How many other "high tech" things that you own do you repair yourself?
Have you ever fixed your own TV set? When I was a kid, if the set stopped working, you took the back off, pulled all the tubes out, carted 'em down to the drug store, and tested them on a big machine that resembled something from a Sci-Fi Horror Movie mad scientist's lab. Then, when you found the bad one, you handed it to the drugist who looked in his cabinet to see if he had that one or not. If he did, joy of joys, we'd be watching again tonight. If he didn't, it'd be at least two weeks to order in the part. But, the modern TV is not so easy to fix.
What about the computer you're using right now? Somethings you can do yourself, maybe put in a new memory module. But have you ever replaced a capacitor on the motherboard by yourself?
Even knives now are getting beyond what average person can fix himself.
The modern car has evolved into a high-tech thing. It's been pushed that direction by safety, emissions, and Cafe laws, but also by consumer demand. Maybe you can still change your own oil and such. But it's time to admit that the modern car has evolved beyond what the average backyard mechanic can handle.
The modern TV is not so easy to repair as that old "works in a drawer" RCA we had when I was a kid (imagine, today, trying to sell a product so unreliable that its easy of service access was a marketing feature). Fortunately, the modern TV is so reliable that service is hardly every needed. Heck, it's hard to find a TV repair shop these days.
The modern car is also highly reliable and breakdowns that do occure are, on average, fixed much easier and much faster than ever before. Just as the modern TV does not have to brag about its ease of access for service, the modern car doesn't either. And I find that a valuable and acceptible tradeoff.
...groan....
