Why Is It?
I'll be the first to say that I
suck at automotive diagnostics. I never took auto shop in high school because I was too busy rebelling, and it took me a long time to pull my head outta my ***. But I'm learning now.
My guess is many people ( especially our age group ) want the nostalgia of owning a classic car like the one maybe they had or wish they had in high school, but they never learned to work on them back then so now when they break they read forums and throw parts at them. On the flip side there are many of us in this forum and other forums that enjoy the hobby not just to drive our rigs but also in the pleasure of building or at least maintaining them. I think repairs and diagnostics come easily to some while others struggle to just open the hood, lol
I think I fall somewhere in the middle here. I'm newish to owning older cars, but I sort of enjoy working on them MORE than driving them. Eh, maybe 50/50. But the driving force behind wanting to own a car older than me was to learn the fundamentals and actually have something I can
work on without pluggin it into a computer. Since then I've been hooked (and broke, LOL).
*That being said* Just know that not all of the folks here who come for advice are going to look a gift horse in the mouth. What I mean is, I think there are lots of us who find the wisdom in this forum invaluable, and are very grateful for it.
I read the same posts from people asking for advice who end up either completely ignoring it, or dismissing the advice that's offered, and I just shake my head. Like dude, you have no idea how much time and money these folks can be saving you right now.....not to mention the free education.