat humble-pie by getting my hands black with oil, skin my knuckles, and scrape rust off old parts. In short, I fix my own equipment, and run my vehicles to 250,000 miles. I also let my (4) daughters watch me do all this, and hope, when they pick their husbands, they will pick doers and not lazy-bones. Equally, I am not sexiest, and hope they pick up the wrenches as well.

All this talk about spending time with kids is hogwash: kids take in what they see you do, not what you tell them. My one and only job as a parent is not to baby them to 18 years old, but to raise them so they can be adults. My job is to ensure they need me less and less with every passing year.

Comment from an old guy: A truly WONDERFUL philosophy !!!!!

 

[Industrial Toys]

I watched as a long time customers daughters both picked Doctors for husbands. What a different life they must lead compared to mine. Enviable in "some" respects. Unfortunately, many people spend every cent they make and then some. Don't seem to realize when they have it made.

Been there. Won't you feel foolish the next time strolling down the aisle of the BIG BOX store and see a new ALL-PLASTIC 30 HP shop Vac with Fancy Decals!