Eventually I cut a hole in the floor and welded a shifter direct to the transmission.
On the plus side, I learned so much about how cars work that I can fix a lot of things now. My personal peak was going from “uh-oh, the alternator on the Oldsmobile died” to having replaced it with a new one from the store in 43 minutes.
New cars are substantially more reliable, but that same troubleshooting can be helpful but somewhat harder to learn I feel.
Still, between YouTube and enthusiast forums dedicated to whatever model car it is, you can usually do a lot. Typically if something goes wrong on your car, the same thing has gone wrong to a lot of other folks with the same car and someone has posted about it.
If you're handy enough and have the right tools, an official manufacturer shop repair manual is what you really want. (Chilton is better than nothing, but you really want the manufacturer repair manual.)
But... some things are just a pain in the ass w/o a lift and the right tools. Find a good independent mechanic for older cars (easier said than done) or just take it to the local dealer for cars still under warranty.
That said, although the barrier to learning is much higher now, I appreciate that our Toyota never needs any repairs of any kind. It just boringly starts and drives, every day, in all conditions.
