Rant number 166
We used to be a hands-onsy type people, us brits. Make do and mend was a motto for everyone - and we could do it! Tinkerers were encouraged and thrived - pushing forward our industrial revolution.
But that is rather in the past.
Now don't get me wrong, tinkerers still exist out there, but they are increasingly confined to garages and sheds. And as for the rest of us? They really would like us to keep our hands off.
This applies to many things these days. Plugs for instance. You used to have to wire your own, until it was deemed that this was too dangerous - and too complex a task for us all.
Mostly though, this applies to cars.
There is a great deal of mysticism involved in car repair - and rightly so in many respects. The car has many parts that you shouldn't tinker with without some kind of knowledge and skill. There are however, things on a car that should be available and easy for any owner to do.
Topping up the windscreen washer for instance, is an easy task - you need to do it, otherwise you will eventually not be able to see a thing through the windscreen. Checking up the oil is also not difficult - and nor is topping it up. That's all fine.
But that's where it stops - as I found today with bulbs.
Bulbs will blow from time to time, in your car as much as in your house - its one of those things.
You need lights on your car, and will get pulled over if you are spotted with lights out - so you need to change the dead bulbs over. On modern cars though - this is a really awkward task.
Often a front bulb means moving the battery and bending your hands into an almost inhuman angle. At the back (as today) it means removing the whole lighting unit, unclipping it & then rehousing the whole bloody thing.
They want you to go to the dealer - and pay them lots of money and not get your hands dirty.
It really bugs me!
Rant over.
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