CAR MAINTENANCE DIYDO IT YOURSELF – OR NOT?
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Becoming car smart is a two-part process that involves both reading and doing some actual car maintenance DIY. After you’ve done some studying in car manuals like the ones discussed on the Get Car Smart page it’s almost time to get some tools and go to work. Almost. _________________________________________________________________
SAFETY FIRST Before you start poking around on your car, make sure you thoroughly understand the safety aspects of auto maintenance. It’s easy to get a nasty burn under a car hood, take off some fingers if you put them in the wrong place, or get crushed by a car falling off a jack. And on the new hybrid cars there is an added danger of electrical shock from the high voltage systems that make them go. Have a safe, well ventilated place to work. And don’t work on your car in the street. Most repair manuals have entire sections devoted to safety as well as safety tips at the beginning of many repair sections. If you’re not sure about a safety concern when working on your car it’s best to quit and let an expert do the job. When in doubt, back out. _________________________________________________________________
KNOW YOUR SKILL LEVEL Another word of warning, you need to know when you’re in too deep for your skill level. There is no shame in stopping a job and getting expert help. What you don’t want to do is go to far and create a big mess for a professional mechanic to straighten out. For an expert in any field, there are few things worse than trying to straighten out a mess made by someone else. If you take a self-created mess to a professional mechanic, you’ll pay big to get the mess straightened out; and the mechanic will earn every penny he makes. And you may have tow truck charges on top of it. When in doubt, back out.
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START SIMPLE With that understanding, do it yourself auto repairs can start with simple things like an oil and filter change and then expand into other areas. You’ll find that the more you do, the more you’ll understand the jargon being tossed around by service technicians. Properly done, do it yourself auto repairs can pay twice. You save expensive labor costs on the work done by you, and you save when you do take your car to the shop because the more you understand, the less vulnerable you are to a seemingly endless variety of auto service scams. _________________________________________________________________
GET GOOD TOOLS If you’ve never been a car maintenance DIY kind of person you’ll probably need to get some tools. You need to put together a basic tool box that you can either leave as a basic set or expand as much as you’d like. Only buy quality tools. Cheap tools aren’t reliable and seem to break in just the right way to inflict maximum damage to knuckles, fingers, and other body parts. Quality tools have well-known names and they ALL carry a lifetime warranty. Anytime you break one of these tools (which isn’t often) all you need to do is return it for a free replacement. You should be able to take a broken tool back to anyone who carries that particular brand and exchange it for a new one. The brand name on the tool should be the only receipt you need on the rare occasion you need to make an exchange. Where do you find quality tools? Most nationwide auto parts stores carry a high quality line of tools. Home improvement centers and hardware stores are also good resources. A lot of places carry different brands and qualities of tools. Be sure to ask the store clerk for top quality tools with a lifetime warranty. Also ask about return policy in the event of breakage. When you shop for tools you should talk to people about tools and handle them (the tools). Another reason you want to make a live purchase for hand tools is shipping costs. Good tools are heavy, if you do need to replace a tool, it doesn’t make much sense to spend $12 shipping (plus handling charges) to replace a $10 tool. Ask your neighborhood DIY types for a recommendation and be prepared for different opinions about exactly which brand is the best. Some of us are downright passionate about our tool collections, and most of us are very loyal to one particular brand over all the others. The one thing that all DIYers agree on is that you should only invest in quality tools. _________________________________________________________________
After shopping in person you should price and compare online. It's not unusual to find online sales that beat store prices. A growing number of merchants offer free shipping on large orders placed online.
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