Originally Posted by
Maelochs
One big advantage to trying to do your own auto maintenance nowadays is exactly the whole electronic scanner/software stuff.
Back in the day a good mechanic had to have an ear and a ton of experience to figure out which of the numerous tiny and unstable adjustments might need to be made when a car wasn't running right---it was much more of a black art.
Nowadays it's a black box. Plug in and you can find out how your car is working in 10,000 parameters---and then punch in the data to a program which tells you what needs to be adjusted, and possibly even make the adjustments electronically.
Everything lasts longer, and everything is connected to the car's brain, so when it isn't workign, you know it. No more "it sounds like ...." Now it is, "here is exactly the problem and the solution."
And then you need an engine hoist and twelve specialized tools just to change the spark plugs.
Something to consider; most of what I do is engine performance diagnosis, 45-50 hours per week. Most of the repairs are electronic failures and most of those are intermittent. I do a lot of guesswork and I speak to technical assistance to find out what has been helping nationwide.
Some of our repairs are reprogramming of the various modules, but nothing is adjustable, per se.
It is unusual for a car to come to me which is doing what the driver says it was doing.