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I've now seen more than a few posts on here where some 'unexpected' expense wiped out a big chunk of your savings. In most cases this expense was usually your car.
I have good news, you can save quite a bit of money if you learn how to work on your car. Now I realize that as a do-it-yourselfer (DIYer) you probably won't be able to rebuild your own engines but you can still fix a lot of things on your car that'll save you money and aggravation.
I didn't know how to work on cars when I first started but I read a lot (didn't have any friends that knew this stuff) and got help from the Internet message boards like this one. You still don't think you can do it ? Let me tell you, if my wife could change brake pads, spark plugs etc during her college years I know you too can do it and I'll try to offer some help and suggestions.
- Where to start ?
Start with the basics first.
Can you change your flat tire ? Don't laugh, I see a lot of people wasting an hour on the side of the road waiting for AAA to come and save their lives. Also, if you can change one tire you can change all four...so that means you can do your own tire rotation from now on. On most cars, this means the front tires go to the back and the back go to the front.
Oil change - this one's a toughy. Well not the job itself but you'll realize that its much easier and even cheaper to just pay someone $20 while you enjoy free coffee and muffins. However, I don't trust anyone touching my car so I still waste an afternoon changing oil myself on all of our cars.
Tune up - most cars today don't have points to adjust or even ignition-timing to adjust. So all you have to do is replace the air filter, spark plugs (and wires if you have them) and you're done.
Changing light bulbs, lamps etc - most owner manuals will tell you how to do this.
Brakes - brake pads are a piece of cake to change, brake shoes are just slightly tougher but they last much longer. Now, I don't want anyone going outside and tackling this job as their first project, afterall we're talking about brakes. Even though they are simple to work on, you still have to be careful to not kink or damage the brake lines, tear the caliper boot etc. So work up to it by doing little stuff first and feel comfortable around car parts, tools etc.
Replacing those scary sounding parts - yes you can change alternators, starter, window regulators etc. You just need to purchase a service manual for your car and a few basic tools.
I highly suggest doing little stuff first just so you feel comfortable with cars, tools etc.
- How to start ?
*Buy a couple of books (about $15-$60):
If you are a total newbie (we all were at one point) I suggest buying a couple of generic (used) books on Amazon.com. Personally I recommend Chilton's Easy Car Care (out of print now but you can still find them, I had the 3rd edition) and Popular Mechanic's Car Care guide.
Then go buy a 'service manual' for your car. These range from the Haynes/Chilton manuals you see at the parts stores to the original factory manuals. Factory manuals are great but Haynes are good enough for most of us since they are written with the non-professionals in mind.
*Buy some tools (about $50-$150):
Almost every repair book will have a section on tools. If you are reading this all you need is a decent quality Craftsman 'Mechanics' tool set from Sears for about $60-$150. That's where I started. My only advice is to NOT buy those bargain tool-sets at your local auto-store or your favorite 99c stores.
When buying a tool set make sure it has both 12-point (not used very often) and 6-point sockets. 12 and 6 are the sides of the socket that grip the bolt. Always use 6 point sockets unless the bolt head is 12 points. Using 12 point sockets on 6 point bolts almost always strip the bolt. All the bargain tool-sets only include 12-point sockets so buyer beware.
In addition to the small tool-set you'll probably need a floor jack ($20-$400), a pair of jack stands ($20-$50) and maybe drive up ramps (get the plastic ones, $30 ?)
Now to some this may seem expensive but for the price of one repair job at the shop you could probably get almost all these tools which you can use over and over again. Tools are an investment, they last forever and all good ones have lifetime warranty. Personally, I have over $5k worth of tools at this point but with what I listed above you can do a lot of basic routine jobs.
Cars are machines and like all machines they'll need fixing - no other way around it. Specially if you have an older car, good news is older cars are much easier to work on!
Ask questions if you need help. There are many car related forums like this one and there are people willing to help. I'll do my best to answer any questions I can.
