Sentence Correction

Here's a SC question, I'm not sure if the answer given along with the question is correct or not-

Ques: Trying to learn some of the basics of programming is the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager: some people end up going to engineering school, and others, twenty years later, remember nothing of the experience.

(A) the same as to tinker with a car when one is a teenager
(B) similar to a teenager tinkering with a car
(C) like tinkering with a car as a teenager
(D) the same as a teenager tinkering with a car
(E) like the teenager's tinkering with a car


Spoiler space-
Answer: "A"
My answer: "C"

Please let me know which one is the correct one.
Thanks