Even before I was old enough to drive it on the road, I was somewhat proficient at making repairs to our 1948 farm truck.
I was no mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, but I was practiced at loosening that old truck’s locked starter gears, repairing mufflers, changing plugs, setting ignition points and performing hosts of other minor tasks – as were many of my peers.
We were not necessarily gifted mechanics, but the difference between then and now was in the engineering of our cars and trucks – they were built to be repaired by shade tree mechanics. Tractors, I suppose, were the same as cars, but we never had one.
My first car was a 1956 Chevrolet. Though I never overhauled the engine, I did replace the intake manifold and carburetor, the automatic transmission and a litany of small parts like the fuel pump, dimmer switch, headlights, wheel bearings and brake shoes. Dad’s tool box and a bit of common sense and a few bucks to spend with “Stenger Sam’s” auto supply was all the jobs required.
Well past my teenage years and into the 1970s, I was still able to take care of most of my own minor car repairs. Over time, though, automotive technology and complexity exceeded my shade-tree skills, and I had to turn “minor” repairs over to the professionals. It was just as well, as I had learned the hard way the limits of my skills – such as when I unsuccessfully attempted to repair a steering component on my brother’s Ford van.
Fast-forward to 2026 and I came up against a simple repair which should have cost just few dollars and required only a screw driver to complete – I broke a tail light lens on my 2021 Ford Ranger.
Finding nothing to unscrew or replace, as on my older vehicles, I simply taped the pieces back together and determined I would fix it later. When “later” came around in June I was shocked to learn the tail light replacement could cost as much as $2,000. There was more to that module than a couple of light bulbs. Integrated into the unit was a blind spot sensor and I’m not sure what other electronic components. I was not just replacing the tail light; I was repairing a part of the truck’s computer system.
With due diligence I checked with all of my repair options and got my tail light replaced for a mere $1,600, plus change.
Thank you, Detroit and Ford Motor Company. I didn’t ask for all the bells and whistles on my 2021 truck, but that’s the way it came. I never imagined repair of a simple component could be so costly, but I’ll concede I’m still living in the past century.
It doesn’t help my attitude that I was compelled to buy this truck because my older F-150 began experiencing transmission misbehavior, but never deemed it necessary to “throw a code” telling mechanics what to fix.
I thought my beloved F-150 would be the last truck I’d ever buy. It wasn’t. If at all possible, this Ranger will be that truck. I can’t see myself ever again borrowing what another would cost.
I’ll just keep fixing this one…
…. to which all the people said, “Famous last words!”
A former feature writer for Ozarks Farm and Neighbor, Jim Hamilton is a retired newspaper editor/publisher. Hamilton was reared on a small dairy farm in Dallas County, Mo. Contact Jim at [email protected].
