Oh heck don't bring up civics. I have a neighbor who has a 98 that hadn't started in 2 years. He couldn't even remember what was wrong with it. All he could tell me was he had the engine replaced a year prior to it going out and he had a couple of mechanics look at it but couldn't figure it out. I made a bet with him. If I could figure it out in less than 1hr he owed me $500. He took me up on it. I didn't even check it. I had him crank it a couple times and told him to go get me a fuel filter and spark plugs. That damn thing crunk right up. Lol

I got lucky on that one but it was the easiest $500 I ever made.

 

Well I grew up around cars with carbs and points (later HEI's), and eventually FI, but the primitive version (analog), and my dad taught me to use the trouble shooting guides commonly found in FSMs (he had a good collection of them). So, that's where I learned. Mostly by doing, and reading what I could. Remember, we didn't have the internet back then, and computers were still punch cards that took days to set up in math class.