DIY Car Maintenance Crew - who does it?

[WoofieNugget]

I've had my current vehicle under warranty most of its' life, but just recently my check engine light came on along with a couple of other lights so I thought I'd take it to the shop to have them check it out. Made the mistake of taking it to the actual dealer because the two lights indicated a wheel sensor and I thought they would know the most about how to deal with it.

So of course, I have it there for a few hours and they come up with a laundry list of things they would "suggest" I do. And I also paid a decent price for them to hook the reader up to the car and tell them what was wrong, which they didn't even do properly.

The most amazing thing was they wanted $110 to replace a CABIN AIR FILTER. Literally thirty seconds taking off my glove box and buying one for $16 on Amazon and they wanted $110 for it. They said my battery was nearing the end and quoted me $400 - battery costs $150 and takes another five minutes to change out. Sparkplug replacement quoted $800 and the plugs cost $200 and would take less than an hour to do. Mind blowing how much they inflate prices.

Made me realize how much you can actually easily do yourself to your vehicle. What are some easy things you do in terms of repairs? I'm thinking I may try to to change my brakes the next time they come up, and I'm definitely going to do the spark plugs myself. Also, do you just have jack stands or is there another type of lift you can use for car repairs?

[FelixTheCat1919]

Mostly people who haven't found a good shop/formed a decent business relationship with said shop, and people who think tinkering on their own cars for hours every 3rd weekend or so is fun.

[DASBUNKER]

I refill the coolant tank every now and then, sorta of a mechanic myself

[MajorTendonitis]

I changed my battery in my F150 so far but that’s it . Was going to buy those solid rubber ramps you drive in and do my own oil,but the price was ridiculous.
These new trucks look intimidating tbh , and I’m just using Great Canadian oli change right now , plus they do the filter .

But when it came to my 84 GMC , no one touched it period . It was my baby and I don’t trust people when they’re in a hurry. Besides that it was easy AF to work on . I pretty much took this truck apart and put it back together again

[SaviorSelfJT]

Me

I drove an old beater ass car around for a long time. Did all the repairs/maintenance myself. I drive a new car now, but plan to do as much as I can myself

- I recommend buying used OEM parts, instead of new aftermarket. In other words, go to one of those "pull a part" junkyards to get replacement instead of buying whatever is at autozone. Not only will it be cheaper but the used OEM will be higher quality, been burned buying absolute junk from autozone/similar parts

- They make oil plugs with a valve on them. This way you can do our oil change without even needing to turn a wrench. Can get ramps to drive on to get under instead of jacking the car up too

[wasp9166]

40 yrs

Obd fusion app and elm 327 will get you started on reading and clearing codes

Things like wheel speed sensors you'll need a laptop and applicable tech program with the required obd cable

Depends on make for the program

Jack stands ,two Jack's for suspension work

Unless it's a warranty item ,stay the f away from dealers

[stevebec]

~$20 for an OBDII adapter or Auto Zone will dump the codes for free.

[elterrible987]

OP first thing you should get is a code reader.

There are 2 categories. There is the OBDII which is standardized for all cars but it only gives basic stuff. You can still clear check engine lights with one though.


Then different manufacturers have a proprietary CAN BUS that is for all kinds of extra settings and more in depth readings. Basically any sensor on your car you can pull data from it. Temperature, pressures, even things like re-circulation air flap, rpm of your compressor all kinds of chit. Now you can spend big bucks on a reader made for mechanics that reads almost all cars but that is like $800+ or you can usually get one for your own brand car that is like $100 that will read your CAN BUS and do all the OBDII stuff too.

[KilaByte]

What the heck are you driving that needs $200 in plugs?

One guy on my M3 forum got quoted $1500 for plugs/ labor at the stealership dead srs.

If out of warranty I do mostly everything myself, but I'm a car guy, it's a hobby.

[WoofieNugget]

Have a code reader and a jack/couple of jack stands from changing my own tires, so I guess I'm covered for those. Have a decent set of socket wrenches as well already.

Looks like plugs are actually a lot cheaper than I thought, I can get a set of 6 for about $40-60.

[FoulSmell]

I use to, when I was younger and broke. Now I can’t be bothered and bring it to a shop.