Now as your first project, go out and check your fluid levels, oil, coolant, auto transmission, brake, clutch etc. Then check for any light bulbs that need to be replaced
I have good news, you can save quite a bit of money if you learn how to work on your car. Now I realize that as a do-it-yourselfer (DIYer) you probably won't be able to rebuild your own engines but you can still fix a lot of things on your car that'll save you money and aggravation.
I didn't know how to work on cars when I first started but I read a lot (didn't have any friends that knew this stuff) and got help from the Internet message boards like this one. You still don't think you can do it ? Let me tell you, if my wife could change brake pads, spark plugs etc during her college years I know you too can do it and I'll try to offer some help and suggestions.
- Where to start ?
Start with the basics first.
Can you change your flat tire ? Don't laugh, I see a lot of people wasting an hour on the side of the road waiting for AAA to come and save their lives. Also, if you can change one tire you can change all four...so that means you can do your own tire rotation from now on. On most cars, this means the front tires go to the back and the back go to the front.
Oil change - this one's a toughy. Well not the job itself but you'll realize that its much easier and even cheaper to just pay someone $20 while you enjoy free coffee and muffins. However, I don't trust anyone touching my car so I still waste an afternoon changing oil myself on all of our cars.
Tune up - most cars today don't have points to adjust or even ignition-timing to adjust. So all you have to do is replace the air filter, spark plugs (and wires if you have them) and you're done.
Changing light bulbs, lamps etc - most owner manuals will tell you how to do this.
Brakes - brake pads are a piece of cake to change, brake shoes are just slightly tougher but they last much longer. Now, I don't want anyone going outside and tackling this job as their first project, afterall we're talking about brakes. Even though they are simple to work on, you still have to be careful to not kink or damage the brake lines, tear the caliper boot etc. So work up to it by doing little stuff first and feel comfortable around car parts, tools etc.
Replacing those scary sounding parts - yes you can change alternators, starter, window regulators etc. You just need to purchase a service manual for your car and a few basic tools.
I highly suggest doing little stuff first just so you feel comfortable with cars, tools etc.
- How to start ?
*Buy a couple of books (about $15-$60):
If you are a total newbie (we all were at one point) I suggest buying a couple of generic (used) books on Amazon.com. Personally I recommend Chilton's Easy Car Care (out of print now but you can still find them, I had the 3rd edition) and Popular Mechanic's Car Care guide.
Then go buy a 'service manual' for your car. These range from the Haynes/Chilton manuals you see at the parts stores to the original factory manuals. Factory manuals are great but Haynes are good enough for most of us since they are written with the non-professionals in mind.
*Buy some tools (about $50-$150):
Almost every repair book will have a section on tools. If you are reading this all you need is a decent quality Craftsman 'Mechanics' tool set from Sears for about $60-$150. That's where I started. My only advice is to NOT buy those bargain tool-sets at your local auto-store or your favorite 99c stores.
When buying a tool set make sure it has both 12-point (not used very often) and 6-point sockets. 12 and 6 are the sides of the socket that grip the bolt. Always use 6 point sockets unless the bolt head is 12 points. Using 12 point sockets on 6 point bolts almost always strip the bolt. All the bargain tool-sets only include 12-point sockets so buyer beware.
In addition to the small tool-set you'll probably need a floor jack ($20-$400), a pair of jack stands ($20-$50) and maybe drive up ramps (get the plastic ones, $30 ?)
Now to some this may seem expensive but for the price of one repair job at the shop you could probably get almost all these tools which you can use over and over again. Tools are an investment, they last forever and all good ones have lifetime warranty. Personally, I have over $5k worth of tools at this point but with what I listed above you can do a lot of basic routine jobs.
Cars are machines and like all machines they'll need fixing - no other way around it. Specially if you have an older car, good news is older cars are much easier to work on!
Ask questions if you need help. There are many car related forums like this one and there are people willing to help. I'll do my best to answer any questions I can.
Now as your first project, go out and check your fluid levels, oil, coolant, auto transmission, brake, clutch etc. Then check for any light bulbs that need to be replaced
It's great entertainment...especially when the men are not in approval (being men who do not possess the knowledge of fixing vehicles).
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