Why do you work on your car? This is a question for anyone that does their own labor on their car. Why do you do it, what do you get out of it? For me, I love pulling things apart and putting them back together. I love that I am saving hundreds of dollars in maintainence. I love working with hand tools (no air). I love the crack of a stubborn bolt finally breaking loose. I love washing my hands 15 times during an install. I love looking at my car and knowing that I did it. I love feeling beat up at the end of a long day. I love my dirty hands. I hate waiting on parts to come in the mail. I hate looking for a tool for 20 minuites only to find it right where I left it. I hate starting a project that I think is going to only take 3 hrs and still be working on it 7hrs later...in the dark. I hate spending more money on tools than I would have spent on getting the work done at a shop. I hate stripping a bolt. It's a love hate relationship, mostly love.
I like spending the time learning and doing stuff on my car myself. On the things that I haven't done myself, I have often had issues. Here are some: On my s2000, I was in a rush before a track day, and had a shop change my oil for me. They ended up using the non-s2000 specific oil filter, which I didn't notice until it backed itself off, and dumped 5 liters during my first track session the next day... they were kind enough to clean up the engine bay, and replace the hood liner, which was ruined from the small engine fire. I was extremely lucky to have this happen on a race track, where the fire crew put out the burning oil on my header in a matter of minutes. It was also lucky that the shop was the group running the track day, and witnessed the event 1st hand, and was very quick to try to fix the situation, owning up to their mistake. For the STi, we had a dealer change our oil and transmission fluid once. A few days after it was done, I found the oil to be 1/2 quart low. Later, when I went to change the transmission fluid, I found that they had stripped the crap out of the drain bolt, requiring me to spend a good bit of time removing it, and getting a replacement bolt. I had the Mitsubishi dealer change my oil in the evo, as I wanted it to be on record for their strict warranty. On the first time, they quickly changed it, and when I drove 1/2 mile back to my work and checked the oil, the oil was still very dark. It appeared that they hadn't let all of the oil drain out of the car (the evo takes longer than an average car to drain due to the oil cooler and such). I had to go back there, and they changed it again, letting it drain fully for a few minutes, and it came out just fine. I changed it myself the next time without issues (let it drain for 5 minutes). On my 3rd change, I went back to them, and they had to change it twice again... It seems that they hurry things along too much. On the 4th change, they did it right the first time. I don't mind spending time working on my car, as then I can know that the job was done correctly, even if it does take a couple of tries, and extra time to make sure it is done right. -- Brian
Cause it keeps breaking and i cant afford to pay someone to work on it for me... Na my car is like crack everytime i drive it i get all shakey and when i get out im beggin for more. so i work on it to go faster nad faster an done day to rip the spoace time con....Off subject. Basicly been screwed by dealers time and time again and shops as well its easier and cheeper for me to read alittle grap the toys and go do it. Plus it peace when the baby starts screming. My own personal escape
For me I think it is a combination of learning about the vehicle, saving money and getting that feeling of having acomplished something. I enjoy knowing that if something goes wrong I can take care of it. The other part is making sure it gets done right the first time. I have had numerous issues with shops and dealers messing stuff up. At this point the only time I take something in is if I just can't figure out what is going on or I am too lazy to change my own oil.
My philosophy about life is that I want have fun no matter what. When my friend introduced me to a wrx while looking for a new (used) car to buy, I fell in love with this hobby and can't think of anything else that is more fun for me. The only thing I dislike is that it is expensive. But that'll change when I figure out the perfect "get rich" scam or go back to college and finish it.
I guess it's partly money, but mostly the knowledge that if it breaks (or i break it installing something else) i am not totally in the dark about how to fix it. I don't like using something i don't understand and like brian said, you can't always trust some one else to do it with the care you would your own car. I just replaced an o2 sensor tonight in about 20 minutes since moose showed me how to do it months ago. I liked the self reliance (especially since getting off at 7pm precludes you from dealership work) and i got to teach some one else how to do it which is always fun.
Mostly I just dont trust fools at a lot of shops to do the work right. Some are good, but I have heard too many horror stories to trust my car to them. EVERYONE knows someone that took their car into a shop and it got screwed up. That being said, I am no mechanical genius myself, and I'm sure more people screw their own cars up than mechanic shops. But still, if I dont know the answer to a question, I will not rush the job, I will wait until I find out a good answer.
certain part of pride comes from knowing you did something yourself. kinda like back when, when the caveman use to bring meat back to the cave and get laid. except we don;t get laid for working on our cars cuz then we smell like oil and our girlfriends kick us out of the bedroom. but hitt full boost in WOT is close enough to getting laid!
I do it also for the satisfaction of a job well done. I enjoy learning new things about my car and cars in general. I normally have a crew that we all work on each other's cars, so its also for the companionship of 'da boys'. Its fun getting new tools, I even registered for tools for my wedding. Lastly, my wife is a penny pincher, so it makes it easier to get something when you don't have to pay some high labor prices just to have some monkey screw your car up. Nobody can give your car tlc like you can.
1. dealerships are high as hell...........parts for this car are already high as shit which i'm finding out now but oh-well....... 2. if i fix it & it brakes i know what to look for i don't have to worry about having to take it back to a shop & pay another rediclous <sp?> price.....i just go back over everything i did & figure it out. 3. mechanics & shops treat your car like crap on test drives. i got to see 1st hand when my boy dropped off his srt4 @ a dealership:hs: 4.it saves money & u gain knowledge that can be rewarded later as in people seeking install help. 5.it's a damn good feeling............when you're done.