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The thread on the Ultra dipstick location brings a question.. In the day, how common was it for an owner to do his own maintenance. In the 50s at least you could he go to a parts store and buy oil by the quart, a filter, a whatever else needed and do something like that in the driveway but how about earlier. Did just about all take their cars --any make-- to the dealer or corner gas station for routine work.

I know my father might do some things -- check the radiator, engine oil, wiper blades -- but anything that required a grease gun or getting under a car went to the gas station.

Remember those old Texaco commercials where someone would drive in and there would be a swarm of attendants run out and start checking everything.

There was "do it yourself" maintenance from the day the first motor vehicle was sold, many of the first buyers were intriqued by the mechanics of the machines and were tinkerers, either by choice or necessity. If you were were wealthy enough to buy a Packard up to the middle 30s, you as an owner probably never got your fingers dirty, either you saw a Packard dealer for service or the chauffeur did some of it. I'd suspect that began to change when Packard began selling to a different class of owner - more or less with the advent of the 120 and 110, and it certainly changed much more rapidly after the end of WW II.

Howard,
Thanks for bringing back the memories of full service. I love the scene in the movie "Back to the Future", for the look of wonderment on Marty's face as attendants swarm over a car during a fill up. And, of course, Doc Brown's '49 convertible. Great movie for Packard fans....

I sure hope that nasty little Ultramatic dipstick (dipstump?)wasn't designed for the do it yourselfer! what on earth were they thinking..Still? Even for their mechanics it was a bear to take out and read properly....but i digress. Again.

Anyways, I doubt in the era of .$15 full service gas that there was much need or desire to do things yourself, it was part of gassing up, and the other maintenance was, as we see...so hard to do. Ever try to add fluid to an Ultramatic after you read the itty bitty dipstump? So most people left it up to 'the dealer'. It was a different time, when people relied on each other more.

I remember my stepfather relied on a local gas station and the fellow who owned it. It was a small (two pump) Ashland station and the owner, Ted Dawson, was the only employee that I ever saw. He serviced the Mayfair and we bought our winter tires from him also. My parents were on a first name basis with him.

Dad shopped around with his cars. To his mind, one place did something better than another so depending on what was needed, that place got the car -- except for gas. That was the cheapest no matter the brand. One time that strategy finally bit him. Hint: Don't fill the car with Oriental brand gasoline at 19.9/gal when everyone else is around 29.9. There is a reason it's cheap. That poor old car almost didn't recover.

Grandmother on the other hand drove her car to the Chrysler dealer just about no matter what was needed.

Good Service Lives on...
My Dad was salesman and bought a lot of gas and service, mostly from the Mobil station down the street. The owner of that station had a son who now services my Mom's '81 Oldsmobile coupe. Mom is 92 and will soon hang up the keys. Who ever thought Olds would be an orphan car...but that's for another thread.