As the world shifts to electric automobiles - what does the future hold for the people who repair and service our cars?
Without getting into how inane that forced shift to elecrtics is, it is not going to happen overnight. There is a huge installed base of cars and trucks with gasoline and diesel engines, not to mention tractors, generators, chain saws, road building equipment, the list goes on and on and on. Guys like the one Scotty likes to put up in the corner of his videos when talking about the "greens" are simply not going to be able to make them all disappear all that quickly. Then of course there are still brakes, air conditioning systems, electronic controls, bearings, suspensions, not to mention replacing hugely expensive batteries, that will need to be done.
I have no plans of buying an electric car. New ones are way too expensive and you can't get a functional beater for a low price like you can with a gas-powered vehicle. Since I'm Scotty's age that probably won't be possible while I'm still driving or even breathing. You young guys will have to deal with it. 😉
@chucktobias
Have you never seen The Federal Government condemn actions of "free people"? Entire fishing industries closed. The simple three wheel scooter/toy. Freedom of choice about airbags? It is not the American Citizen that designs lifestyle, completely. It is how politicians write laws, design punishment for breaking laws and when they want electric they will get it and we will use fossil fuel items for boat anchors or sell them for scrap to China.
@chucktobias
I agree that fossil-fueled vehicles will exist for some time, and the change to alternate-fuel vehicles will not happen with the flip of a switch. But I also say that, with every day that goes by, more and more hybrid and electric vehicles hit the road, and sooner or later something will not work and people will ask if I can fix it. My answer has to be a resounding "YES", and I have to deliver proper repairs at a fair price in a timely manner, or otherwise, I'm just another closed shop. I can't sit on my behind and stay in business and depend on old tech, work only on tractors, diesels, old gasoline stuff. I have to adapt, and it needs to be now !!!
@chucktobias
Our local mall installed six charging stations. I have never seen anyone plugged in there. If the switch to electric is consumer driven, it will be gradual and everyone will have time to play catch up. If government drives the growth it will probably be a bumpy ride.
I never had a job that I only had one duty. Every job description said "as needed". When repairing gas cars, work on electric if/when they come in. Life changes.
I think auto repair will continue and evolve. Much has changed since I started out in 1964. I had to either keep up or get out. I chose to keep up. The worst part today, isn't keeping up with the technology, but the ever increasing cost of tools and equipment to keep doing this. As an industry we are underpaid for our knowledge and skills. Rant off!
Funny as it may sound, a lot of guys who can handle todays technology struggle with yesterdays technology. A few examples of this are:
Carburetor rebuilding and tuning.
Replacing ignition points and setting dwell and timing.
Adjusting mechanical voltage regulators on generator and alternator equipped vehicles.
Rebuilding starters, generators and alternators.
mechanics will have to become electricians and computer techs I guess.
It's actually very simple:
Transportation is changing, and to remain in business, shops must either adapt or die.
I choose to adapt.
Gasoline powered cars aren't going away anytime soon in my opinion. Our society heavily depends on gasoline powered appliances and switching over to electric would be a humungous shock wave that I don't think anybody's ready for. Mechanics will still be mechanics and they don't need to be concerned about this as of right now. I'm sure at some point we will make the switch to electric but not for a long time. There is still lots of room for improvement to make the combustion engine much more efficient and I believe that is the route that most auto manufacturers will chose. We must be able to jog before we sprint.
I think that it isn't great. A new car in general isn't a great idea just ask scotty. Massive up front cost, massive reduction in value driving off the dealership and these car manufacturers pretty consistently not only increasing the price to buy but the cost overtime of ownership with these like electronic parking brakes and ridiculously expensive parts and service but they are very commonly coming out with recalls that they will do everything in their power to avoid paying.
The average car buyer especially those in their 20's can't afford a new car, not only that but people in that generation generally do not have the skills to even do basic car maintenance. Not to even mention the scumbag insurance companies that will do everything in their power to deny liability of their at fault driver does something stupid like drive on hard drugs and get into a hit and run accident with you. I knew a guy that bought a 2000 Camaro and the engine blew up because he didn't put oil in the damn thing....
Used cars seemed to be a lot cheaper even a few years ago and finding one in good condition with someone that actually took care of it is becoming increasing more difficult to find. As for auto repair shops i think that they are going to keep going but at a disadvantage. Electric cars do NOT make sense at this point and regardless of what every tree hugger says the average car buyer can't afford it and sure as hell can't afford it if something goes wrong.
