Can everyone share their financial experiences with doing your own auto repairs? Do you actually save money in the log run or are the savings from not taking the car to the shop spent on tools? The latter seems to be the trend with my other hobbies.

 

you def save money, mechanic labor costs these days are through the roof(my local honda dealership is $100/hour).

like a brake job for instance is about a hour or 2 for the front and a hour or two for the back, thats $400 you just saved by doing it yourself. and all you need is a socket set

 

My buddy gets quoted at 2hours to change a pair of brakes and rotors, including resurfacing the rotors. I was with him at the dealership watching and he did it under an hour for the front set. That job is pretty easy, but the dealer would still make you pay for the 2 hours of work even though it didn't amount to that time.


You do save quite a bit, and if you don't have the right tools ask a friend or family member.

 

yeah dealerships are all flat rate

 

Well in my case i get all my parts for really cheap or for free, due to the fact i work at advance auto parts and my dad and i basically do everything. Allthough we had to take my car to the delearship to get the transmission filter replaced.(Son of a GUN.)

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this website is G-rated.

 

You save money, but you spend all your time working on it. If you were to pretend to pay yourself more than $1.00 per hour, it might work out differently.

Still, I work on my own cars so maybe Im a hypocrite.

 

lol. wont happen again jim.

 

It's not always the money, but that's certainly a motivation. For me it's the satisfaction of knowing that I have done it, and hopefully done it right. I also like the challenge associated with troubleshooting problems.Dave

 

i find it strangely entertaining to work on my car.

plus, even though i am more likely than a mechanic to screw something up on my car, if i DO screw something up, ill know about it when it happens. theres a pretty fair chance that a mechanic will make a mistake and not tell me, ending up costing me much more of a headache down the line.

also, a good set of tools is an investment. chances are youll use them down the line again sometime.

personally, ive only owned my car a year and have replaced a power steering pump by myself, done several oil changes, adjusted the valves, replaced the oil pan gasket, replaced the sway bar linkage, installed a keyless entry system, bled the brakes, replaced the atf fluid, and tinkered with just about anything that can be tinkered with.

in those minor things alone i know ive saved at least several hundred dollars in labor. the only labor Ive had to pay for with those items was a trip to the dentist to replace half a tooth when i got hit in the mouth by a falling wrench under my car.

i was in high school at the time, so i lived with my parents, and my dad has a fairly extensive tool collection, so i did have that front covered.

 

I would say yes you do save money by doing the job yourself. If you have the mechanical knowledge and tools it is worth it. However some jobs I do save for the professionals, like replacing brake rotors and a new timing belt.