QOTD: When Do You Take It In?
Mr. Guy went over the sometimes agonizing decision on when to bring your car in for service/repair as opposed to when to do the work yourself.
So that makes today's belated QOTD an easy one. Each of you have different skill/experience levels when it comes to working on your own cars. At what point -- and again, this varies from person to person -- does a job become too tough for you?
It's been a while since I've wrenched on a car, but depending on the car, I can handle a few things, assuming I have the proper space and tools. Most of my wrenching came on older cars that are less complex than today's rides, so keep that in mind, but I've changed my own oil, replaced a PCV valve, repaired several flats roadside, and performed a tuneup. I even did a brake job back in high school, though my friend did most of the work. I am sure I could handle some other basic jobs, but I don't have the necessary training to replace a transmission.
Now it's your turn. Go ahead and sound off below.
[Image: Anatoliy Cherkas/Shutterstock.com]
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Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.
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Where I used to live, any vehicle maintenance was forbidden by the HOA. Cleaning my car windows? I got reported. Taking too much time in the dedicated wash area? I got reported.
For 10 years, my indie mechanic did all my routine maintenance and repairs. A free Uber ride after I dropped my car off, and a free Uber ride back to the shop.
HOA rules? Welcome to Northern Virginia. My labor rates were more than my mechanics.
I stopped by the parts store last night to discuss a problem with someone else's vehicle and then worked with the manager to diagnose a problem on my own vehicle. Went ahead and bought the part from them. (Usually I would have bought that part and four other parts online, just bought the one this time. Does this mean I overpaid or got a deal?)
The part was in stock [no empty shelves] and I was able to afford it [despite tariffs] which was surprising. 🙂