How do you cope?

[supton]

It's there to serve my needs, yes; but how is it trivial? Buy the wrong O2 sensor, and you'll have to do it again, only sooner. While getting poor mpg's in the meantime. And putting the cat at risk. Tires, buy the wrong ones and it costs lots of money and you are sad when they wear out prematurely and/or have bad traction and/or are noisy when old. Making wrong decisions is ok if you don't mind paying the money to do it right the second time, plus whatever else you damaged. But who wants to do it a second time? It implies you didn't do it right the first time and/or didn't do due diligence in determining the right thing to do.

These days I'm finding myself trying to make the least-bad decision. No decision is the best, they all have drawbacks. Pick the one with the least consequences. Problem is, I'm still somewhat young, and have the rest of my life to regret those decisions. I'm still undecided if buying my VW was a good decision or not. Conventional wisdom says it wasn't. That's just one decision out of a number that I have regrets about (other vehicle purchase, house purchase, tool purchase, computer purchase, etc); and it seems unwise to compound those mistakes by making more mistakes in their care.

Thus, I keep getting into analysis paralysis.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: supton
How do you guys sort through all the information?

It's not always easy, but sometimes you have to not sweat the small stuff in order to avoid driving yourself nuts or wasting time. I came here for tire advice, basically having settled for brands that seem to be relatively well trusted. It worked out well. Than again, I'm not that hard to please, and I'm not looking for things to complain about or trying to imagine flaws.

Half the issue is to ignore the hype, as has been mentioned. There's no wiper, bulb, tire, oil, etc. out there that is head and shoulders above its competition, otherwise their competition would be wiped out. Get a shop manual, buy what you can trust, knowing full well that nothing is perfect and any part can fail. My rule is that if I want to avoid worry, I stick to OEM parts (or a very trusted aftermarket supplier). It may cost a bit more, at least usually, but it does eliminate a lot of guessing and/or worry.

 

[volk06]

Well you just need to realize what is more important to you, researching every little detail on your cars or spending time with your family. My family comes first. If I need to research something I do it when they are either gone or in bed. Sometimes there just arent enough hours in a day...

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: volk06
My family comes first.

I have little immediate family now, mostly just relatives. As far as relatives go, well, you'll find me in the garage.

 

[Mr_Incredible]

One task at a time.

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single footstep...and a lot of complaining.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: supton
It's there to serve my needs, yes; but how is it trivial? Buy the wrong O2 sensor, and you'll have to do it again, only sooner. While getting poor mpg's in the meantime. And putting the cat at risk. Tires, buy the wrong ones and it costs lots of money and you are sad when they wear out prematurely and/or have bad traction and/or are noisy when old. Making wrong decisions is ok if you don't mind paying the money to do it right the second time, plus whatever else you damaged. But who wants to do it a second time? It implies you didn't do it right the first time and/or didn't do due diligence in determining the right thing to do.


As I've always said (and my wife will back me up) - make the best decision you can with the information you have and be done with it.

As far as the O2 sensor - best is to go OEM or trusted brand. And get a good OBD scanner. I have a feeling many O2 sensors are replaced prematurely because MPG's went down without properly diagnosing the problem. With a good scanner you can see what's going on with them and decide if they truly are bad. Unless the engine dumps raw fuel into the gas, I don't think a cat will die a way early death because of a bum O2 sensor.

You have to prioritize and make a decision. If nothing lights your fancy, use OEM and be done with it. They are (generally) a known quantity and quality.