Completely lost interest in DIY maintenance...

However, I have realized that the opportunity cost of dabbling in auto repair could have been better spent towards higher education or hobbies that help my real job or family life. Unfortunately, auto repair is not a great networking tool in this day and age and also isn't viewed very favorably in many middle-class social circles. Sad, but true.

To the OP - there is no shame in moving on and finding other things to do with your time that deliver a better ROI. We all want to save money and prove to others that we can do work ourselves, but.....we sometimes need to ask ourselves if it is truly efficient for us to do so.
Michael, everything in life has an opportunity cost. I have to believe your superior automotive tech skills, bought and paid for, spill over to other work life aspects. Your problem solving logic has been honed to a higher degree.

Heck, try drinking alcoholically until the age of 33 and getting your 1st degree at 40. Talk about opportunity cost!

I am the only one on my block who crawls under cars. But my neighbors come to me all the time asking for help. And to borrow the truck... I am confident you are in the same boat.

And I can say for sure your guidance has been a help to BITOG and to me.
 
Michael, everything in life has an opportunity cost. I have to believe your superior automotive tech skills, bought and paid for, spill over to other work life aspects. Your problem solving logic has been honed to a higher degree.

Heck, try drinking alcoholically until the age of 33 and getting your 1st degree at 40. Talk about opportunity cost!

I am the only one on my block who crawls under cars. But my neighbors come to me all the time asking for help. And to borrow the truck... I am confident you are in the same boat.

And I can say for sure your guidance has been a help to BITOG and to me.
I agree with this. I work in IT, but have my small engine repair business on my resume. Almost every interview I've been in, the interviewers have asked about it and wanted to know more. I've helped out many bosses and co-workers with car/small engine questions and repairs which has worked out in my favor. While I'll always be a supporter of furthering education, it isn't always degrees that make you stand out from other candidates.
 
I agree with this. I work in IT, but have my small engine repair business on my resume. Almost every interview I've been in, the interviewers have asked about it and wanted to know more. I've helped out many bosses and co-workers with car/small engine questions and repairs which has worked out in my favor. While I'll always be a supporter of furthering education, it isn't always degrees that make you stand out from other candidates.
I did large scale custom business software development for needs beyond ERP or where the company wanted to differentiate themselves.
I am convinced any successes I may have had were founded in completing car repairs from soup to nuts. In fact, this is what I was known for; the practice of managing and building a software solution from business need to completion and beyond.
 
I would like to not. I payed more than double to do for either something that took 3x(+) longer in the end, I ended up fixing something that was messed up as result, or had to re do it completely. The only thing I do at the shops is tire swaps, only because I don't have the tools to do it in a time efficient way, and would have to go there anyway to balance. And body work, mainly b/c insurance has to be involved for me to be in there in the first place.
 
I have trust issues when it comes to vehicle repair. Even when I go to shops which have good reputations and are owned by people who honestly do try to serve their customers well, I find screwups after the fact. Not every time, but often enough that I'll DIY whenever possible.

At this point, it's really not a money issue either. If I could be sure that the job would be done right, I would farm most maintenance out in a heartbeat.
Agree with this one. Nearly every time I use the dealer for simple maintenance like an oil change, they leave the cap off, forget to snap all the clips after inspecting the air filter, or some other careless act. That's why I do most of the work myself. I'd rather take it in and have them do it, but they usually screw something up.
 
I'll admit, I didn't read every post in the thread but I feel the general vibe to my core. I'm going on 33, I've been wrenching since I was 12, and within the last 3-4 years I've found myself becoming less and less interested in the field as time goes on. Not on a professional level, mind you. I love expanding my knowledge when it betters my ability to perform at work. What I mean is I'm less interested than ever in things like "side work", or "car favors", or even tinkering with my own vehicles the way I used to. The career has sucked all the enjoyment out of the field.

At this point, when I need an oil change I just let our quick lube do it. It's not that I don't trust them, it's 100% laziness. Plus, I still get the oil and filter for cost +10%. The way I see it, if they do screw up and ruin my vehicle my boss will be on the hook for it since I'm still a paying customer. Heck, I almost pray for it. Leave the filter loose on my Jeep, lose oil, smoke a rod bearing or score a cylinder. Not only would they be on the hook for the engine, I'd bill it through the shop and get paid my regular rate to replace the engine on my own vehicle.

