I was watching the auto news and found one story I’m not the least bit surprised to hear. Another enthusiast got his car to a dealership so they could fix some triviality only to have one of the service techs take it for a spin and crash it. It’s something that just seems to get more and more common, causing enthusiasts to turn away from dealerships and, in some cases, take matters into their own hands.
While the average modern car has enough electronics to have made NASA go green with envy a couple of decades ago, you can still do some simple jobs on your own. Changing your own oil, rotating tires, changing bulbs and general preventive maintenance are still within the reach of the average person, not to mention more intensive work that still doesn’t touch any electrics, i.e., changing a head gasket/spark plugs. Of course, more complex problems are perhaps best left to your trusty specialist.
Of course I say that, but I don’t actually do any work on my car. For one thing, I have found a trusty mechanic who’s not particularly inclined to go on a joyride (and even if he was, he certainly has better cars to do so in than mine). Second, it’s actually rather cheap to have it serviced there and they’ll work on absolutely anything I manage to push in into the shop. Third, and most importantly, I’m a bit of a klutz when it comes to technical work. When I say a bit, I mean less of a “Oh, I’ve scratched the finish while rebuilding it” and more “Oh no, Gerardo has done the touch of death on yet another innocent machine; may it rest in pieces.”
I’ve never taken apart and rebuilt anything without it being hopelessly broken afterwards–everything from laptops to a simple wind-up clock. If I take it apart, it is not going back together. A few bad experiences shouldn’t make me think that everything I touch will proceed to grenade itself in spectacular fashion, of course. But I still think It’s for the best I try and start with at least making sure things remain functional after I’ve taken them apart and put them back together before moving to the extremely complex machinery that makes my car move through the power of several thousand controlled explosions.
What about you? Do you approach repair and maintenance with an open wallet or an open toolbox? Is the maintenance of your car an incredibly complex task best left to somebody that obviously knows what they’re doing? Or is it something that if done by anyone else would simply mean that you’re being deprived of spending time with your pride and joy?
(PS: The Digital Millennium Act includes provisions that would make it illegal for owners and mechanics to access some of the codes of a car’s electronics for repair or customization. There is a movement/petition drive to exempt vehicle repair from its provisions. More info and a petition are here. – PN)
Im all over the place. When I had my Jeep and Chrysler at the same time, I did a lot more since I could take my time. If one was torn down, I could drive the other. In the case of my truck, this rig is it.
When I brought that PT Cruiser home, I knew a thing or two about it since Id been researching 2nd cars. But it was my first fwd, my first turbo, and my first ‘normal’ car..you know, as opposed to Jeeps and trucks. Opening the hood and seeing the engine turned sideways and all jammed in there…all the high tech turbo bits…it was jarring. But I joined an online forum full of really friendly PT cruiser fanatics who loved modding for performance. In no time, I realized that even with a computer, ludicrous tight working area and my gorilla hands it wasn’t really THAT much different than any other vehicle I wrenched on. Its mostly the same tech, just more modern and many of the same rules apply.
One thing I haven’t done myself is changing oil. When I lived closer to my parents back in TN, my dad has a decent workshop…perfect for it. Here, its a bunch of messy clutter I have to find a place for, its a nasty job that really doesn’t save THAT much money. And one of my tattoo artists’ comment on simple tattoos really put it in perspective for me. He said that simple tribals are something any good artist hates doing. They don’t really challenge you, its not that fun to do, and its not really honing you skills. I remembered that when I started getting my oil done. Its a job that once Ive done it once, its old hat. Unlike doing a new modification where Im tearing into a new part of my ride, Im not learning something new. Im not seeing the inner workings of something different, Im not taking on a new challenge and Im not really discovering anything that I wanted to know. And unlike a new mod, I haven’t really put in the effort for some cool new reward or upgrade that looks badass, enhances performance, or makes my rig any ‘better’. Just less satisfying all around.
