 | ||||||
San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis |
||||||
~Navigation~~User login~~RSS~ |
OT: Amateurs...How not to save money in this recession...User Forum Topic
Submitted by flu on July 7, 2009 - 12:37pm
Lol.... Some of the not so mechanically inclined folks probably need to stay that way....Are people hurting that bad to skimp on a mechanic? Anyway, funny that some of the mechanics/shops said most cars these days are more advanced than most people can handle...It should say...Most cars are more advanced than most people AND mechanics can handle. http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Car-owners... Car owners live to regret do-it-yourself repairs NEW YORK (AP) -- When the taillight of Laura Musall's five-year-old Nissan Altima burned out, she hoped to avoid the repair shop by letting her husband replace it at home. It seemed simple enough: Buy a bulb, pop off the cover and make the switch. But her husband struggled to remove the plastic casing, and when he used a screwdriver to pry it off, it shattered. What came next was even worse. Her Nissan dealer wanted $250 to order a new one. Musall, a real estate agent from Fishers, Ind., figured "10 bucks, we'd be done." "But apparently," she said, "it's not a do-it-yourself thing if you don't know what you're doing." Car owners looking to trim expenses are sidestepping the mechanic and plunging into their own repairs. Or trying to, anyway. Their efforts can backfire, costing more in the end and creating do-it-yourself horror stories. Mechanics say they've seen it all in recent months, including incorrectly applied brake pads and antifreeze poured into engines. "A lot of people, they're in dire straits," said Pam Oakes, owner of Pam's Motor City Automotive in Fort Myers, Fla. "They try to do this stuff at home in their driveway." The results can be frustrating, and sometimes outright dangerous. Beth Riggs, who lives near Lebanon, Ohio, took her Chevy Trailblazer SUV to a car-savvy neighbor nearby who charged $500 to replace her front and back brakes, far less than the going rates at nearby repair shops. Later, on a highway ramp, her car suddenly froze up and pulled to the side of the road. The problem? Riggs says her neighbor neglected to put a certain part on a bolt of the wheels, setting off a chain reaction that caused the tires to lock up. The car had to be towed, and Riggs ended up paying an additional $400 to have it fixed at a suburban Cincinnati auto shop. While well-intentioned, many people forget that today's cars are vastly more complicated than models made just years ago. Most are so computer-controlled that owners can't spot problems without access to specific tools and data programs, said Dave Striegel, owner of Elizabeth AutoCare in Elizabeth, Pa. Even jobs that were once simple, such as changing the oil, can take hours to complete now. "They're not able to do nearly the work that they used to do -- it's even going beyond the heads of a lot of technicians who aren't keeping up-to-date," Striegel said. Even so, some car owners remain undeterred. On Yahoo, queries for the terms "car repairs" and "salvage auto parts" are up 77 percent and 99 percent respectively in just the past month, according to the site's data. Other car repair search terms remain at three-year highs, reflecting "a renewal of the good old American independent spirit," said Vera Chan, a senior editor for the site. The urge to cut out the middleman extends to even the wealthy, said Stephen Viscusi, a New York-based author and career consultant. "We feel the need to be frugal and save money," he said. But that doesn't mean repairs come easily. Viscusi tried to change the oil on his Mercedes-Benz sedan -- and wound up with it all over his face, a situation he likened to an episode of "I Love Lucy." He also struck out replacing spark plugs on his BMW. Auto shops say there's an easy way to save money: Just be upfront about the repairs you've tried at home. Most do-it-yourselfers, perhaps out of sheer embarrassment, play coy when mechanics start asking questions about what went wrong with the car, said Paul Lambdin, owner of Cary Car Care in Cary, N.C. "Rather than saving themselves time and money by telling us the whole story, they'll just say, 'This doesn't seem to be working,'" he said, "without going into the details of what they've already done to destroy the whole mechanism." To piece together what went wrong, mechanics typically have to start asking questions, and lots of them, said Oakes, of the Fort Myers repair shop. "It's like, 'What's the real story?'" she said. "You play quiz master with them. ... you play the 20 question game and then it comes out." People who try the at-home tinkering are usually out of work or low on cash, said Evan Brodof of Evan's Auto Repair in suburban Cincinnati. Many of them are men who work as contractors or handymen in another trade and think they can apply those skills to car repair, said Craig Douglas, owner of ASG Automotive in Indianapolis. "It's those people who have that mindset, "Hey I can fix this, I can fix that,'" Douglas said. "Bob the Builder type people." Musall, with the broken taillight, says she's learned her lesson. Her husband won't be laying his hands on the car anytime soon. "It's all fixed," she said, "and he's not going to do any more car repairs."
|
~Finance and investing~*Investment advisory services and securities offered through Girard Securities, Inc., member SIPC/FINRA. ~Recent articles~~Active forum topics~
Sponsored Links
~San Diego median home $/sq.ft.~
|
||||
| © 2004-2008 piggington enterprises llc | terms of use | privacy policy | powered by Drupal | ||||||
 |  |  | ||||
Not all mechanics are created equal. I was lazy and brought my car into a mechanic in Miramar to change my brake pads. I don't know why but he end up removing the brake lines. When putting it back, he messed something up and it end up leaking. Luckily I wanted to change my lines anyways. The next time I needed to change my pads, I go on one of the forums, there were step by step instructions with pictures. It took me more time to remove my tires and jack up my car than to actually replacing the pads. So, moral of the story is, DIY on maintenance is always better if you take the time to read the instruction and are at least a little bit handy.
