Customer service.

[hunter]

16. I bought a new car once when I was young and full of myself. I won't do that again.

The last time I stepped into a car dealership was to buy a part for an old car. They didn't have it, of course, and said they'd have to order it, which they did, $65 for a little piece of plastic.

I might have done that on the internet, but no, this car company doesn't do that, and the part was one that doesn't fail or get broken often enough for the usual aftermarket sources to have duplicated it yet. Things like tail lights for this car are available from multiple sources, but not the part I needed.

Car culture sucks in every way. The manufacturers protect their dealers, even the scummy dealers.

I'm a fairly good mechanic and I know some honest and excellent actual independent mechanics (who sometimes laugh at my own hack repairs), so I can afford to drive inexpensive used cars.

It's troubling to me that as cars become more computerized the car manufacturers and their dealer networks are making it more difficult for independent mechanics to keep cars in good repair.