The tattoo analogy is a good one. However, I have a hard time trusting a place like a jiffy lube/precision tune/etc. to even get a simple oil change right. I’ve heard too many horror stories about improperly tightened drain plugs, filters that were not actually changed or not noticing the old o-ring was still stuck to the fitting, the wrong amount of oil put in, etc. Plus I like to use synthetic, which they charge you an arm and a leg for, and how do you verify that’s actually what they used, rather than charging you $30 more and still using dino?
Since I don’t have the option to do it myself right now, I prefer to take it to either a local semi-independent shop that does most of my work on the Crown Vic, or to a dealership. While going to a dealership for an oil change on an older car sounds a little silly, a friend once made a good point. A dealership a)is likely to have better trained, more conscientious techs who will probably do better work than the guy in the lube pit cranking out quick changes at jiffy lube and b)has more riding on their reputation so have more incentive to hold their people to a higher standard of work. Plus, if you go online and look for specials, often times you can pay less for an oil change at a dealership compared to a quick lube place.
I am closing out my fourth decade of auto ownership and can count the times I have had oil changed on one hand. From my 1966 Beetle through our current rides (PT Cruiser, Retro Thunderbird, Mini Cooper and Honda Shadow 1100) that has been a constant for a number of reasons, cost being the least among them. It is simply faster, more convenient, I can allow the oil to drain more completely it and gives me a good opportunity to spot other issues before they become problems. In addition I can use the best quality fluids and filters. I ditched the ramps long ago (haven’t had a vehicle that can clear them in some time) and now use two ten by twelves nailed together which provides more than enough room. I can put the cars on them, pull the drain plug, remove the filter and have them draining in five minutes. Then I can do whatever else for thirty minutes to an hour. Replace the filter and plug, and refill with new (always synthetic) oil and I am good to go with about a total investment of 30 minutes including clean-up. The last time I went to a franchise place (Valvoline) was about fifteen years ago and damned if they didn’t cross thread the plug. That said, if you are going to have it done, go to a dealer. They’re just as inexpensive and at least you will be getting a decent filter.
I did rotate my SRX tires at 6000 mile intervals and had oil changes done at 12000, when the oil monitor was around 25%. Now I don’t have a spare tire or a jack, but I do try to keep the tires inflated above the minimum recommended pressure. Also am trying to get them adjusted so the pressure monitor shows the same pressure on both sides.
It all depends upon my mood.
I still do my own brakes, but have ceased doing my own oil due to the aggravation of storing the oil until I take it to the parts house to dispose of it. I guess I could utilize the used oil to burn brush piles! 🙂
In the past I have replaced the power steering pump, intake manifold, rear axle, and rubber brake lines on my 2001 Crown Victoria. I replaced the timing belt in my wife’s 1.9 liter ’96 Escort. The entire brake system on the Galaxie was rebuilt by my hands. Spark plugs and wires are no big deal, having replaced those in everything I’ve ever owned at least once while I owned it – the worst being that damn 5.4 liter Ford Econoline I own.
However a touch of arthritis in my hands combined with a few other factors has got me taking my vehicles places on rare those occasions they need some help.
I do as much as I can. I fixed up our abandoned 1987 Chevy truck, and fell in love with wrenching. I also do my own oil changes. Sure, Quicky Mart can do them cheaper, but I refuse to have other people doing that, and I refuse to use Fram filters, which seem to be the norm at these places. Give me good oil and a good filter, and 30 minutes. It’s worth it.
Now, when my 1995 LeSabre needed a new transmission, I had an independent guy install my junkyard transmission. I still sourced the part, though.
It’s my vehicle. I’ll take care of it!
The only car I don’t work on is my wife’s car. It’s a 2014 and still under warranty. The next newest vehicle I have is my 1996 pickup which is to new for me.
Used to -in my 20s; by the 40s, I only changed oil.
1. Being 6’4″, my long arms have never fit well in any space surrounding the object needing repair.
2. My size was never made for under-dash work -tough to fold up.
3. And for reasons known only to God, every time I just OPEN a hood, I always bust a knuckle open and bleed like a stuck pig. Guaranteed.
Used to, but since I’ve had modern cars it hasn’t been worth the effort. However today I got my mechanic to replace the radiator in my Austin mini and it cost enough to make me seriously consider getting the spanners out again. Minis aren’t the easiest to work on due to lack of space, but at least the mechanics are simple enough.
