Auto repair: Tips and experiences (good and bad)

[radhead]

I think that owning an automobile is a lot easier than some people think. It can be affordable as well. Let's share our helpful experiences and tips in this thread.

 

[radhead]

Radhead Tip #1. If you are unsure of whether your old car will make it on a long road trip, then leave it at home and rent one instead.

 

[radhead]

RT#2. Find a good independent repair shop through word of mouth. Believe me, there is a very HIGH demand for good honest work, which leads to healthy competition. It's simple, just like any other type of product or service.

A dealership can do the work, but you will pay more. They are also trained to sell you extra repairs.

 

[radhead]

RT#4. Avoid major Auto-Parts stores that also do repair work.

I don't know why, but for some reason this is a poisonous combination. It may seem like a handy place to go. I mean, they do the work, and they have all the parts they need already there, right? Well, maybe they do and maybe they don't. But they have a LOT of incentive to sell you stuff you don't need.

But it's better to leave it at an honest shop even if it takes longer. Renting a car is a lot cheaper than paying unnecessary major repairs you don't need.

I had my worst experience ever at one of these places when I was young. I had an old car and was planning to take it on a weekend trip over a hundred miles away (mistake # 1). I purched their Multi-Point check that supposedly checked everything in your car to see what it might need. $100. Not too bad, huh? Well, I ended up spending $500 (ten years ago). How stupid is that? I could have just rented a car for 3 days and it would have cost less than $100. They replaced one or two tires. Guess what? I got a flat tire on the way down on Friday afternoon (and I missed an important music rehearsal!!!) I was stranded in the middle of nowhere WITHOUT a cell phone and had to change my own tire to the spare. (Crying as I write this.) Stupidly, I left my old tire on the side of the road and couldn't find a shop in town that would sell me a wheel with credit card. I used most of my cash on that.

...On the return trip home, guess what? The water pump broke. It was already dark. My only saving grace is that I was 5 miles from the next town, where I was able to stop and call a trucker. Another $100 for that, not to mention $300 more for the water pump the next day. (No, it was not worth the extra $1000 to take an old car on a weekend trip.)

Keep in mind that old cars are not good for long non-stop trips. More things are likely to break down, and you are in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Schneiderman]

First, motorcycles are better.

But since this thread is about car tips...

Make friends with the guys at a good auto parts store (a good one- like napa, not autozone) and you get the "preferred customer" discount. Make real good friends and you will have a lifetime supply of free bolts and stuff (which you can use on your motorcycle!).

Old cars are better than new cars. New cars have computers, which are becoming self aware and killing people (Toyota). Old cars can not murder you. Also, if something breaks in an old car, you just get a replacement part from an auto parts store, install it yourself and you're good to go. On a new car when something breaks it is because the computer is trying to ruin your life. The only way to reign in a rogue computer is to bring the car to a dealer, and that costs big time $$$$$

If a motorcycle is equipped with a computer which tries to kill you, you can just jump off the motorcycle.

My 1972 dodge coronet has been more reliable since I got it than any of my friends' newer cars.

 

[radhead]

Well, since I'm a wimpy she-man who cries at the sight of a tire iron, I don't think I'll be doing any of my own stuff too soon. I don't mind paying an honest mechanic, anyway.

But it's a good point that more knowledge is helpful. Since cars are such a huge expense to most people, it's probably even more valuable than understanding financial investments and those kinds of things.

 

[K9_Trainer]

When you're dealing with repairs and maintenance, don't do it through the dealership or a major auto repair place (like Sears) unless you absolutely have to. These places will rip you off every penny they can. If you do go there, don't TELL them what is wrong with your car or what you think needs to be fixed. Let them tell YOU. Otherwise, they will do exactly what you asked them to do knowing its not the problem, charge you for it, and THEN tell you that you need to make X repairs as well, and they'll charge you again for that.

I've found private auto repair businesses to be far more honest and more affordable.

 

[Apollo Celestio]

I want a motorcycle. But people tend to be so prideful about it. Like I'm trying to make a statement. It just seems like it'd be easier to manage.

 

[Macx]

Bikes are great.

This one has been serving me loyally since 1998. It isn't remotely stock & almost everything that has been done to it has been done by me.

Bike advice: Buy a 4 hole outlet cover like:

You can pick one up for about 3/4 of a dollar at a hardware store. Tie a bootlace to it. Make a slip knot in the end that isn't on the cover. The bootlace can be used/ off an old worn out pair of boots. When you park you bike, toss this plate under your kickstand and loop the lace over your left handlebar. Hot sun can make asphalt soft and many bikes have ended up on their sides due to sinking. Same thing can happen when parking on dirt or gravel. In the picture of my bike you can see the cord leading down to the plate. Always ride with a plate.

