I realize hattaresguy was talking about oil changes, but I'm doing more work on my cars as I get older. Of course, I've never even considered having a dealership work on a car of mine, especially since I've only ever bought one new car.
As far as oil changes, if you can get one done for $25-$35 and they use good stuff, why not? I usually do my own, but every once in a while, I'm too lazy.
OTOH, the main reason that I do most of my own mechanical work these days is that mechanic shops often screw it up. I've had to come home from the "mechanic" several times in the past, and re-do the work. I wouldn't mind paying them to do it if I never had to think about it again, but that isn't usually the way it works out. For instance, I recently went on a short vacation with my wife to San Francisco. Unfortunately, when we got to Van Nuys (heading north from San Diego), the radiator in our Saab 9-5 let go. My wife had planned this vacation, so there's no way we weren't going. The only shop that was open was a Pep Boys. The Pep Boys that's close to me down here seems to be run by decent people, so I let them have the car. I rented a car at a nearby airport (it was after 6 pm, so the airports were the only place that had open car rental outfits), and we went merrily on my way. They replaced the radiator, thermostat, and some hoses, and charged us $800. To be fair to them, I had gotten similar estimates, though slightly lower, from other shops. This radiator and thermostat are expensive, and a pain to work on. If everything had been done right, I would have felt OK with it. Everything was not right.
Since then, I have fixed a coolant leak that resulted from a hose clamp that was not tight. I also discovered that I had a leak from a trans cooler line at the attachment to the cooler, i.e., where it attaches to the radiator. That's a banjo bolt, of which there are many on this car, and it's a total b-word to get to. Right now, I'm in the middle of replacing the turbocharger cartridge on this car, and I had to disassemble enough stuff that I could get to the cooler bolts easily. They were not particularly tight, but now they are. These banjo bolts use copper crush washers to seal, so it seems like it would be obvious that they need to be tight.
Speaking of which, that's the reason I'm replacing the turbo cartridge, also known as a CHRA, myself. This may be the most complicated job I've ever done on a car, including the head gaskets I've replaced, and the ring and valve job I did on a truck a while back. The CHRA cost just under $500 for a genuine Garrett part, but I've heard quotes of $2000-$2800 to have a dealer do it. That ain't going to happen. I'm currently in the middle of this job, and it's looking like I'll be able to finish it without having to have the car towed to a shop, for which I'm thankful.
I do have a local mechanic that I trust, and I have him do jobs I don't feel like doing. I did have to help him with the timing gear replacement on my '95 Ford F-150, though. This was the 300 six, and as you may know, one of the timing gears is fiber with a metal hub. He was having trouble getting the hub off, so I drilled and chiseled it for him. He said he was afraid of damaging the shaft. Hey, it's my shaft, gimme that drill!
So there's my story. I wouldn't say I necessarily like working on cars, as I usually end up sore, bruised and filthy, but since I can, I feel like I should. I do, however, feel a good deal of satisfaction when a difficult job goes right.
As far as oil changes, if you can get one done for $25-$35 and they use good stuff, why not? I usually do my own, but every once in a while, I'm too lazy.
OTOH, the main reason that I do most of my own mechanical work these days is that mechanic shops often screw it up. I've had to come home from the "mechanic" several times in the past, and re-do the work. I wouldn't mind paying them to do it if I never had to think about it again, but that isn't usually the way it works out. For instance, I recently went on a short vacation with my wife to San Francisco. Unfortunately, when we got to Van Nuys (heading north from San Diego), the radiator in our Saab 9-5 let go. My wife had planned this vacation, so there's no way we weren't going. The only shop that was open was a Pep Boys. The Pep Boys that's close to me down here seems to be run by decent people, so I let them have the car. I rented a car at a nearby airport (it was after 6 pm, so the airports were the only place that had open car rental outfits), and we went merrily on my way. They replaced the radiator, thermostat, and some hoses, and charged us $800. To be fair to them, I had gotten similar estimates, though slightly lower, from other shops. This radiator and thermostat are expensive, and a pain to work on. If everything had been done right, I would have felt OK with it. Everything was not right.
Since then, I have fixed a coolant leak that resulted from a hose clamp that was not tight. I also discovered that I had a leak from a trans cooler line at the attachment to the cooler, i.e., where it attaches to the radiator. That's a banjo bolt, of which there are many on this car, and it's a total b-word to get to. Right now, I'm in the middle of replacing the turbocharger cartridge on this car, and I had to disassemble enough stuff that I could get to the cooler bolts easily. They were not particularly tight, but now they are. These banjo bolts use copper crush washers to seal, so it seems like it would be obvious that they need to be tight.
Speaking of which, that's the reason I'm replacing the turbo cartridge, also known as a CHRA, myself. This may be the most complicated job I've ever done on a car, including the head gaskets I've replaced, and the ring and valve job I did on a truck a while back. The CHRA cost just under $500 for a genuine Garrett part, but I've heard quotes of $2000-$2800 to have a dealer do it. That ain't going to happen. I'm currently in the middle of this job, and it's looking like I'll be able to finish it without having to have the car towed to a shop, for which I'm thankful.
I do have a local mechanic that I trust, and I have him do jobs I don't feel like doing. I did have to help him with the timing gear replacement on my '95 Ford F-150, though. This was the 300 six, and as you may know, one of the timing gears is fiber with a metal hub. He was having trouble getting the hub off, so I drilled and chiseled it for him. He said he was afraid of damaging the shaft. Hey, it's my shaft, gimme that drill!
So there's my story. I wouldn't say I necessarily like working on cars, as I usually end up sore, bruised and filthy, but since I can, I feel like I should. I do, however, feel a good deal of satisfaction when a difficult job goes right.
