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star wars - Why did the Lars family need an astromech droid?


It was very clear why Owen decided to buy C-3PO:




OWEN: What I really need is a droid who understands the binary language of moisture vaporators.



But they appeared to be really interested in acquiring an astromech droid since when the first one (R5-D4) blew up because of a bad motivator, they decided to get R2-D2.


What use would they have for an astromech droid?



Answer



I agree it seems strange. R2 droids are specifically engineered to work on starfighters



this rounded, waist-high droid was made specifically to fit in military starfighter astromech slots




However, it probably retains the general purpose of an astromech droid:



a type of droid that served as an automated mechanic, performing a variety of repair duties



which means it would be handy to have around in a semi industrialized agricultural environment. We also see that R2 series is very high quality.


So this is a bit like buying the highest quality Swiss Army Knife -- sure it's engineered for military use, but it is handy in many other situations. Or maybe imagine buying a Humvee -- could be handy for some kinds of rural work.


Update: as @SQB pointed out above, Owen originally went for an R5 unit, which is the low cost budget version of the R2. Perhaps he gravitated to the R5 first out of frugal farmer instincts, but R2D2 (as a used unit) was a tolerable price.


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