I would have to say so. I have done a lot of mechanical work in my 50+ years of owning old Mopars. But, it had always been the same types of cars, and their associated bits and pieces. More repetition than anything new. If you know how to rebuild brakes on a '64 Polara, you also know how to do them on a '79 Diplomat, etc.
However, my Son has always been into weird $hit. He figured out how to turbo-charge his Subaru by using parts from Pick-a-Part yards, and get it all running well. When the engine expired in his Neon, he replaced it with a bigger one from a PT Cruiser. His next project was a Mitsubishi Pajero, which was the Japanese equivalent of a Suburban. It was a 3-seat SUV, with all the power creature comforts and full leather interior. They were never marketed in North America, and were usually right-hand-steer. However, this one was sold new in Germany, and then imported to Canada, so it had normal left-hand-steering. It was powered by 4 cylinder turbo diesel, 5-speed manual with o.d., and 4-wheel drive, with electronic fuel injection. Over the years, the injection pump failed twice, and rebuilt replacements came from Australia. When he had to replace the second pump, he decided to replace the high mileage engine at the same time. He sourced a low mileage motor in Great Britain, and had it shipped to Ontario. We found it was very hard to properly time the injection pump. My son eventually sold this $$$ pit.
He and his wife now both drive Audi AWD A7's. His is a turbo V-6 diesel, while hers is a supercharged V-6 gasser. Recently the positive crankcase vent valve failed on her car, causing it to burn a lot of oil. In their Germanic way, Audi buried this in the V under the supercharger. The Audi garage wanted about $4,000 to change this $200 part, so my Son decided to do it himself. He had to remove the blower, and all its associated plumbing and wiring to replace the valve. I was sure the car would never run again, but it fired right up. My son goes on his computer to search all the forums to diagnose these weird failures, and how to repair them. He has repaired more stuff that I would not attempt at all.
He is not a mechanic by profession, but a fire fighter with Mississauga, near Toronto. He has a 2-post hoist in his shop and does most of the normal maintenance on the family vehicles as well. My hat is off to him!
