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This thread is a total load of garbage, not all cars are the same.
Take for instance these labor items
91-93 Honda Accord wagons to change the outside turn signal lamp bulbs you have to remove parts of the interior. There is no access panel for easy bulb changes.
86-92 BMW 325e, es, i and is you have to remove the mass airflow meter, which is part of the air cleaner box assembly to change the air filter.
98-0? VW New Beetles require the headlights to be removed before you can change the bulb. I’ve see a lot of people poke their head and there and they end up breaking the cam assembly that the headlight ride on or even the headlight. The cool part is they bring it to me and their $35 bulb change just turned into a nice $100 + bill
98-0? VW New Beetle LOL the dash has to be partial disassembled to change the cabin filter. I sometimes see these with multiple scractched or broken dash pieces, from bone head owners trying to get to the cabin filter.
If you think any mechanic is going to do these things for free LOL.
More power to you if you want to do your own repairs, but take into consideration this is no longer 1963 where a wing nut is all it takes to change an air filter.
BTW dumping chemicals in your gas tank does not do much to clean injectors. it's a good preventative, but not much else. There a special machine for this kind of work.
I'm not savvy with automobiles but my general rule of thumb is:
If it's something that I could easily undo if I cannot perform successfully, then I'll try to do it myself.
So what I'll do myself:
Change air filters
Fill air
Change bulbs
Change fuses
Rotate tires (but most shops will do it for free and it's a PITA)
Washing the car
Vacuuming the car
Everything else, I'll ask a mechanic to do. Sure, there's a good chance I might be able to perform successfully but it's not worth the risk of rendering the car undriveable and having to call a tow truck (not to mention being stranded without transportation.)
I might just start changing my own oil. Where do you go to dispose of oil though?
That's why I stopped changing my own oil. I still do many things my self, including disc and drum brakes, but I don't do oil.
I used to look for coupons, but I've found that the 5 local Honda dealers are very competitive for my oil change needs. With an online coupon, they're always less than $30, including filter. Since my brother started working at a Honda dealership, it's now less than $20.
It all boils down to money and time. You trade your time (working) for money, which you then use to buy the time of others (working). You always spend one or the other, the proportions are up to you.
That's why I stopped changing my own oil. I still do many things my self, including disc and drum brakes, but I don't do oil.
I used to look for coupons, but I've found that the 5 local Honda dealers are very competitive for my oil change needs. With an online coupon, they're always less than $30, including filter. Since my brother started working at a Honda dealership, it's now less than $20.
Since I lasted posted, I've started changing my own oil. All in all it takes about 20 - 30 minutes. I just dispose of the oil at the local autozone.
Is it saving me money? Probably-- considering most of the mechanics around me charge $40 - 50 for an oil change. (using crappy synthetic non-name brand oil)
Now I use better oil, the car runs better, and it is much cheaper.
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?
5 seconds? Get real. Some brake lights require removing the entire light assembly to even reach the bulb . It only takes a few minutes or less to pull a tooth and you know what that cost.......lol
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