Car advice: The two best bang for the buck performance improvements you can do to a car are tires and track days.

 

[LoneSheep]

For self repairs:
-Get a good manual for your car model and a proper set of tools.
-Don't do any major work yourself
-READ the instructions, don't just looks at the pictures
-Learn what to lube, and lube it before you reassemble it
-Have good housekeeping and know where the screws are

 

[ImperialPhantom]

Self repairs are cheaper, and they're fun IMO, and can even build more of a connection with the car. So do as many as you wanna learn.

 

[nill]

If you're looking for an exhaustive manual for your type of car, I've heard that a Chilton manual or a Haynes manual (which I have) are very good.

 

[radhead]

I bought a Chilton book when I bought my first used car about 13 years ago. I don't think I ever opened it once.

Funny thing is, I bought the car partly to impress someone. I don't think she ever even saw it, so it didn't even matter.

 

[Trashionista]

A dealership can do the work, but you will pay more. They are also trained to sell you extra repairs.

As someone who actually works in a car dealership, I call quite frankly... ahem on this one.

Not all plans or companies will honour your extra warranty if certain maintenance repairs and intervals are not done at a dealership. Sure, we have one douchebag of a service advisor at our place, but he is definately in the minority.

Furthermore, you get what you pay for. This is not to say you are guaranteed a great tech at every dealership, but our techs who started out at the local community college, eventually doing their apprenticeship at our dealership, focused in school on the company they currently work for. This isn't true with all of the older techs, but the ones who've arrived in the last decade? Yes. Even the ones who began ended their apprenticeships/work placements when I started 4 years ago, really had nose-to-the-bricks in the company they currently work for. It's not to say they couldn't work on a non-company vehicle (we do on occasion) but there's a level of expertise there that you may not nessecarily get if the tech is focusing on every kind and make of vehicle.

We have taxicabs that come in for the occasional recall, who take their vehicles only to local mechanics shop, and they're in terrible condition. And before I get the standard 'Well, they're always on the road!' My father, who takes his vehicle to the dealership (employee discount) is still on the road with the same truck for work at 400 000 clicks on an '03.

Other than the clutch on my dad's Midlife Crisis Mobile, we've had no issues with no dealership. And that's more of a manufacturing issue (it's happened with the gentleman who has the '07, and another who also has an '08) than an issue that arose out of shoddy care at the dealership or crappy maintenance work.

 

[Crosscheck]

Dealerships are also not always more expensive, not to mention the mechanic is paid per job. THis leaves him/her no incentive to over bill you on labor. Thus what you're quoted is what you'll pay, no surprises when you come to pick up the car and they added hours of labor. You also have a dealership backing the repairs. A big fish has more invested in its repuation than it could in trying to weasel the customer out of a few bucks.

 

[radhead]

Dealerships are also not always more expensive, not to mention the mechanic is paid per job. THis leaves him/her no incentive to over bill you on labor. Thus what you're quoted is what you'll pay, no surprises when you come to pick up the car and they added hours of labor. You also have a dealership backing the repairs. A big fish has more invested in its repuation than it could in trying to weasel the customer out of a few bucks.

The mechanic may not care, but the service rep will try to weasel you every time. The customer doesn't usually deal directly with the mechanic.

I have heard of some good dealerships. But the majority, I've heard only bad.

 

[Trashionista]

The mechanic may not care, but the service rep will try to weasel you every time. The customer doesn't usually deal directly with the mechanic.

I have heard of some good dealerships. But the majority, I've heard only bad.

And how many service advisors have you, yourself, personally actually dealt with? You're going completely on heresay.

 

[radhead]

And how many service advisors have you, yourself, personally actually dealt with? You're going completely on heresay.

You really don't believe that most of them try to upsell you in some way? The majority I've gone to have done that.

It's the same thing as when you go to McDonald's and they ask, do you want fries with that?

No difference whatsoever.

 

[JohnDB]

Most things that can go wrong with a vehicle can be done yourself.
Electronics though...you are going to need a thingamajig to find out the problem.

And electronics often go bad.

But...alternators, batteries, starters, solenoids, fuel pumps, water pumps, thermostats, plugs, distributor caps and the like...all can be done...just a matter of having the right tools.

I can do a brake job in under thirty minutes. (without turning the rotors)
Changing the rotors and bearings usually takes around three hours. (too much grease to deal with)

Cleaning the throttle body is usually a twenty minute job as well....but I always dawdle doing that one...too much other stuff to look into.

Changing out a leaking radiator is usually a four hour job. (bolts never seem to line up with the provided holes)

Just a matter of how old or expensive a vehicle you own...and how much you are willing to get dirty doing it all.

 

[radhead]

Sounds good. That kind of vehicle knowledge is a real financial treasure, since most people know none of that stuff.