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| Yes | 73% | 134 votes | Total: 183 votes | |
| No | 27% | 49 votes |
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Add to FavoritesYou depend on that hunk of metal in your driveway to get you to work. You depend on it to start every time and to take you places without delays or trouble on the way. You spend more money on that hunk of metal than anything else that does not have a basement. With the value of the vehicle in mind, should you do your own maintenance? The answer may depend on your mechanical aptitude.
Look at it from this point of view: You may not be an electrician, but you change your own light bulbs. You may not be a plumber, but you can unclog a sink. Why not do low-level maintenance on your car? Things like checking your oil and water levels cost no money, and filling them only costs a few dollars. A mechanic or shop would charge you more than double the cost of the fluids to fill them. What about changing a light bulb on a vehicle? A bulb costs anywhere from a few dollars to $15 for a headlight. The shop will charge you anywhere from $15 to $50 to change a bulb. Why not do it yourself and save some money?
Car maintenance is not as hard as you may think. Most certainly, there are maintenance items and repairs that should only be done by a qualified mechanic, but anyone who can turn a light bulb or a wrench can change the oil or a filter on a car. Basic, or "shade-tree" mechanics are easy to learn and take no special skills or tools. Even a thermostat can be changed using only a nut driver and a screwdriver. Why pay the mechanic $75 for 10 minute's work to change a $1 part?
Most shops will rotate your tires for free if you bought the tires or the car there. If not, even this can be done in a driveway, using some common sense and some safety measures. If you had a flat tire on the highway, you'd be on your own to change it anyway, and you are swapping two tires instead of one. Just use the spare as a safety measure under the middle of the car in case the car falls off the jack-stand.
Here are a few caveats to follow if you tackle some routine maintenance on your own:
1. Use safety eye-wear. If something slips, falls or splashes, it could hit you in the eye. Saving money on repairs does no good if it costs you medical bills.
2. Be careful around tight spaces. Even the most experienced mechanic has bruised and cut knuckles to show how dangerous mechanical work can be. Go slow and brace yourself so if the wrench slips, you won't crunch your knuckles.
3. Use common sense. What goes up, must come down. Speaking from experience, when a car falls off a jack-stand, it comes down hard. Never change a tire by sitting with your legs under any part of the car. Instead, kneel by the tire to pull it off.
4. If a screw or bolt is not going on easily, don't force it. If you do, you could cross thread the thing and end up with a costly repair bill to drill it and re-thread it. If a nut is not going on easily to start with, turn it backwards and it will re-seat. You will feel it settle, then you can turn it the correct way to tighten it. Use some grease to make it turn easier. Once it feels tight, stop. Give it one more turn to be sure it's tight, but that should be all. The only exception is lug nuts. Turn them until they are tight all the way around (follow manufacturer's recommendations), set the car down, and snug them up. Drive the car a few blocks (around the block is fine) and re-tighten the nuts. This is one time you will not be able to tighten them too tight. You don't want your tire passing you on the highway.
5. Clean up afterwards. If you do make a mistake, the mechanic will spot it quicker. Also, mechanical work is often messy and grease is impossible to get out of clothes, carpets and furniture. Hand cream used before beginning work will make and easier job of cleaning your hands later. Keep old clothes for your mechanical work and leave them in the garage for the next time. Don't even bother washing them, just throw them out when they are too dirty.
6. Know your limitations. If you are mechanically inept, stick to washing your car and get someone else to handle the tools. Mechanics hate it when they have to unscrew wood screws from engine parts to get the right screws in.
7. If you are unsure, take a class or ask a mechanical friend to help out the first time or so until you are more comfortable with doing some work yourself. Keep in mind, this is no longer a man's job. Women get under the hood too. A wrench doesn't know who's on the other end, it works the same for everyone.
Keep track of your repairs and changes so you know when the next will be due. A clear and complete record of repairs will also help a mechanic to know what to look for or rule out.
It's your car, have fun with it.
Learn more about this author, Liane Laskoske.
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No
Well, maybe some folks could be doing their own car maintenance, but I shouldn't. The results would be disastrous. I can't differentiate the carburetor from the crankshaft. I can barely tell a gas cap from a gasket. I wouldn't know a catalytic converter if I tripped over one.
If I decided to undertake car maintenance myself, and this includes even the most routine and elementary maintenance such as changing the oil, the scene would be reminiscent of a slapstick comedy. A 20-minute procedure would end up taking all afternoon, and even upon completion, it would be dumb luck if all the engine parts ended up in the right places.
If you are a certified engine mechanic, it certainly makes sense for you to do maintenance work yourself. You'd be saving a lifetime of labor costs. But those with less expertise - or, in my case, no expertise - are out of their minds if they don't take their car to a garage and let a trained professional do the work.
If I have learned nothing else over the past six decades, I am absolutely sure of one thing. When you have need of a service, your best bet is always to contact someone with the proper credentials.
If you are being sued or are charged with a crime, you seek the advice of an attorney, making sure of course, that the lawyer has graduated from law school and is a member in good standing of the local bar association. You'll likely lose your shirt or spend years in the slammer if you attempt to represent yourself in court.
If you need your gall bladder taken out, you engage the services of a board-certified surgeon. Removing your own gall bladder would be intensely painful, to say the least, even if you knew how to make the proper incision.
When I had hair, I was always relieved to know the barber had a certificate on the wall and operated a shop that had never been closed by the board of health. Even if you look in the mirror and take your time, it's difficult to keep everything straight. I tried it once, and the left side burn ended up looking like the state of Florida.
In these days of economic challenges, we should be proud when we have the opportunity to do business with fellow Americans. Auto mechanics are skilled and hard-working. They provide a valuable and necessary service. They deserve our support.
Regular vehicle maintenance saves money in the long run. Just as our regular medical checkups help us stay healthy, frequent preventive maintenance on vehicles lessens the possibility of potentially expensive breakdowns.
Good advice: Get that physical exam every year. Visit your auto mechanic every 3,000 miles for an oil change and whatever other work is recommended in the vehicle maintenance schedule.
Since my friendly neighborhood auto mechanic continues to take good care of my car, I will reciprocate my providing prompt, courteous and professional service for him if he ever needs an essay written.
Learn more about this author, Jake Betz.
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