Why don’t teen boys work on cars anymore?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who has a car anymore though? I feel like most people I know don't own a car.

Where do you live, Manhattan?

No, PP lives on the moon, in case he would live on the Earth he must have seen cars. Quoting one and unforgettable Yogi Berra who happened to be asked about a popular restaurant.. "It is so crowded there, nobody goes there anymore"
By that token, the PP could say.. "cars? there are so many of them on the road, nobody wants to drive them anymore"

i'Tis this Millennial mindset again.. let other worry about ownership and maintenance and all the problems and let them enjooooooooooy…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who has a car anymore though? I feel like most people I know don't own a car.

Oh. I dunno. Only 270,000,000 are registered in the US alone. Are you 13?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Just curious how old are you, op? I've never seen any teen boy work on a car and I'm 52.

+1. I'm in my mid-40s and the only boys I've ever seen working on cars were on sitcoms.

Also, this is DCUM - people just the parents just buy their kids new Jeeps. No one is going to allow their child to purchase an old used car that needs to be fixed up. The moms on here think that cars that are more than 3 or 4 years old are unsafe - you aren't going to see any "muscle cars" in this area.

I drive an old car. I wouldn't let my kids drive an old car as I want all the safety features for them just like my parents felt for me.

[Anonymous]

If you see any teenager working on a car west of 355 let me know. They would no more work on a car than cut the grass. Working on cars and lawn work is seen as dirty work and privileged kids don’t do that anymore. Hell when I grew up the upper section of River Road was a recognized drag strip and teens from all over the county would come to race their cars.

On most of the east side of the county it’s a different story. Fathers and sons can be seen out in the driveway or in the street working on their cars.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Just curious how old are you, op? I've never seen any teen boy work on a car and I'm 52.

+1. I'm in my mid-40s and the only boys I've ever seen working on cars were on sitcoms.

Also, this is DCUM - people just the parents just buy their kids new Jeeps. No one is going to allow their child to purchase an old used car that needs to be fixed up. The moms on here think that cars that are more than 3 or 4 years old are unsafe - you aren't going to see any "muscle cars" in this area.

I drive an old car. I wouldn't let my kids drive an old car as I want all the safety features for them just like my parents felt for me.

Bravo. I drove an old car, as did all my friends. Luckily my parents didn't raise entitled spoiled children.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It used to be that teen boys loved tinkering with their cars. Now, it seems that boys don’t have anywhere near the same interest in cars in general, much less a desire to mess around with them. Why is this?

All is left is washing and detailing. The engines got so complicated and sealed that now you are obsolete as a mechanic or tweaker you need experts to do that. So for the rest.. it is not so much fun but some still do that right?

True but I drive a Tesla. I bought it so I don’t have to deal with or have oil changes, state inspections, etc. Cars will fully drive themselves, level 5, probably in the next 5-10 yrs too. Cars are computers on wheels nowadays. Nothing like old ICE cars.

[Anonymous]

My son is 16 and would love nothing more to wrench on cars after school and on weekends, standard transmission and vintage preferred. But nobody will mentor him or let him work. He's in Transportation Technology in school but it's not enough. We're in SW Connecticut, so if anyone else in the area reads this, let's get our kids together to start a club or meetup. They are so few and talking about cars is the only thing that lights him up.

[Anonymous]

In some cases tinkering on a car can be against the rules.

Even the US military needs legislation to let the troops fix their own vehicles nowadays.

https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/302389-the-us-military-needs-right-to-repair-legislation-to-fix-its-own-broken-equipment

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is 16 and would love nothing more to wrench on cars after school and on weekends, standard transmission and vintage preferred. But nobody will mentor him or let him work. He's in Transportation Technology in school but it's not enough. We're in SW Connecticut, so if anyone else in the area reads this, let's get our kids together to start a club or meetup. They are so few and talking about cars is the only thing that lights him up.

If he's at Edison, the teachers there often help the kids get jobs. The work is a lot of grunt work - cleaning, moving cars, etc. But they do get to help on big jobs and also do some oil changes and the like. My son had a wonderful experience with this.

[Anonymous]

Last month my husband (lawyer/CFO) had my 9 year old help him replace the brakes on our Jeep Wrangler. He’s also makes my sons help him with replacing garbage disposals, build cabinets, and tile the bathroom. He’s trying to instill in them the freedom and cost savings of being able to do things yourself. But he is different than most fathers in Fairfax County, I know.

[Anonymous]

I taught my teen daughter to change brake pads. I’m the mom.

If you want them to learn, teach them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cars have become much more complicated. My boys can do a whole lot, but there are limits simply because of the technology involved in newer cars.

True, but my DH has taught my boys how to change the oil, change the break pads, check and top off all fluids and how to change a tire. I got a flat a few months ago and my 15yr old put the spare on for me. I had no idea how to do it (or even how to access my spare!) but my 15yr old son did. My DH also brings my boys in whenever he is doing anything around the house, such as plumbing, minor electrical, or any other mechanical work.

I'm grateful my boys have a traditional masculine role model to be patient with them and empower them to be knowledgeable about their surroundings.

You had me till traditional masculine role model. My husband does all that stuff and is a fabulous cook and irons his own shirts. ( not bragging, he’s also a slob, and leaves a mess in the driveway, kitchen, garage, etc)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Last month my husband (lawyer/CFO) had my 9 year old help him replace the brakes on our Jeep Wrangler. He’s also makes my sons help him with replacing garbage disposals, build cabinets, and tile the bathroom. He’s trying to instill in them the freedom and cost savings of being able to do things yourself. But he is different than most fathers in Fairfax County, I know.

Sorry, just posted up thread. Yes. Wish there were more of us.

[Anonymous]

Boys down the block work on cars. They buy old pick-up trucks and fix them up so they’re driveable.

[Anonymous]

Besides what has been covered, a couple of other reasons as well.

This area is pretty diverse, and people from other countries/cultures may not have that sort of background. DH and I did not grow up with cars. Didn’t have access to any. So, while we know how one works, we don’t really have any experience fixing up cars.

People increasingly live in population dense neighborhoods where they don’t have the space to have a spare car that needs work. Condos, apartments, and TH