The average car buyer today is less informed, less competent behind the wheel, less likely to actually properly take care of their vehicle, less likely to be able to afford huge up front costs, less likely to know what could be wrong with their vehicle to begin with.
There is a reason that new car sales have dropped significantly, a much smaller portion of the country can afford it, and in a lot of circumstances people that do go out and buy a new car can run into all these unnecessary electronic issues that never needed to be there to begin with.
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I think electric is moving forward at a stunning rate, battery's are improving monthly. Look a China's NIO. I had this plan 5 years ago, drive I. Swap battery,,,NIO is doing it in 8 minutes for 8 bucks. Go another 250k miles, they are building change stations all over China. Now selling in Europe. I think in five years gas motors will be 1/4 of auto use. I bought NIO stock at 15.00 two months ago trading at 54.00 today. Think they liked my idea lol! Now I said that tomorrow it will go down to two bucks!
@jackofall
Being ruled by a totalitarian, authoritarian system, China is a different ball game than the U.S.
Not everyone here can afford, or wants to spend the money on, a shiny new electric vehicle. In fact there are a whole lot of people working low-wage jobs that simply have no way to purchase one, as well as cheapskates such as myself (and Scotty!) who simply refuse to spend that kind of money on a car.
Show me the fully-functional electric car one can buy used for a couple of grand and we'll talk about the shining vision of the "electric future" in the U.S. My current daily driver was purchased about 10 years ago for well under $2000. It still goes nearly 400 miles on a tank of gas that can be filled up nearly anywhere in a few minutes and has not required major drivetrain repairs. I simply see no reason to spend a lot of money on an electric car and I'm not the only one by a long shot. It is going to be a long time before gasoline cars are only 1/4 of automobile use in the United States.
The NIO entry level car is 27k and they will be offered in Europe and in future USA, there are several more companies moving in the direction I stated. I will stick to my 5 year forecast.
@jackofall
I would not spend 27K on a car. I haven't spent anywhere near that much on every car I've ever owned put together. Plenty of people can not even entertain the idea of spending 27k on a car, or even 15k on one due to low wages, lack of credit, or both. I will stick to my forecast that it is going to take a lot longer than 5 years, in fact I do not expect to live long enough to see it.
I agree not all people will afford electric cars, initially my point was that they will take over new car purchases as they will become more affordable and more practical with extended mileage and durability simplicity of repairs less moving components, States and countries are already requiring them by set date. (5 years may be a stretch) and you now can buy used nissan leafs for as low as 3500.00 here in Florida. ( junk) but available.
@jackofall
That remains to be seen. The fact is that a 10-15-20 year old electric car will basically be worthless unless the cost of new batteries plummets, while a gasoline car of the same age or even older can still be quite useful. A used Nissan Leaf for $3500 is far less capable than a used gasoline anything else that would sell for half the cost. This is not going to change any time soon.
The vast majority of new car buyers are not demanding electric cars. It is being forcibly pushed on them for no good reason. As far as what I think of the government mandates and what the response to them should be I'm not going to get into that since this is not a political discussion site, but you can probably guess. 🙂
I guess time will tell, if gas goes to 12 bucks a gallon for some strange reason or the government mandates force issue? Example you can now buy a 2010 Prius new aftermarket battery for 1595.00 installed, dealer wants 3500.00 I would not buy a full electric at this point as a first car but as I said it would be option for a used one if priced under 8k with updated battery. As tesla may have in the next 5 years along with NIO and other brands.
@jackofall
Although I'm a cheapskate I'm pretty stubborn when it comes to mandates trying to force me into a particular path. Even if they manage to make driving my gasoline-fueled beater more expensive than buying or leasing a new electric car I will continue driving the beater. However I think any politicians that increased gas prices that much in the U.S. would find themselves hounded out of office pretty quickly. This isn't China where government has free reign to do anything it wants to without consequences.
Prius batteries are much smaller and less expensive than those in full electrics, and who knows how good those aftermarket batteries are compared to OEM. However, I have not spent anywhere near $3500 in repairs on my under $2K fossil-fuel driver over the last 10 years. If something expensive breaks I can pick up another beater for less than that.
The bottom line here is that if electric cars were truly the superior choice the new-car buying public would be beating the doors of manufacturers down demanding them. That obviously is not happening. I see no justification for forcing the issue.
It seems car ownership will go away and mechanics will become employees of rental companies.
