Local independent mechanics with solid problem-solving skills and a good work ethic are an increasingly rare breed.

Their idea of problem diagnosis these days is to charge £175 to plug it in to the computer.

vintage and veteran cars don't have parts supplies, but we have engineers, if someone made it before, we can make it now and probably better.

I believe the logic is as follows: as a mechanic you can afford to be ingenious and resourceful for your own good, but you can't afford to be that way if your livelyhood depends on it, i.e. you can't spend time on thinking to and testing resourceful solutions because you simply can't charge enough for the process since everyone expects to spend very little on  such an old car. Perhaps a vintage car that the owner is willing to spend a lot of money on because the car is very special.

I was never a natural mechanic but I've grown to love my old car hobby from YouTube tutorials. Purely amateur but I take pride in keeping an old car tiptop.

Its videos like this that just give us home machanics the 'reminder' we need to keep going and not always follow the corporate wish for us to  'buy new'.

You are spot on.  In the motor trade we used to say…. That was the difference between a mechanic and a fitter.

A fitter is only just about capable of changing an old part for a new out of the box.

A ‘mechanic’ is capable of removing the problem part, repairing it, and refitting it.

As rare as hen’s teeth these days.  The fitters have lots of certificates but don’t know how to tie their own shoes laces.

I was a mechanic in the early 60's when they started to introduce the notion of instead of repairng things, replaced things, I found a new job!

Spot on. I had a problem with a local guy, replaced a brake hose, he didnt have a new copper washer. He seemed to resent my suggestion of heating/ annealing it, it was bent, he whacked with a hammer on his bench to straighten (wtf work harden non parallel faces?), and proclaimed it WILL seal, showing off his great strength. Thank god it did but could have stripped the threads. I often seem to have problems with some mechanics if they think I know too much. Not as bad as roofers mind.

Good advice as always, I'm lucky, I grew up poor and had to do my own repairs.

I've just learnt this the hard way. My clutch wouldn't go into gear easily after the linkage was changed and instead of taking the panel off and checking clutch and linkage were in tandem the mechanic kept doing a work around. This resulted with me not having a reliable car for months and eventually wrecking the clutch. I realised the common thread with the issue was the 1 mechanic business. I have noticed some plumbers are problem solvers and fix and others say you need to replace bathroom, sink etc. ; Car mechanics are the same! Some can fix and some can only replace parts. I have found a new mechanic thankfully that can  fix... it was an expensive lesson in both time and money.

Too many fitters and too few mechanics these day.
Me, retired after 55-years in the trade.

My experience of running a 25+ year old car has taught me two things:

1. Don't even bother asking a shop which does fleet work, e.g., taxis, vans, company cars. Those are always easy fit jobs and they can't be bothered to work on anything more complicated.

2. Be prepared to survive without the car for weeks if you want it sorted properly. Even the most creative mechanic will get spooked if you tell them that you need it fixed within a week, and they'll turn the business down. Reassure them that you're happy to give them time to work the problem and get the job done right, help source the parts yourself etc., at a fair price for the labour.

An unfortunate reality with bangernomics is that too many people are doing it because they can only afford one car, and can't be without that car for weeks at a time. If you can cope without it, or have a spare, it's easier.

Basis of this is the difference between an engineer and a fitter. I was in the auto business including actual manufacturer apprenticeship for 25 years, now a forklift engineer for the last 20. The ability to think is the main difference.

The problem is that as cars get more complex, it becomes also more complex for the car owner to understand if the repair really needs an assembly or just a small part or a work around. Also, we should not judge every mechanic. It may well be that dealers does not allow their mechanics to "fix" the car. All in all, the best thing you can do is to find good local independent repair shop and drive simple cars. My daily driver is a Peugeot Partner HDI Diesel, Euro 4 without DPS, easy. My nice car is a Mercedes W201. Old school mechanics have no issues with either of them.

Look at what they do in Cuba with no parts.

I have always said "there are fitters and there are fettelers"

Too many mechanics are not getting the hands on experience with older cars, or an apprenticeship in a workshop. I worked in a University Dept about 30 years ago, the workshop there was an amazing sight to behold. They could create anything, and I mean anything. You need a wheel? No problem. A hand made screw with a specific thread, easy. I had an old rack I wanted to fit onto my motorbike. Within 10 mins, they had cut up some sleaving, made a few brackets and away I went. Can’t find these places now. That whole Dept has since closed down.

My mate asked me about his rattling exhaust on his civic, I asked on start up and shut down, yes. It's the heat sheild on the exhaust. He was gob smacked, apparently the garage was talking about taking the whole exhaust off and probably replacing parts of the exhaust if required.
I just jacked it up drop the box off the rubbers and used some repair washers, jobs a good 'un, told him if it starts again you'll need a new heat shield.
I drank for freee that Friday, saved him hundreds.

The hydraulic connection on the clutch of my Hyundai started leaking because the little spring clip that holds it on broke. Hyundai won't sell the clip on it's own, only the complete flexible hose for £100+. I bought some spring steel wire with the intention of bending my own until I found a GM part for £2, that looked almost identical. Bought one, tried it, fits fine, no more leaks.