I beg to differ with the above assertion "manufacturers feel if you can't figure this out, buy it assembled." I believe most manufacturers simply assume you know much more than you do. The other problem is that kit manufacturers are not necessarily writers so the instructions are oftentimes not clear.
Completely agree with you, Dennis.
It's also very probable that many have bought kits are simply above the current experience level of the modeler. There is a learning curve for most folks and jumping in with a kit that's 3 rungs ahead of your experience level can be exceptionally challenging, but your mileage may vary.
Generally, instructions tend to be minimal and few are independently "tested". Having written instructions for my own kits, I tend to be excessively detailed in explanation since those instructions were derived from hands-on clinics to address the lowest common denominator.
I have found the instructions from BTS for their kits to be good; nearly every kit that I have ever assembled has had some "blind spot" in the instructions as well as some noticeable decline in detail and information towards the end point. I just got a Ft. Wayne Horse Auction car kit and the print instructions are almost too small to read (think Sanskrit) and the figures boarder on being inscrutable (think Dead Sea Scrolls). For more fun, go build a few La Belle CERA freight trailer where the instructions apply to building all 16 variations of the desired car, but also are mixed together with the instructions for 2 unrelated cars.
After a while, you just relax and build stuff. If you can't relax, you should probably take up a hobby or something, 