I always liked working on motorbikes but didn’t like working on cars for some reason.
I do my own basic maintenance and some repairs. I used to have a relatively complete tool set and could even do the struts myself. Those tools are long gone and the current ride is reliable enough.
I have yet to hit a local mechanic.
I have always done my own repairs and also maintained the family fleet for many years. Thirty five now that I think about it. Brakes, suspension, steering, engine, electrical, body and paint and you name it.
We had a local mechanic for official business such as e-testing and safety certifications and such. He said he liked doing safety inspctions for me because they were easy money. Nothing to do but the inspection and paperwork. He even had a write-up in the local paper on how his business was built on trust and honesty.
I can tell some horror stories about his dealings with seniors and so can others. It leaves us wondering what the hell went wrong. Trust well and truely shattered for all time. I’m back to doing all repairs and maintenance on my mom’s car as well as my own and my sister’s car and wouldn’t have it any other way.
The only thing I really hate is exhaust work. I’ll do it, but I won’t like it.
I’m a younger gear head, I’ve been working on cars for 20 years and only recently did I really notice how many gear heads their are who know nothing about working on cars. It seems strange, but their are so many facets of the hobby that it doesn’t surprise me.
that said I take tremendous pride in doing the work my self. Part of my enthusiasm for the hobby is enthusiasm for engineering. Part of the love for old cars is looking at the constraints they had and how they figured out a work around.
I recently did a brake job on the wife’s 2009 BMW. It was less straight forward than I thought. The rotors didn’t want to come off and they needed to be replaced, no turning them. The part that threw me through a loop was the brake sensors. These neat little sensors, I think they read resistance as they wear down and the dash will tell you how many miles you have left on your pads. Pretty neat! But to replace them you have to order them and if you try to reuse them like I did they can fall off and score the rim.
The BMW is not built to be worked on. Why else would they put torx head bolts on the air cleaner housing? That ticked me off to be honest. It’s as if they don’t trust their owners. That and the lack of a dipstick made me feel insulted. We probably won’t buy another BMW.
In one of my former jobs as a Level III Industrial Maintenace Technician I was responsible for 5 German, 1 Italian, 1 Swiss and 1 American made machine.
The American machine was 40 years old, straight foreward design and overbuilt. If there was ever an earthquake and the roof fell in, that was the machine you would want to stand beside.
The Swiss machine was tricky to adjust but once set up it ran forever and nothing ever broke. The electrical cabinet was a thing of beauty and a work of art.
The Italian machine was also a thing of beauty. It needed constant attention and frequent adjustments for it to run well.
What can I say about the German machines? Well, the Germans were so confident that it would never break they didn’t make them easy to repair.
Time is my constraint. When time allows, I do my own work on vehicles not under warranty. I have my limitations; I have no shop and therefore no desire to spend time bending and flaring a new brake line or repairs of a time rather than money consuming nature.
I do my own repairs and maintenance one FWD diesel car and one RWD petrol classic both are quite simple basic cars I just aquire the needed parts and install them a friend has an inspection pit I use occasionally which makes life easier for exhaust work etc.
Minor things that do not require taking things apart to any great extent I will do, if there’s no urgency. Plugs, wires, dist cap. Flushing coolant. Changing a v-belt. Air filter. Replacing minor parts that screw or bolt in and out. Repacking the wheel bearings, changing bulbs, adjusting the choke.
There are things beyond that, especially on my ’77 Electra, that I definitely could do if I sat down for 6 hours with the service manual (surprisingly excellent) or a mechanic that wanted to take that long to teach me. Changing out various gaskets or suspension parts comes to mind. But I’ve never seemed to have that time to spare as an attorney and nor has anyone else, and I don’t have a lift or garage. Pretty much if I can’t do it in my parents driveway or need any kind of power tools it’s going into the mechanic. Same if it involves taking apart a bunch of tiny pieces and putting them back together: I will never rebuild a carburetor or transmission.
