[hellisothers]

We only have so much time though, sure I can do a fair bit of home and vehicle repairs but I find it fascinating and only have one kid. My friends with 2-3 kids and no passion for looking under any hood I don’t begrudge them paying somebody to do it.

[_yb2s]

I agree, I am a single dad, and although I love working on cars, finding time to do so is really hard. Despite what I wrote, one of my cars is actually in the shop right now for a very expensive major engine repair covered by warranty. My love for tinkering doesn’t extend to ignoring my son so I can pay thousands for parts to do a huge expensive job myself that someone else will do for free! But if it wasn’t free, and I didn’t have the money to pay, I sure as heck could do it.

[mrexroad]

You’ve made the right choice. I haven’t had a choice at various times in my past, so I’ve spent a lot of time over the years fixing house/car/etc. instead of playing with my kids (of which I still did plenty). When my daughter was in maybe 8 or so, someone started to explain the concept of a piston to her, and she interjected, “I know what a piston is, I’ve changed spark plugs before.” Hearing that helped give perspective on some of it.