[John L]

I know how to do the really basic stuff. I’ll change my brake pads, filters, rotate my tires. Used to change my own oil, but ever since I became a father I’m extremely uncomfortable getting underneath a car on jack stands and just been taking it to the shop for that. For advanced stuff i’m not willing to fuk up my car following a YouTube video, would rather leave it to my shop to do that. Been going to them for nearly 20 years and they are beyond trustworthy

[Akd123]

spark plugs are usually $10 a piece and take 5 minutes to replace. The **** you guys talking about hundreds of dollars to replace. get back to reality

[blueberryboy]

I change lights , tires , brakes ,

Basic maintenance like that

[Akd123]

That's what I posted.

Except Subaru stuff, good luck replacing those in 5 minutes.

Or maybe transverse V6's the rear bank can be a PITA.

Never worked on a Subaru so i cant comment but changing most spark plugs are easy as fuk

[blueberryboy]

On your balcony?

Nah . My parents live 5 minute drive away ...they gotta house.
In fact I'll be staying there about 50 % of the time now for the next few months as cottage season rolls in ...gotta look after their place for them when they're down the cottage

[Redfish225]

I work on my hotrod myself, built the engine from bare block.

Dealer does all the maintenance on my truck and wife’s car. Oil changes are free for life, hadn’t had any issues with my truck but wife’s car work was covered under warranty.

[Bluestar92]

Yeah but I drive a 90s Toyota. Up until a few years ago I had no idea how to really work on cars but I've learned everything I need to know on youtube. I buy nothing but OEM parts which is more expensive than almost any replacement part but I buy from a dealer online so its not too bad. The OEM parts lasted 25 years and 300K miles so its kind of retarded to use aftermarket chinese junk that usually doesn't fit or work right knowing that. Thankfully there is a large community of bros online that drive the old Toyota I have and anything I need to do to it has been done and documented online already. I've probably saved $10K in labor cost in the past few years just by installing my own parts and doing routine maintenance. I do have a mechanic I take it to if its a job I can't or don't want to do though.

[Black03mach]

I do all my own maintenance and mods, for the most part.

[blissful88]

A lot of BS ITT; no one is quoting you $800 to change spark plugs on your chitbox, not even Ferrari

Nor $400 for a battery install; I know the book times for these things









If you do not have professional training via schooling or dealership work experience, do not touch your own car; don't even unplug anything under the engine bay because it can cause more faults

I bet I've fixed over 1,000+ botched "DIY" jobs from miscers that thought Jewtube would show them how to do simple repairs, like brake jobs(which are extremely easy to fuk up if untrained)



If your vehicle is a post 2019 you can forget about touching it altogether; you need OEM software to even do a brake job on most makes these days

[wasp9166]

A lot of BS ITT; no one is quoting you $800 to change spark plugs on your chitbox, not even Ferrari

Nor $400 for a battery install; I know the book times for these things









If you do not have professional training via schooling or dealership work experience, do not touch your own car; don't even unplug anything under the engine bay because it can cause more faults

I bet I've fixed over 1,000+ botched "DIY" jobs from miscers that thought Jewtube would show them how to do simple repairs, like brake jobs(which are extremely easy to fuk up if untrained)



If your vehicle is a post 2019 you can forget about touching it altogether; you need OEM software to even do a brake job on most makes these days

All the bs in this thread is in this post

Car is put into service mode for electronic parking brakes

Other than that ,brakes are stupidly easy

Beat it lady

[blissful88]

They are beaverdollar numbers, and are entirely in a believable range - just multiply by 0.7 ( OTOH ).

And even a monkey could do a plug replacement ( provided they know how to use a torque wrench ).

No one ITT owns torque wrenches or even knows what they are

All the bs in this thread is in this post

Car is put into service mode for electronic parking brakes

Other than that ,brakes are stupidly easy

Beat it lady

Ok Boomer


So "stupid easy" that I've had countless men put pads on backwards or blow seals because they thought they knew what they were doing like it's still 1976

You used silicone-only on the guide pins right? Checked the integrity of the piston seals/wheel cylinders, brake hoses aren't swollen right? Pad retainers installed correctly right?