I have changed the oil but have found it more convenient just to go into to JiffyLube. I bring my own oil and filter and make it very clear what I want (you have to slightly underfill the oil on a Buick 350, fill it to or even a fraction over the top line on the dipstick and it will froth >> lifter tick.).
Adjusting…a choke? My…that is a lost art…!
The prior owner had set it all the way lean and I was having starting issues. My dad told me to check it before I took it to a mechanic and explained what to do on the phone and then I watched a youtube video to confirm. Haven’t had an issue since and have never been sure why it was set so lean.
So is setting points.
I own a 2003 Jaguar S Type 3.0 as a daily driver. I absolutely have to do my own work, and I’m pretty busy working on it! If I had someone else work on it, I would have spent more than the value of the car! I’ve never had a car with the amount of issues this one has. If you’re a hobby mechanic, get an S Type, it’ll keep you busy!
I do enjoy doing the maintenance, and do it on the Jag, my ’06 Mustang GT ( of which I have to replace the plugs, ouch!), and my wife’s ’05 Escape.
I’ve done little over the past three years. Renovating my home (even though I’ve hired out a lot of that too), volunteer work and my home business have shifted priorities. I hope to get back to more hands-on car stuff after finishing the reno.
We have two cars in the family right now. One is new enough that it’s still mostly-owned by the bank and under warranty; it goes to the dealer for service.
The other car… Its manufacturer no longer sells cars here. We’re largely on our own for that one, though we do have a good shop about an hour away that knows them and can handle jobs that we don’t have the time / space / ability for.
In general, though, we do as much of our own work as is reasonable. Doing an oil change is no big deal, but when you get a coupon for them that makes it cheaper to pay someone to do it than you can buy five quarts of oil for at the local auto parts store, DIY doesn’t make sense. But if it’s something that can easily be done in the space of a weekend or less (say, replacing an alternator), absolutely.
I grew up during the tail end of the hot rod era, when nothing was out of bounds in the realm of doing it yourself. Age and illness have limited me from the heavy stuff (no more clutch changes on the driveway) but I feel that having at least a working knowledge of how stuff works and how it can be repaired adds a profound dimension to the admiration and enjoyment of an automobile from any era.
I can still replace an engine or transmission on a ’70s or older RWD car. It takes longer than it used to, and hurts more, but I can still do it. I would never attempt a job like that on a FWD car. I have replaced CV joints, struts, steering racks, lower control arms, etc. Some of this stuff you can still get to. I recently replaced the harmonic balancer on my ’01 Malibu, and despite what the manual said, I had to use an angle grinder to cut away part of the inner fender to get to it. Replacing the 3 rear plugs is about a 10 hour nightmare.
I do all service/repair work on my cars—and some of my neighbor’s cars as well.
The only exceptions include wheel alignment (I don’t have an alignment rack) and auto transmission rebuilds. With regard to crash and rust repair–I can swap out doors and fenders, but must farm out the metal and paint work.
On the rare ocassion one of my cars has been in a shop, I have inevitably found the work to be below my own standard, and I have gotten deeply frustrated. I work hard to avoid such nonsense.
I did the front wheel alignment on my ’64 Fairlane with a carpenter’s level and a tape measure after rebuilding the front end. It drives fine, and is not wearing out the tires. Good enough for me.
I jumped in and did the timing on my 91 3000gt VR4. It was a massive pain in the ass but everything seemed to run okay once I put everything back together. It only took about 3 months to do it. i would gladly do it again, it taught me quite a bit and I think it would go much faster the next time around.
I replaced the turbo on my Subaru after it blew up. I don’t know if i ever want to work on a Subaru boxer engine again. It would almost be easier to remove the whole engine.
Always get the factory shop manuals they are a godsend.
I’ll do it mostly myself, on both the Riviera and the Grand Cherokee. But inside the trans and the differential I’ll use someone else.
