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Also, the amount of rudeness on this forum is unbelievable.
The auto section is probably the worst of them, far too many know it alls that think no one but themselves could possibly know what they're talking about, you'll get used to it
However, I do know some things are easy to replace-- and I can easily do them myself by visiting an O'Reilly Autoparts or similar store.
Recently my mechanic wanted to charge me $16 to replace a brake light and $40 to replace an air filter. When I know air filters cost $15 and brake lights are about $3. That is a $38 service charge!! It takes about 5 seconds to replace these things.
What other things can you think of that you shouldn't pay a mechanic to help you with?
You can save money by doing it yourself absolutely no question about it BUT...........
Can you honestly do the work yourself and if so how long will it take you?
$16 to change a brake light seem fair depending on what kind of car you're dealing with. Some models you have to disassemble a large prtion of the rear of the car to get to the socket.
As for headlights. Some new models require things like the air cleaner box or battery to be removed. Same goes for air filters. You don't just spin off the wing nut anymore and drop on a new filter.
If you think you can do these things on your own then by all means do them. If not then pay what the mechanic is asking.
What should you pay a mechanic for? Anything you don't have time/tools to do properly. What shouldn't you pay a mechanic for? Anything you DO have time and tools to do properly.
For some people, especially someone with an HOA, even an oil change would have to be done by someone else.For me, I won't pay for anything up to and including major rust repair/bodywork. Electrical wiring and mechanical rebuilding I do myself, too. UNLESS... i really don't feel like doing it at the time...
However, I do know some things are easy to replace-- and I can easily do them myself by visiting an O'Reilly Autoparts or similar store.
Recently my mechanic wanted to charge me $16 to replace a brake light and $40 to replace an air filter. When I know air filters cost $15 and brake lights are about $3. That is a $38 service charge!! It takes about 5 seconds to replace these things.
What other things can you think of that you shouldn't pay a mechanic to help you with?
Having beena mechanic for over 40 years, I have had cars come in that DIY's screwed up doing simple things that would surprise you, including installing brakelight bulbs wrong. There is no such thing as something so simple that someone can't screw it up. There isn't a simple part on a car I haven't see a DIYer do wrong. I sold a battery to a guy who was going to install it himself to save the small charge. He came back later with both battery posts broken off, and had to buy another new battery and have it installed. I had another customer hook a battery up backwards and blew out all the electronics to the tune of several thousand dollars. Modern cars with lots of electronics don't fit well with backyarders...
I've seen many simple to install oil finters installed wrong and blew all the oil out upon starting the car.
Brain surgery is simple if you know how. Most back yarders who think they know what the're doing, don't have a clue, but those are the people who keep mechaincs in business. It cost more to repair after the DIYer screws it up... So keep doing your own work, we need the business...
I'll pay you to do what you do, you pay me to do what I do. Life is simplier and cheaper that way...
Having beena mechanic for over 40 years, I have had cars come in that DIY's screwed up doing simple things that would surprise you, including installing brakelight bulbs wrong. There is no such thing as something so simple that someone can't screw it up. There isn't a simple part on a car I haven't see a DIYer do wrong. I sold a battery to a guy who was going to install it himself to save the small charge. He came back later with both battery posts broken off, and had to buy another new battery and have it installed. I had another customer hook a battery up backwards and blew out all the electronics to the tune of several thousand dollars. Modern cars with lots of electronics don't fit well with backyarders...
I've seen many simple to install oil finters installed wrong and blew all the oil out upon starting the car.
Brain surgery is simple if you know how. Most back yarders who think they know what the're doing, don't have a clue, but those are the people who keep mechaincs in business. It cost more to repair after the DIYer screws it up... So keep doing your own work, we need the business...
I'll pay you to do what you do, you pay me to do what I do. Life is simplier and cheaper that way...
As a couterpoint, I've had to fix a lot of things that ASE mechanics screwed up on cars, as well. Like crossthreaded sparkplugs in aluminum heads on a range Rover, like stripped torx screws on the back of a BMW intake manifold, as two examples on my latest cars that had been serviced by dealer techs up to my purchase of them. When I was working behind the parts counter I had real techs asking e for the wrong parts and comong back to get the right ones later (don't want to second guess a certified tech on a mission...)
Techs can screw things up just as well as anyone, they just get farther in before it becomes obvious...
Having beena mechanic for over 40 years, I have had cars come in that DIY's screwed up doing simple things that would surprise you, including installing brakelight bulbs wrong.
l've seen people screw up changing a light bulb in their house. Do you recommend that every time the kitchen bulb burns out, I call an electrician? You've got to give SOME people a LITTLE bit of credit SOMEtimes.
Some people accidentally put windshield washer fluid in their radiator. Does that mean everyone ought to pay a mechanic $90 an hour shop labor to top up their washer reservoir?
THere are few to no car repairs that you "can't" do yourself. However there are many that you do nto want to. For me for example, oil changes at home are just no worth it. Just dealing with the old oil is worth the 14 or 15 dollars for an oil change place to do it. contaiing, storing, transporting, and disposing of old oil is time consuming and messy.
Whether you DIY or pay depends on a hwole lot of issues to me:
What kind of car?
