On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 9:25:05 PM UTC-7, StarDust wrote:
On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 7:04:05 PM UTC-7, Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy wrote:
:

On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 2:51:58 PM UTC-7, Gutless
Umbrella Carrying Sissy wrote:


On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 10:43:11 AM UTC-7, Gutless
Umbrella Carrying Sissy wrote:


On Tuesday, October 3, 2017 at 8:27:48 AM UTC-7, Gutless
Umbrella Carrying Sissy wrote:

On Monday, October 2, 2017 at 3:11:17 PM UTC-7, Chris L
Peterson wrote:
On Mon, 2 Oct 2017 13:01:24 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

On Monday, October 2, 2017 at 6:26:55 AM UTC-7, Chris
L Peterson wrote:
On Mon, 2 Oct 2017 03:54:55 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

With electric cars, if it breaks down, I don't
think there's a mechanic at every corner, who can
fix it.

Electric cars are mechanically simpler and
therefore easier to repair (although like all
electronics, these days that essentially means
board swaps). When there are enough electric cars,
there will be more mechanics who can deal with them
than mechanics who know what to do with a gasoline
vehicle. In 20 years most of the cars on the road
will be electric.

Mechanically simpler, but lot of electronics and
software involved to make the them thing running. I
talk to mechanics, even garage owners, said-
diagnostic equipment is very expensive to buy than
train employees too! One guy said - he spend $30K for
software to locate parts nation wide! EV cars still
have some way to go!

Well, most cars these days needing anything more than
trivial repairs require the dealer or a specialist.
Your corner mechanic who can deal with everything is
pretty much a thing of the past.

Most corner mechanics are specialized also. German
cars, Japanese cars etc... Changing tires, fixing
breaks, anyone can do it! Even me! I have an old BMW,

They key word there being *old*.

--
Terry Austin

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more
asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.

Yes, old! 91' BMW , 26 years old, 160K miles, runs like a
Swiss watch! What's wrong with that?

Cars have changed quite a lot in the last two and a half
decades. In 1991, mechanics did tend to specialize, but any
competent mechanic could easily work on any car, if they had
the right manuals (and the manuals were mostly printed on
paper at that point). Specialized tools were helpful, but
not generally necessary. Now, you can't even duplicate keys
for all cars with the same equipment[1], nor can you even
diagnose what's wrong without tens (or more) of thousands of
dollars worth of specialized hardware and software - and
it's different hardware and software for different
manufacturers. It's not longer *possible* for a mechanic to
generalize, unless they have the backing of a dealership,
and dealerships don't support multiple brands. (And most
carmakers these days won't sell that equipment to anyone but
a dealer anyway, if they can get away with it.)


[1]Some car makers use completely different technology.
Japanese and US carmakers use "chip keys" for everything
now, keys that have a small RFID-ish chip in the head, which
forms a necessary componenet to the ignition system. The
engine *can't* run without it. Mercedes, on the other hand,
doesn't use a radio based system, their keys (at least, in
2000, when mine was built) had a laser in the dashboard,
that interacted with a chip in the key, to do the same
thing. The advantage was that the ignition key would work
regardless of the battery status in the remote. The
disadvantage is that the replacement keys cost over $300
each, and nobody could reverse engineer them to compete (Go
to a dealership for a US or Japanese car, and the chip key
will cost you well over $100, but if you go to your local
Ace Hardware, it'll probably be more like $30). And that
doesn't even touch on the sidewinder keys, which require a
specialized mill to duplicate. On top of the chip
programming.

--
Terry Austin

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more
asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.

(o: When the engine computer ECU went out on my BMW, fuel
injectors wasn't firing right, bought another one on Ebay for
$80. Plug it in, it was a 15 min job, car ran good after.
Some one told me, can't do that with newer BMW's, because
dealer has to flash the new computer ECU and key security
code has to be installed too. They work together. New
computer cost $1500 + flashing and key install another $600!
LOLOLOLOLOL! Some times it's worth to keep a good old car!
(o:

I have a friend who drives a 30 year old diesel Mercedes, and
is unlikely to ever drive anything else until it is no longer
possible to repair it. It is 100% electro-mechanical in all
critical functions. (It doesn't even require electricity to
*run* the engine, once it's started.) I see his point.

(On the other hand, I am driving a brand new Toyota now,
because it was far more cost effective than repairing my 17
year old Mercedes, and because I'm not inclined to deal with a
car that needs regular reapirs, as any old car does. My seven
year warranty includes rental coverage if it's in overight, for
enough to pay for a better car than I own. Said warranty will
outlast the payments. And I get over 40 mpg on the highway.
Convenience is worth the extra expense.)

--
Terry Austin

Vacation photos from Iceland:
https://plus.google.com/u/0/collection/QaXQkB

"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek

Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.

You right, if I would drive a lot, commute etc... would buy a
new car or a slightly used one, but I'm not. I get insurance
break, because I drive less than 5K millage!

I don't drive that much more myself. But in southern California,
it's nearly impossible to survive without a car for whatever
driving you do.

Same here in the Bay Area! Traffic is crazy!


So to me, a good
old car, no payments, fits the bill! I think, BMW's are better
cars than Mercedes!

BMV vs Mercedes is like Monty Python vs Benny Hill. Some like one,
others like the other, but you're not allowed to like both.

Like apples and oranges! Mercedes is luxury and BMW's are performance cars.
All though, the last 10-15 years both manufacturers make either style cars.
I still miss my 1985 BMW 535i, that box looking car, with lot of trunk and interior space.
http://img.bmwcase.com/full/f1fb4017...llic-535is.jpg

.....and of course 5 speed manual, more fun!