Of course you did, and I'm sure everything is torqued to spec too




You have to be an engineer to truly understand and diagnose modern vehicle faults; I know because I did it for nearly a decade while in college

Get back to your putting up fences or laying asphalt

[GooBaaa]

Don’t even need jack stands to do an oil change tbh I never use one

[MiscMathematician]

On my jeep I do everything myself, except when the ebrake went bad. I didn't want to screw that up. Right now I'm dealing with probably a wheel speed sensor issue as the ABS, 4wd, traction control dash lights are lit up and cruise control stopped working. Will be trying to fix that this week.

On my acura it's all dealer until the warranty expires. Then I'll take over those tasks myself

[wasp9166]

No one ITT owns torque wrenches or even knows what they are




Ok Boomer


So "stupid easy" that I've had countless men put pads on backwards or blow seals because they thought they knew what they were doing like it's still 1976

You used silicone-only on the guide pins right? Checked the integrity of the piston seals/wheel cylinders, brake hoses aren't swollen right? Pad retainers installed correctly right?

Of course you did, and I'm sure everything is torqued to spec too




You have to be an engineer to truly understand and diagnose modern vehicle faults; I know because I did it for nearly a decade while in college

Get back to your putting up fences or laying asphalt

Bitching like a woman instead of delivering level headed input on the subject

I wouldn't want you anywhere near my vehicle just based on how you act

Everything in a vehicle has an expiration date

Unless your caliper is leaking ,the seal integrity is fine

When a caliper is hanging up,you have no way of knowing if it's the piston or an inner hose collapse

You replace the caliper and hose together, never one or the other

As I said ,I've been doing my own maintenence for 40 yrs

And busted my back in construction for 30

And never spent a day in a classroom for either

The tech programs are easily attained if you know how

What,you think the monkeys at the dealer like you are a secret society ??

You have be an engineer to figure out modern vehicles ?

Strange ,I'm a dumb tradie and fixed everything that ever came up on my bmw with my own laptop

I never spent a day in college ,yet I could do college calculus sleeping

See,I didn't want to waste money on a piece of paper that allowed me to walk around and bark like an entitled kunt

A disguise if you will

I think you should take your screaming bitch ass out of this thread and get back to paying your loan

Noone is listening to you regardless of what you think you know

Cuz you're a bitch ,maybe try the kitchen knife thread

I posted there too

I went to college to learn how to use knives

[SaviorSelfJT]

No one ITT owns torque wrenches or even knows what they are




Ok Boomer


So "stupid easy" that I've had countless men put pads on backwards or blow seals because they thought they knew what they were doing like it's still 1976

You used silicone-only on the guide pins right? Checked the integrity of the piston seals/wheel cylinders, brake hoses aren't swollen right? Pad retainers installed correctly right?

Of course you did, and I'm sure everything is torqued to spec too




You have to be an engineer to truly understand and diagnose modern vehicle faults; I know because I did it for nearly a decade while in college

Get back to your putting up fences or laying asphalt

OP is only talking about replacing a cabin air filter, plugs, and a battery. He didn’t specify the age of his car, but betting it’s not very new

You think he needs that kind of expertise to do that?

[Destor]

I enjoy doing some DIY stuff on older and simpler stuff, swapped out all the spark plugs on my 2014 Cadillac and did an oil change on my John Deere tractor

Also it was $600 to replace 6 sparks plugs on my 2021 Genesis

[wasp9166]

OP is only talking about replacing a cabin air filter, plugs, and a battery. He didn’t specify the age of his car, but betting it’s not very new

You think he needs that kind of expertise to do that?

Guy just came into thread and started attacking people

He's pop on seinfeld

Imagine this mentalcase under your hood

Suddenly you're on your back like a turtle

[Exiled93]

I have a ton of tools and love working on cars but I live in an apartment and doing that stuff in a parking lot sucks. Want my own garage when I buy a house. Working on cars is fun and relaxing to me - not so much on a daily though...don't want that pressure of having to get it done before work, etc.

[MisquePhaggot]

I refill the coolant tank every now and then, sorta of a mechanic myself

Better off replacing the hose that is leaking coolant