I don’t do all my own work on my cars, when I was younger yes, That was over forty years ago. I did most of the work on my motorcycles, rebuilt my Sportster a couple of times, and did stuff to my Big twin and the Hondas and Kawasakis that preceded them. My cars back then too. As I got older I could buy newer, and and even brand new cars. I saved my wrenching for my hobby vehicles which were my bikes. Round about the mid nineties, I was in my forties and I got the bug for a hobby car. I got a real nice 71 Riviera. Then I decided that I wanted a 66 Riv and for some reason decided that I would get one that needed to be “fixed up”. Well many more hobby cars have come and gone, some were purchased in better shape than others, But my rule is that I do almost all the work on these cars. I could not justify spending money to fix up a car that I don’t even need. Now, I also don’t have the extra money to spend so that it is even more critical that I do the work. I have a lot of tools and have always been interested in mechanics so I read about everything. The internet has been a real boon to car repair. and even at sixty years of age I still enjoy it. I will work on my newer cars to get things done and save money but I would prefer not to. My plan for the future is to have new or late model cars for my daily drivers and to have some type of hobby car for fun, But like most older guys we have to be careful not to hurt ourselves while we do repairs. My back is messed up enough already. My current car, the 70 Mustang is one of the worst I have started with, and probably the oldest. (It’s funny that my fifty six Caddy was only forty years old at the time I had it, while my 70 Mustang is forty five years old). I have replaced the exhaust system, rebuilt the brakes, starter alternator, rewired and repaired the wiring harness.I have spent a lot of time lying on my back, looking up under the dash. I replaced a fender, heater core, repaired the seats and interior( still got a ways to go) prepped for paint, built a custom grill and turn signal set up, replaced the turn signal switch, steering wheel, fixed the carb and still have a long way to go,
I’ve had a lot of “hobby” cars, in fact that is the main purpose of a car to me. Every single one of them has been old school, carbed, no emissions crap or electronics on them. And except for 3 VW bugs, they have all been American. There was one exception. A 1993 Chevy S10 pickup I bought about 10 years ago in literally like new condition. The bottom was as clean as the top, no rust anywhere, the frame still had that factory applied greasy waxy stuff on it. Only one problem. It had a computer and a TBI injected 2.8 V6. I had already planned on getting rid of that. Today it has been totally rebuilt from the ground up, with a healthy carbed 383 under the hood. It’s a total blast to drive, and occasionally race. And easy to work on. I had to register it out of the county to avoid the emissions test.
I try to at least think about it. I change the oil in the Porsche myself, it’s so easy and does save a bunch of money (not going near a quick-lube place with it). The 300 I just took it to the dealer the other day, for $39 they change the oil (7qts), filter, AND rotate the tires. The wife’s car currently is under a service plan so the dealer does the oil on that as well.
Regarding more involved work on the Porsche, when it needs something I look it up and generally attempt it myself if I have the time although there is a good independent in town that I can fall back on. Looking at replacing the suspension and probably the brakes as well. I just replaced the front brakes on the wife’s car, and the 300 won’t need anything that’s not under warranty for a while.
The old Honda I used to just take it to a different independent, I found a guy that is cheap and very trustworthy a few years ago in a networkig group we both belonged to. He works on anything so he has seen the Honda, the Saab, as well as the old Tahoe I think over the years and I’d probably take any of the cars to him. And I make a point of referring him to others that are then sure to mention me, this helps keep him on my side.
The next big project is on my wife’s car. Gearing up for that now. Need to change a license plate bulb. 🙂 I would totally ignore it but the “Licence Plate Bulb Out” warning message dominates the gauge cluster readout so it’s become annoying.
Having started my wrenching on a 1966 Beetle that could be static timed, I’ve had to adapt to a lot of changing technology. I’ve read a lot of bias against newer technology here, so I wanted to share this recent event.
My PT Cruiser, closing in on 160,000 miles, threw a check engine code the other day. Then, shortly afterwards, would not accelerate past 30mph. So, I attached the OBD scanner which told me there was a fault in the cam position sensor. A trip to Advance, a $35 dollar part and ten minutes to remove the old and install the new and everything is fine. I consider this progress.
I was getting my car it’s annual state required inspection and I watched the inspector almost take the center support between his garage doors out. He then nerviously let me park it in the garage to check the breaks etc. Needless to say, he passed the car and allowed me to back it out and leave. His partner was very angry.