Older cars are much easier to work on than newer cars. For some decades American cars are much easier to work on than most foreign cars (more room to work). However at times, the foreign cars were easier. Rebuilding a 4 cylinder engine is much easier than a big 8. I rebuilt the engine in an old honda in a week and I did not even need special tools. I could just lift the engine out with my hands. Try that with a 5.7 chevy engine or a dodge hemi.
How critical is the car?
If I need o drive the car tomorrow, I am more likely to pay to have the work done. I only have so many free hours each day or weekend and if something goes wrong (and it often does), a simple project can take much longer than anticipated.
Type of work.
Brake work for example is very simply but incredibly expensive to have done. Why? I am nto sure, but it is probably due to the potential for liabliity if they make a mistake. I do brake work myself unless on of the other factors are compelling.
Transmissions are messy and smelly. If you get some kinds of transmission fluid on your hands, you stink for days.
Some work like removing and replacing a transmission reaquire a lot of strength and special tools. To me, removing and replacing an engine is easier than a transmission, but you need a cherry picker.
Weather:
I generally have no interest in working on a car when it is below 35 degrees. Even if I can get the car into the garage and turn on a heater, it is unpleasant. In the winter, I even pay for break jobs.
Specialty tools.
Some work reqruies special tools that you rarely use and which cost a lot. a color tune for tuning dual carbs for example, or a gear puller. Sometimes you cna rent or even just borrow specilty tools from car parts places.
Electrical wiring problems.
I find the wiring harnesses on most cars nearly indecipherable. So do many auto electronics specialists. (How often do you get a car back and find that they only moved the problem or made it worse?). Given the fact the most electrical wiring problems end up with me returning the car five or six times becuase they fail to find and correct the problem, I prefer to let them go through the aggravation.
Parts avialability.
If parts are nto readily available, I will usually do the work myself. I do not wnat my car sitting at the Mechanic's shop for weeks. I would rather have it at home.
Parts pricing.
Sometimes you save a fortune by hunting down a used part instead of buying a new one. A good example, my car needed a new ABS computer module. THe dealer wanted $900 for the part and $300 to instal it. I found a used one for $225 and installed it in less than an hour.
A lot of the basics, the car parts places will do for you. INstalling wiper blades, head lights, batteries, turn signal bulbs etc. Many of the car parts places put them in for free if oyu buy them there.
Some people accidentally put windshield washer fluid in their radiator. Does that mean everyone ought to pay a mechanic $90 an hour shop labor to top up their washer reservoir?
One of the greatest assets in this life is understanding, and if you have knowledge of the auto service industry you know that labor rates are set to cover operations above and beyond what you might see in the quick service lane.
It's amazing how many people call our service desk and ask to speak to a tech to find out how to do something about their problem. Never mind the fact that he's knee deep in a paying customer's vehicle doing what he went to school for and bought thousands of dollars worth of tools to do. Some small garages may have little overhead, own the building and not pay their employees' health insurance - but that's the exception and not the rule.
One of the greatest assets in this life is understanding, and if you have knowledge of the auto service industry you know that labor rates are set to cover operations above and beyond what you might see in the quick service lane.
It's amazing how many people call our service desk and ask to speak to a tech to find out how to do something about their problem. Never mind the fact that he's knee deep in a paying customer's vehicle doing what he went to school for and bought thousands of dollars worth of tools to do. Some small garages may have little overhead, own the building and not pay their employees' health insurance - but that's the exception and not the rule.
Sorry. I am confused. I do not understand what this comment has to do with whether or not it makes sense to pay a mechanic to top off your windshield washer fluid.
I do understand that you are saying that mechanics have expenses and set high labor rates to cover those expenses, but that does not seem to pertain to whether it makes sense to pay high labor rates to do simple tasks that you can readily do yourself. If you are saying that people should do it just to help mechanics out with the high expene of operation, then maybe mechanics should just ask for donations. It seems dumb to me to waste more time taking a car in, arringing a ride, filling out forms, waiting for your turn, then arranigng a ride back, paying and picking up you car, for tasks that you could do in less time yourself and at no, or little cost. Mechanics make sense for big jobs if you cannot spare the time, do not have the tools, or do not want ot work in the cold or mud or whatever.
Do mechanics got to school? I thouhgt that they just started working at a shop and leanred in the job. For most things except diagnostics, I do not understnad why shcool is necessary. For most cars there are step by step instructions available that allow you do do pretty much anything with no more difficulty than following instructions in a cookbook. If I had unlimited time, I would go to a mechanic for diagnostics, things requiring unusual pricy specialty tools, and messy things and then do everything else myself. However mechanics really do not like it when you have them diagnose a problem and then tell them that you will fix it yourself.
Finding the problem is 90% of the work. There really is not much to removing a bad part and installing a new one. I may ask a mechanic to help with diangosis even if I am going to do the repari, but I woudl never call and ask him to do it for free. (Except my uncle, who can diagnose problems over the telephone with remarkable accuracy, but he does not mind doing diagnosis for free, especially since he is retired).
Do some mechanics really charge $90 an hour? I think ours charges $45 an hour and they are really good. They are always busy and it is hard to get an appointment. Maybe they are undercharging.
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