I have to disagree.
There are untold numbers of people that are not mechanically inclined. Their minds just don't work that way.
You have to take an honest inventory of yourself. If you can't successfully assemble Ikea furniture, you shouldn't be working on a car.
I have to disagree.
There are untold numbers of people that are not mechanically inclined. Their minds just don't work that way.
You have to take an honest inventory of yourself. If you can't successfully assemble Ikea furniture, you shouldn't be working on a car.
I think we both agree here. That's why I put that caveat at the end, that you have to be at least a little bit handy. I guess I should say, depending on the difficulty of the job, you should be either somewhat handy to very handy. Changing light bulb is as easy as 1-2-3 if you just do some research first and get the step by step instruction.
What popped out at me from the article was that the dealer charged $250 for a tail-light lense. It seems to be that should pay for the entire assembly.
And... IIRC, you replace the bulb from the inside not by taking the outside plastic lense off. But it's been a few years since I've had to do it.
OK, agreed.
And... IIRC, you replace the bulb from the inside not by taking the outside plastic lense off. But it's been a few years since I've had to do it.
Unfortunately, some of the tailight covers are really close to $200-$250. I know, it's a ripoff, but that's what stealers charge. Actually, your best friend is an auto recycler or a third party parts supplier. I wonder though...How did the dude break his cover? It's pretty sturdy..I guess if you pry it with a screwdriver or something.
Let's not forget the horror stories at those 15 minute instant oil change/lube places (won't name names)...Some stories of junior techs accidentally pushing the wrong button and filling the engine with it tranny oil instead of engine oil, or vice versa...Or overfilling the engine with so much oil the engine ends up seizing.
I would NEVER, EVER take my car to Sears or one of those "quicky" shops. I had a friend who worked at one of those places and he literally had a horror story every week. Punctured gas tanks, cars not driven properly onto a ramp, and falling off, nuts, bolts, filters tightened too much and stripping it, etc, etc. They really do hire inexperienced mechanics and train them on the spot. Your car is the test bed. I don't think most people would let an untrained newly graduated barber cut your hair, why skimp on a few bucks for an oil change and let someone mess with your +$10k car. I don't live near shopping centers or work. A down car would cost me dearly. BTW, I change my own oil. It's such a simple process that I'd rather make sure it's done properly.
As a former mobile electronics installer, I've seen just about every kind of DIY nightmare you can imagine. I've also seen a lot of "professional" nightmares: car audio installers are usually just one step up the auto shop evolutionary ladder from the Bondo slingers at body shops. I used to refer to one local shop (long since closed) as The Old Spaghetti Factory after seeing one too many of their alarm installs.
There's a lot of truth to the article: if you have the slightest doubt about your mechanical ability, leave it to the pros. Myself, I have a '05 Scion and maintenance doesn't scare me a bit. Brakes, oil, plugs, belts, and the like are all within the reach of a home mechanic IF you have spent some time turning wrenches and have the ability to follow directions.
Speaking of directions, the Internet is a godsend for DIYers. I downloaded the full shop manual for my car for free (and legally). Back in the bad old days, it would have set me back $50-100 or more and occupied a bunch of shelf space.
Which is why...
I will be hanging onto my '94 Corolla til it drops.
And also because:
>It's still in good shape, inside and out
>It's paid for
>State license fees are CHEAP
>So is car insurance
>Gets as good a mileage as anything new on the road outside of a Prius
>I've grown fond of the body/interior style and haven't found another car I like as well
I wind up spending several hundred a year on it for various amusingly-unheard-of repairs (still less than a monthly payment). Stuff like new contacts for the starter (the old ones simply wore down to nubs); new bushings for the brakes (not pads, I am into the 3rd or 4th set of those already); 2nd set of spark plug wires...
I suppose there's some actuarial/accounting/depreciation/etc reason why this makes it "more affordable" for me to buy a new car instead, but I just don't see it. I just look at my cash flow into the car and that seems just not that bad.
I think the rule of thumb is: when you've had 2 or 3 months of car repair bills that rival what a monthly car payment would be, it's time to buy a new car.
For me it's worth it to have an up-to-date car - they are usually safer, less chance of breaking down on the side of the road, more efficient, better power, brakes, etc...not unlike computers generally the newer the better.
I don't buy a car every year, but all of my cars are in the 2000's.
I value my life more than money.
The no brainer to keeping your car in great shape is never skimping on maintenance, ESPECIALLY if it is german. By far one of the worse things you could if your car has an interference engine is not change your timing belt in on or before the recommended time. If it snaps, you are so royally screwed.
I do pretty much all my servicing myself..For the same cost or lower, i end up putting in the highest quality parts I can find and never cutting corners on the work. With the internet and enthusiast forums, it's really pretty easily to diagnose common issues and do service. Also usually, someone ends up having some tool that you can borrow from.
delete