How confident are you about maintaining your car?
When I was younger. (I won't say how much younger). I used to work on my cars all the time. I still relied on a mechanic for the heavy stuff, but for lightweight stuff, I could handle that. I was my father's child, which meant I was the one that would hand him tools when he was underneath the car working on stuff.
But cars have radically changed since those days and now other than changing tires, I'm not particularly confident that I would know what to do.
Discovercars.com recently conducted a survey to find out who in America feels truly confident to do work on their cars?
According to discovercars.com,
‘how do you feel about car maintenance? If something’s wrong, are you happy to pop open the hood yourself and tinker away, or are you at the other end of the scale – does the idea of changing a tire at the side of the road fill you with terror? Here at global car rental comparison site DiscoverCars.com, we’ve conducted a customer survey to find out drivers’ opinions and experiences, revealing some interesting differences around the world, as well as among drivers who belong to different age brackets.’
Basic car maintenance tasks.
Do you feel confident checking tire pressure and tread wear?
91% of the people surveyed said yes; they were confident about checking tire pressure and tire wear. I usually have a penny in my pocket so I can use that to check the tire wear.
How about checking fluids?
Brake fluids, Motor oil, Coolant, Window washing fluid. 90% of the drivers in the survey said yes; they had no problems taking care of fluids.
If you get a flat tire, would you be able to change it?
89% of drivers surveyed said yes; they could change a tire if they had to. I have to admit it's been a long time since I've had to change flat tires.
How about using jumper cables? 80% of those surveyed said yes; they know how to use a set of jumper cables. I know how to use a set of jumper cables; I just don't know how to use them on my new car because so far, I haven't been able to figure out how to get access to my 12 Volt battery in my new car. It has a plastic cover over it, and I haven't figured out how to remove the cover without breaking it.
80% of those surveyed said that they also know how to change wiper blades on their car. I know how to do it, but my big old fat fingers just don't cooperate very well.
How about changing the light bulbs on your car? 66% of those surveyed said that they know how to do that.
When I was a kid, it seemed like my dad did everything to our car. He would do tune ups, change the oil, Rotate the tires, replace shock absorbers when they were worn out. He even did some light paint and body work from time to time.
I actually remember him helping me pull the motor out of my first car, taking it down to the basement and tearing it down, Cleaning everything, honing the cylinders, and putting it back together.
With modern cars, those days are gone.
LOOK: The 20 Most Iconic Cars & Trucks of the 1980s From Movies, TV, and Music
Gallery Credit: Stephen Lenz
