How many of you do your own maintenance??

i do most of the work I can myself, if the tools are too expensive or the job is way to big, such as pulling out a heater core in a durango, (20 hour job) its just not worth the money vs time.
 
bodyon4.JPG


Started with a tune up and ended up with the body off. Took 8 months but got it back on the road and learn a lot about the car. Be careful what you start - one times one thing leads to another and another and another and before you know it its all apart. :D
 
dennish said:
bodyon4.JPG


Started with a tune up and ended up with the body off. Took 8 months but got it back on the road and learn a lot about the car. Be careful what you start - one times one thing leads to another and another and another and before you know it its all apart. :D
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wow what a pic! lol
 
I pretty much do everything to my cars unless it is warranty work. I am still waiting for my motor to be done on one of my vehicles.
 
I have a hard time letting others touch my cars so I do everything I can possibly do on my own. If I have the capability & the tools to do preventative maintenance or even repairs to my car, I will. I also do preventative maintenance on my parent's two cars, my sister's car, my mother/father-in-law's two cars, & my brother/sister-in-law's cars.

So, needless to say I like working on cars no matter what it is. :)
 
I'm starting to do more and more on my cars. It used to be air filters, plugs, wires and wipers were all I tackled. I'm very mechanically inclined, but I was always afraid to do it since they were cars needed for daily commutes. But since we got our '68 Olds, I've done a few things with it including changing the transmission gasket, alternator, radiator hoses and brakes. Having this "toy" car has been good because I'm not as afraid to tackle it since I don't need to drive it. I was especially nervous about the brakes though since they are so important. But once I got into it, I found it was very simple, just time consuming. Next up is to replace the master cylinder since it seems to not be working right. I still don't know that I would tackle something like an engine rebuild, especially since I don't have something to take it out with, but I am a lot more comfortable doing stuff with the other cars now. Another thing I found helpful was getting the service manuals for the '68. They are so detailed with all of the parts of the car, that it really makes it much easier to see how things go together and work.
 
I think you have to find a good dealership to work with and establish a personal relationship with the shop manager.

Personally, I take my truck to a dealership that is two hours away. It's a in a small town in Texas, but 90% of what they service is Cummins trucks. They have two full-time certified diesel techs and it's all they do, and they've been there for years and years. They know I'm anal about my paint and they take good care of it.

I cannot complain and there is no way I could ever do it myself, nor would want to do it.
 
I am only able to do oil changes. I can't do anything else but wash the car. I used to be a detailer at a bodyshop, but not a real deatiler. It was only to get the crap from the work done off the car, etc. I cannot use any type of buffer to save my life, nor do I wish to. That's why my present car is white, though come springtime I will try to do a few things to touch up the paint.:o
 
RacerE7773 said:
I am only able to do oil changes. I can't do anything else but wash the car. I used to be a detailer at a bodyshop, but not a real deatiler. It was only to get the crap from the work done off the car, etc. I cannot use any type of buffer to save my life, nor do I wish to. That's why my present car is white, though come springtime I will try to do a few things to touch up the paint.:o
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Hey I have even charged the air conditioning system inmy son's car! lol
So there is always hope!!!
Welcome, btw!!;)
Lauren
 
I do everything to my cars. Saves a lot of money.

I am also doing a complete ground up restoration on a 1967 Mustang. Do a little RestoMod. I am learning quite a bit with it.
 
RacerE7773 said:
I am only able to do oil changes. I can't do anything else but wash the car. I used to be a detailer at a bodyshop, but not a real deatiler. It was only to get the crap from the work done off the car, etc. I cannot use any type of buffer to save my life, nor do I wish to. That's why my present car is white, though come springtime I will try to do a few things to touch up the paint.:o
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Welcome to the forums and let me say you are in the right place to learn. After a few months here on the forums, you'll probably be able to tackle any detailing job with confidence. :)
 
sixty7mustang22 said:
I do everything to my cars. Saves a lot of money.

I am also doing a complete ground up restoration on a 1967 Mustang. Do a little RestoMod. I am learning quite a bit with it.
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Oh man!! You are living my dream. Someday I would love to do that. Get a nice classic car and restore her from the ground up. Lots of work and lots of money I know, but oh man, what an experience to have and what a pride and joy that car would be! PLEASE post up some pics of your stang when you can. I'd love to see her. :)
 
sixty7mustang22 said:
I do everything to my cars. Saves a lot of money.

I am also doing a complete ground up restoration on a 1967 Mustang. Do a little RestoMod. I am learning quite a bit with it.
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Rotisserie?
 
I don't have a warranty for human failure..... The dealer does though :)
 
Working on your own vehicle can be a HUGE headache, but in the end is very rewarding. I have been slowly working on restoring my first car. Overall I enjoy working on my own car, and I know it is done right. Too many times, I have paid a lot of money for them to tell me they can't find/fix the problem. At $85 an hour they better do something.
 
For me working on my car is my alternative to a shrink.... I do whatever I have time for and make sure I know what I am asking someone else to do when I don't.

Enjoying it...


Chet
 
arucano said:
For me working on my car is my alternative to a shrink.... I do whatever I have time for and make sure I know what I am asking someone else to do when I don't.

Enjoying it...


Chet
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LOL I better start working on the car more!

I've done 2 oil changes on my current car out of god knows how many. I always changed the oil in my 300ZX TT though. Dealers charge you rediculious prices to do synthetic oil changes.

I sometimes work on other peoples cars with them, but I don't know if I trust myself to do things.
 
I do and have done everything except maybe rebuild an engine. Good excuse to buy the tool needed for the job then can be used anytime I need to do the same line of work. Not only do I save a few dollars but I have a good toolbox to show for it.

Current Cars Maintained:
2002 S2000
2002 Frontier
1998 Accord

Past Cars Maintained
1994 Prelude
1990 B2600 4x4
1986 B2000
1986 Prelude
1987 Integra
1987 CRX
 
Me and my dad do the oil changes, transmission oil changes, light maintenance such as replacing spark plugs etc which are easy to do. The harder stuff, i.e. rebuilding/overhauling we don't do. I even wish we could replace tires ourselves. We try to keep the cars away from the dealership as much as possible, never know what they do to your car :o
 
As I work for a dealer, I pay the youngest mechanic what he wants to do my car. He is really thorough and takes care of my car like I detail it. Any time he needs a favor, he just have to ask. My time is short and since he do his thing so good, I'm grateful.
 
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