I have an 06' Civic as my daily driver, It's been paid off for about 10 years so I'm really used to not having a car payment and I'm trying to squeeze every mile out it. It's currently at about 145K miles and I've had a few issues that would have cost a fortune at the dealer. Thanks to a ton of detailed youtube videos I was able to fix a couple of problems with basic tools and a basic understanding of my car.
(1) Failed ignition cylinder - This was free for me to repair, and took only a couple of hours. Basically, my key wouldn't turn. I was able to remove the key cylinder from the ignition and remove the faulty pin and throw it all back together. The part itself runs about $300-400 and I can imagine the labor would have cost about the same amount. Saved ~$700.
(2) Leaking power steering pump. - I'd been losing fluid for a while and was concerned this was going to cost me a fortune. After some research I learned that the O-rings on the pump fail often on these cars. Picked up the right ones for a total of $3.10 and was able to get them installed in about 3 hours. I have no idea what this would have cost but I can't imagine it would have been less than $500 just based on labor. Saved ~$500.
(3) Basic Maintenance. - Oil change, air filter change, fluid top off etc. Cost to me $50, cost at deal ~$85.
In total, I saved about $1,235 and my car is in great shape. On top of that I enjoyed spending my Saturday taking good care of my car and doing a bit of research/investigation/problem solving. It was fun and something more interesting than TV. I can't imagine I would have been able to do this a decade ago without the aid of 100's of relevant Youtube videos to hold my hand through the process. Just wanted to share and encourage you to consider DIY for basic car repairs, it's easier than you think if you have some tools and are basically handy. I also wanted to make a point about how taking good care of what you own is just as frugal as not spending on what you don't. cheers.
August 13, 2018 at 10:53AM
