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My mom and sister do this all the time. It's almost a given that if they bought a vehicle they won't have any idea about the engine. They don't even know how many cylinders their engine has. I've grown to accept "that's just how they are". Today a coworker and I were walking to our cars. He had just bought a 2016 Toyota Camry. I asked him which engine he has and he looked at me and said he had no idea. He didn't even know if he had a 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder! Told him to pop the hood and at a glance knew he had the 4 cylinder. He bought a used car without even looking under the hood! Is this becoming a common thing among car buyers? Every car I bought, used and new, was looked at under the hood, in the trunk, in the wheel well, and other places.
I get people not knowing the size (liters or cubic inches) and power of their engine. But you got to look under the hood at least once before you buy the car. Makes me wonder how many bring their car in for repairs and can't tell the service manager which engine it has since most vehicles are available with at least two different engines. I remember the exact size and nearly the exact horsepower of every car I've ever owned as well as the number of gears in the transmission.
This is why you have lack of regular maintenance also, people just drive and think nothing about maintenance until they have trouble and then blame it on the car. Even my wife will pop the hood and check the oil and knows when to take it in for maintenance and oil changes, just to many idiots owning cars that haven't a clue to even read the owners manual. Reminds me of that commercial were that kid telling his dad I know what a lugwrench is while he is asking his friend if the crowbar he was holding was a lugwrench.
It could be that some people know that looking under the hood won't do a lot of good since they don't know what they're looking at anyway. Most people don't know what the guts of a computer are supposed to look like either.
As for maintenance, most people either go by the sticker in the windshield, in which case they risk spending way too much on maintenance, or they go by the oil change light. Most modern cars tell you exactly when to bring it in and what to bring it in for.
As for knowing the difference between engines, it helps if anything to know if you paid too much for a base model or somethimg, but if you're not physically doing the labor anyway it doesn't really matter much.
Keep in mind this is an automotive forum so we really don't represent the bulk of the population. If it were a computer forum people would be appalled that some people don't even know if they're using DDR4-SDRAM vs DDR-DRAM.
And when you take the vehicle into service the service writer does not look under the hood to see that the engine, trans, rear end, is; he punches in the serial number and poof, the entire build info is on his screen (if the dealer is of the same manufacturer, GM, Ford, etc.)
It could be that some people know that looking under the hood won't do a lot of good since they don't know what they're looking at anyway. Most people don't know what the guts of a computer are supposed to look like either.
As for maintenance, most people either go by the sticker in the windshield, in which case they risk spending way too much on maintenance, or they go by the oil change light. Most modern cars tell you exactly when to bring it in and what to bring it in for.
As for knowing the difference between engines, it helps if anything to know if you paid too much for a base model or somethimg, but if you're not physically doing the labor anyway it doesn't really matter much.
Keep in mind this is an automotive forum so we really don't represent the bulk of the population. If it were a computer forum people would be appalled that some people don't even know if they're using DDR4-SDRAM vs DDR-DRAM.
This^ OP, how does it matter to my wife to know what size engine she just bought? How is she going to benefit from it? Her being someone who cares less about it, your not gonna spend less then her because you know these things when her vehicle is less then 3 months old. One part people should know is if they have the right tires. Her last car (which was so far from a performance car, 2011 Sonata) came with summer only tires, we live in Mpls. Had to buy new tires after first snowfall.
This^ OP, how does it matter to my wife to know what size engine she just bought? How is she going to benefit from it? Her being someone who cares less about it, your not gonna spend less then her because you know these things when her vehicle is less then 3 months old. One part people should know is if they have the right tires. Her last car (which was so far from a performance car, 2011 Sonata) came with summer only tires, we live in Mpls. Had to buy new tires after first snowfall.
If you change your own air filters it helps to know which engine you have so you can get the right part.
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