Many signs point to the death of the handyman – and woman. Industry statistics tell us fewer people change their own motor oil each year. In fact, by next year, 80 percent of the population is expected to take their vehicle to an auto service center, quick lube or other business to have the oil changed. The percentage is no doubt higher for transmission, differential and other, “more difficult” services.
The reasons are many. An aging population. Smaller engine compartments that make performing maintenance more difficult. Sophisticated new vehicles that require specialized tools and a degree in electrical engineering just to open the hood. It’s as if car manufacturers and circumstances are conspiring to rip the ratchets from our hands.
And it’s for our own good, right? Who wants to spend a gorgeous September Saturday crawling like a bug on a filthy garage floor as his or her five-year-old daughter points and laughs?
Me, that’s who. And millions more animated by the indomitable handyman’s spirit. A recent expedition under my 1994 Geo Prizm to change the tranny fluid and filter offers an explanation for why we handymen and women do what we do.
At some point, I think we all wonder what, in fact, we really have control over. Certainly not the weather, stock market or tensions in the Middle East. Not the price of oil or the cost of living. Not health insurance premium increases. That feeling of smallness can overwhelm even the most stoic of us.
What’s the antidote? For me – and I suspect many of my handyman brethren – it’s attempting to improve what I can control, whether it’s my kitchen (we’re well into year three of that project), my health (several years since my last cigarette, thank you) or my car. I can’t control whether it’ll pour rain tomorrow or the actions of a band of people who really dislike America, but I can control a few things. Transmission pan properly cleaned? Yes. Pan bolts torqued? Check. High-quality AMSOIL OE Synthetic ATF installed? Of course. It’s modern-day alchemy – transforming a few greasy tools, a how-to YouTube video and a dash of perseverance into a feeling more valuable that gold: control over one’s life, even in some tiny way.
That’s one great thing about AMSOIL. Yes, we understand the importance of getting AMSOIL products in independent garages and quick lubes for those who don’t have time for maintenance, but we’ve always made the do-it-yourselfer a big part of our company. We offer a full range of high-quality products to service just about anything in your garage. And you can get them at the lowest possible prices through a Preferred Customer membership.
So hit the garage and get to work this weekend. And as circumstance continues its attempt to render us handymen extinct and our tools useless, join me in grabbing a ratchet and shouting, “From my cold, dead, transmission-fluid-stained hands.”
The reasons are many. An aging population. Smaller engine compartments that make performing maintenance more difficult. Sophisticated new vehicles that require specialized tools and a degree in electrical engineering just to open the hood. It’s as if car manufacturers and circumstances are conspiring to rip the ratchets from our hands.
And it’s for our own good, right? Who wants to spend a gorgeous September Saturday crawling like a bug on a filthy garage floor as his or her five-year-old daughter points and laughs?
Me, that’s who. And millions more animated by the indomitable handyman’s spirit. A recent expedition under my 1994 Geo Prizm to change the tranny fluid and filter offers an explanation for why we handymen and women do what we do.
At some point, I think we all wonder what, in fact, we really have control over. Certainly not the weather, stock market or tensions in the Middle East. Not the price of oil or the cost of living. Not health insurance premium increases. That feeling of smallness can overwhelm even the most stoic of us.
What’s the antidote? For me – and I suspect many of my handyman brethren – it’s attempting to improve what I can control, whether it’s my kitchen (we’re well into year three of that project), my health (several years since my last cigarette, thank you) or my car. I can’t control whether it’ll pour rain tomorrow or the actions of a band of people who really dislike America, but I can control a few things. Transmission pan properly cleaned? Yes. Pan bolts torqued? Check. High-quality AMSOIL OE Synthetic ATF installed? Of course. It’s modern-day alchemy – transforming a few greasy tools, a how-to YouTube video and a dash of perseverance into a feeling more valuable that gold: control over one’s life, even in some tiny way.
That’s one great thing about AMSOIL. Yes, we understand the importance of getting AMSOIL products in independent garages and quick lubes for those who don’t have time for maintenance, but we’ve always made the do-it-yourselfer a big part of our company. We offer a full range of high-quality products to service just about anything in your garage. And you can get them at the lowest possible prices through a Preferred Customer membership.
So hit the garage and get to work this weekend. And as circumstance continues its attempt to render us handymen extinct and our tools useless, join me in grabbing a ratchet and shouting, “From my cold, dead, transmission-fluid-stained hands.”
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