We Forgot How To Fix Things

What old cars and broken things taught me about ownership

It started with a NASCAR race. I wanted a fun, new experience to take my family to. We had a great time watching my favorite YouTube creator Cleetus McFarland race at Kansas Motor Speedway, and on the way home, my wife said something to me that really got my gears turning: “I always wanted to do that. Racing. Car stuff. Going fast. Nobody ever believed in me enough to support my dreams of being that kind of person”.

This dug deep to me. After sharing some thoughts, we decided we’ll start with a project car and build her up from there. The story of this journey is yet to come, but it leads me to think, “where do we start?” Of course, cost is a top priority. I’ve got a good background with older Mustangs, so that’ll be a good place to look. BUT….

Modern cars are amazing! The performance and creature comforts continually improve as the years go by. We had a 2018 Honda Civic Type R and it absolutely ripped! All the power I had in my 2006 Mustang GT with cams and full exhaust, but had modern amenities and great mpg’s, as it was just a little 2 liter 4 banger with a turbo stuck on the side of it.

Newer Mustangs with the 5.0 coyote engine and a manual transmission that shifts buttery smooth feels like you’re floating down the road and the power feels effortless. It’s easy to fall in love with comfort, style, creature comforts, and the big one: a warranty.

But why do cars feel so disposable? I’m guilty of this, big time. Cars come and go like trading cards. In my 16 years of driving, I’ve owned no less than 10 cars. And that’s not including a couple vehicles for the Mrs. that I’ve co-signed for. When we encounter issues, we often replace it rather than face huge repair bills. We keep doing these transactions with a “subscription mentality” and we justify these purchases with lines like “if we keep our payments to this amount, we’ll be fine”.

But we’re never paid off. We never feel like we truly own them. We trade them out like appliances that we also don’t fix. Or anything else, really. Our grandparents went through some hard financial eras and they had to keep things. They fixed things when broken, and weren’t constantly purchasing. We look at this and think that isn’t reality anymore, but maybe we’re missing something?

We’ve lost an art in our modern times. People don’t take the time to learn how things function, we just buy them and expect them to work. All too often, mechanics are met with, “I don’t care how it works, just make it drive.” We hear a sound, or see a light on the dash, and think “Oh no, another problem. Let’s see what the dealership says..”

But maybe if that person had known to look around a little bit once in a while, they’d have noticed a tear in a CV axle boot. And maybe they could’ve grabbed a flathead screwdriver and stuck a new one on with some fresh grease in an afternoon in the driveway. And maybe they wouldn’t be standing at the service desk, confused, having to pay 600 bucks for a new axle replacement and tire rotation.

We really are in a throw away culture now. We look at cars that we buy today, and say “I can’t just keep fixing this, it’s not built for that. I need to replace it.” And that’s exactly what’s intended. We’re meant to keep purchasing, consuming, keeping America going. And for those that can afford to do so, thanks for your business. Our country needs you. But for those that can’t, here’s another thought..

Your grandpa’s tractor that he rebuilt in the 80’s to keep the farm going, was sold to him new in the 50’s. Read that again. Take as long as you need here. A point can be made, that things like that aren’t built that tough anymore, and that’s true. But at a similar time to now, with high fuel costs, poorly-built new products abundant, and not a lot of wealth to lean on, a huge amount of people were using older equipment that already had decades of aftermarket support.

In a time like now, would it make sense to be buying a recently used car and crying that its too much to fix or modify? No. But, how about a 20 year old car?

If we want something manageable, we need to look further back. A car from the 90’s or 2000’s would be perfect. A couple k’s of cash and we’ve got a running, driving vehicle, no payments. We can buy some “go fast” parts here and there, whenever we got some spare cash. Maybe some cheap style parts to make it feel more personal. But what’s better about this than that new Mustang?

It’s ours. Nobody’s taking this from us. This car can sit for a while if we can’t afford something it needs. There’s no payments on it. We feel more involved in why it runs the way it does. Why it sounds the way it does. The way it feels to drive it. We chose those lowering springs and wheels. We chose the exhaust parts for the rumble we wanted. We did it all.

My favorite part about older cars is the lack of fear. See a funny sticker? Screw it, slap it on the back window. Who cares, its not a new car with value. It’s not for anyone else. It’s OUR car. And that feeling of ownership doesn’t come all that easily with new cars and our subscription based mindsets.

There’s nothing wrong with buying new things, but maybe some of use need to re-think about our needs and wants. Go look at some older cars, watch some YouTube content, test drive them at used car lots. Keep those old cars going, feel proud to have something that’s truly yours!

Thanks for reading. This is the first of a few reflections on cars, work, and the way we live now.