There were almost never spare parts: how cars were repaired in the USSR

Those of you who lived in the USSR must remember how men who managed to get a car would move from their homes to garages all weekend long. And there they were actually engaged in the fact that they were repairing their "swallow".

The reason for this was simple - the ubiquitous Soviet deficit. Normal service stations did not exist, it was difficult to buy spare parts, so every car enthusiast had to acquire the profession of a car mechanic at the same time. OBOZ.UA tells, how it happened and to what flyhacks had to resort.

In fact, service stations in the USSR existed. They began to be introduced in the 1950s, when the Union was established more or less mass car industry. But it was not possible to find such a station everywhere. Moreover, the stations lacked qualified personnel. Often one could meet a smart self-taught person who got a good job.

And to have an acquaintance at the service station in those times was a real luck. You could get to the technical inspection without a huge queue and get service of the class "for your own", not "as always". Taking into account that the car was bought for decades, such friendship was also valued.

However, every garage cooperative had its own craftsman. Sometimes it could be a mechanic from the service station, an employee of the local car factory or an engineer, moonlighting and unofficially. Such specialists took on any work and could charge even cheaper for their services - all the same, all the earnings went into their pockets. Often motorists preferred to turn to such "their" specialists. The quality of their services was often higher.

As for spare parts, they were not "bought", but "got", and the word "snatched" was also in use. There were no normal auto stores, so parts were sold by hand, exchanged or - which was quite typical for the USSR - bought from employees of car factories, car depots or taxi parks who stole them at work.

Closer to perestroika, when entrepreneurship ceased to be a crime in the USSR, spontaneous car markets began to appear. At a certain time, car enthusiasts gathered at a chosen place to sell unneeded parts and buy what they lacked. Of course, there were also stolen parts at such markets.

The scarcity led to the fact that car owners never threw anything away. Damaged parts were collected in the garage and invented a new use for them if necessary. That is why you could often see a whole heap of different junk next to the car.

By the way, not every driver had his own garage. Often cars were repaired by themselves right in the yard, where they were parked. Men in their free time went out into the yard to rebuild their cars and help their neighbors. Often whole consiliums were gathered if the problem was really significant or atypical. Of course, after work it was good to have a good rest with a shot of something strong. Therefore, over time there were even anecdotes about the repair of the car, as a reason to escape from the family routine.

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