In the past year or so I’ve gotten a lot of joy out of learning more about repairing my car. I been driving the same car-shaped toilet since high school (I’m now 27) which I bought with cash. I love the low cost of insurance and not having a monthly car payment. The car has around 165k on it. I feel like I’m pretty responsible with the maintenance schedule because I see the value in catching a problem earlier if there is one. But over the past few years it seems like every time I’d take the car in for oil change they’d notice an issue and tell me it was pretty important to fix. They’d give me an estimate and it would be much more than I was able to handle. I’d tell them I’d think about it and get back to them later (I’m a skeptic around mechanics because my dad was a car salesman for 30 years). I’d go home and research whatever it was the mechanic recommended. It usually checked out but I then I would find YouTube tutorials on how to do it yourself. I tried my hand at some of the simpler things, changing a belt, swapping headlights, new wipers, etc and felt pretty accomplished. I then moved on to bigger things like changing ignition switches, spark plugs, and A/C repair. Compared to the parts and labor the mechanic estimated, I’ve saved tons and feel like I’m learning new skills... all by watching a few YouTube videos, buying the parts myself, and giving it a try! Over the last year I’d say I’ve saved nearly $1000 and I’m having tons of fun. This has given me an appreciation for dyi car repair and preventative maintenance and I wish more people would get over how intimidating it can be because it can be fun and cost effective. This got me wondering... what’s the most cost-effective auto repair you should learn to do yourself?
December 21, 2018 at 08:03PM
