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[–] 11 points 9 months ago (3 children)

It's not about what they repair the most, it's about their knowledge, experience, and expertise in a niche. Even if they repair cheap household crap frequently, they may also make repairs on industrial equipment that's been in use for decades. They'd understand the differences between various products and companies, differences that a layperson wouldn't have experience with. They may not be analysts, but they'll know which models have expensive parts you'd need to ship from overseas, vs which models could be repaired with a trip to your local hardware store. That's the information that makes them a valuable resource.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago

    Yep, very true. Ask them what they buy for their house. They know what brands and models are crap, and how they've changed over time.

    My brother-in-law has been a county car mechanic for decades. He repairs all kinds of county vehicles - cop cars, construction vehicles, anything the county buys. He can tell you which years of specific vehicles are good and which ones are garbage. Of course he only knows the US brands that the county buys but I wouldn't buy a Ford or Chevy without talking to him. He's always going on about how certain years are known for transmission problems or issues with electrical, etc.

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (1 child)

    I mean yeah, they understand what breaks, but without crunching the numbers they won't know much of anything useful about failure rates. Anecdotal data is still anecdotal even at larger volumes until you properly analyst it.

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago)

    Although that is absolutely true, I'm not sure how it's relevant to knowing what's been easy to work on or how to purchase replacement parts.

    But I could see the reasoning if you're taking the question of "which brands and models last the longest" to have an objective answer. In this case, I'd probably look up the suggested brands myself before immediately taking anyone's word for it. A repair person could be a good jumping off point, but you're right that hard data is crucial. "Trust, but verify."

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