Before anyone freaks... I don't actually want this to happen. Swapping a 4.7 in a WJ is no treat. It was purely an example.
 
I agree DIY maintenance is slowly getting out of mind as the age adds up and upon that thankless HS kids, work menopause (men also go through that in a different way), COVID anxieties etc etc. have made me wonder why fix anything other than fluid exchanges. I am incredibly blessed to have a good auto shop here in North Austin and the owner and I talk same language and he is honest.

In short, yes as we age and unless its ones FT job it is increasing hard to juggle so many things in a living day.,
 
I definitely don't like working on cars as much as I used to but I still do most of the maintenance stuff because it's just faster than taking it somewhere and waiting or having to have someone pick me up while it's being done. There are certain jobs that I just don't want to do and will usually pay someone to do those.
 
Agree with this one. Nearly every time I use the dealer for simple maintenance like an oil change, they leave the cap off, forget to snap all the clips after inspecting the air filter, or some other careless act. That's why I do most of the work myself. I'd rather take it in and have them do it, but they usually screw something up.
Why some like you have all the problems and myself after numerous (100s?) of oil changes at the dealer and/or quickie with ZERO issues it's hard for me to fathom your statement. I'm NOT calling you a liar-but what are the odds......
 
I almost took the Camry to the local LOF for an oil change, then chickened out and did it myself.

While I don’t want to work on it, my fear of it getting messed up drove me to do it. I’ve had that shop change the oil on many company trucks for years with no issues, but they weren’t mine.
 
At 69 years old I still like to get underneath and change the oil. It gives me a chance to look around. On my 2021 Honda HRV AWD I will continue to do that and that includes the CVT and the rear Dif....Honda makes it pretty easy to do all that...Also when Cosmoline rp 342 gets back in stock will undercoat it also...I have already rotated the tires and changed the oil...
 
As the title suggests, completely lost the desire to work on things myself... Job is hectic, wife works and goes to school, kids are all in one or more extracurriculars, and I have other interests I’d rather spend my limited time on... Still very much capable just not really interested. Once my last jug and filter are used up, I’ll be letting the local Firestone take the reins on vehicle maintenance for the foreseeable future.

This ever happen to anyone else?
I went through all that about 20 years ago. Life was crazy busy, overtime, elder parent care, new kid, new house, everything. I gave up on home auto DIY, except for oil changes.

A couple years later a local Merchant's Tire & Auto screwed up a brake and ball joint job, and then tried to weasel out of fixing it. Fortunately I found a good mechanic and PAID him to document everything, and to fix it. Then I went back with pictures and his write-up, and I got 100% of my money back.

After that I have found a balance of DIY versus trusted mechanic jobs. I do almost all maintenance and all the easy repairs. Mechanic does the hardest stuff, or stuff that requires very expensive, specialized equipment. That's pretty much where I was before the non-DIY phase, only the Internet and my tool collection has expanded my definition of "easy repairs."
 
After that I have found a balance of DIY versus trusted mechanic jobs. I do almost all maintenance and all the easy repairs. Mechanic does the hardest stuff, or stuff that requires very expensive, specialized equipment. That's pretty much where I was before the non-DIY phase, only the Internet and my tool collection has expanded my definition of "easy repairs."
I'm trying to figure out how to find that balance, I "need" a shop I can rely on for stuff I can't do. But I'd also like to keep my hand in the game and have half a clue what is going on under the hood.
 
Low on time.. makes it hard to do anything to the cars. Beyond check/add oil. Always using a car for something. Absolutely no way anything that takes more than an hour to do on a weekend could work without causing me issue in getting to work etc. Work leaves you tired, all you want to do at the end of the day is get in and go to sleep. So it is necessary to have two cars, because if the other car needs, for example, brakes.. and who has worked on their own brakes.. that is probably the primary safety item of the car. If you have done brakes work before, cool. If not, you need to make sure you have done it right.. I'm no spring chicken, but I would definitely pay someone who knows what they are doing for timely work. And ditto on new cars seemingly going the route of driving appliances. I don't care if they are better and faster than older cars, they probably are. Older cars have soul, internal combustion engines, style, flair, color, character.. not There's An App For That..
 
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