How many people do their own work

[antny]

Ever since I have been on this board I have read alot of people that send their cars off to the shop to have it worked on. I was just wondering how many people work on their own cars compared to who has someone else do it for them? I guess I just dont see the point to have someone else wrench on my car for things that will take an afternoon of my time. I understand most people on the legacy side dont have the time to do it so they send it off. With my work schedule which I work 14 hour night shifts I still make time to wrench on the car when parts arrive in the mail. I guess I had my learning experience with my wrx where I did everything myself besides tuning. I just never understood paying someone 75-80 bucks an hour for labor, but on the other hand if you dont have the tools or space to do it I guess your stuck paying someone to do it for you.

[F1inspiredLGT]

I do most of my work as well, because when I was younger I didn't have the extra money for a shop to do it. Self taught by trial and error was my way of learning.

[rc0032]

IBThisthreadneedsapoll

[rao]

There are shops that work on cars???

[rc0032]

Ya and the shop fees are outrageous :lol: ;)

[whitetiger]

Ill give you one guess as to what I do. :D

[antny]

Poll added

[AWDxBOOST]

i do it myself...and i do others as well :)

[Magic]

I perform almost all my own installs.

[mccorry]

I do all my own work... and most of the work on my friends cars, too! :lol:

Springs, struts, uppipe, downpipe, turbo, intercooler, plugs, gauges, brakes, stereo, etc.....

[melayout]

I've done my own oil changes, spark plugs changes, compression check, brake pad change.

Will attempt coolant and brake fluid flush/change and I may have to do own turbo replacement soon.

[jazzymt]

Of the very few things I've allowed the dealership to do, half have ended in complete disasters. While I'm no prodigy behind a wrench, I'd much rather know that I screwed it up myself than I paid someone else to screw it up. So far, I've done all my upgrades myself. Mechanics are for the mistakes I can't fix myself. ;)

[hondas123]

I've done my own oil changes for the past fifteen years. I don't trust the dealerships or quick lube places. I've taught a few friends how to as well. It's a little rewarding being able to do your own work.

[johnAWD]

I do my own.

[ShockerGT]

I do the work myself or with the help of other fellow LGT.com'ers. :)

[wichitalegacy]

I have done everything myself from the fmic , clutch , stereo system. I can only talk the wife into buying the parts so I have to do the installs:icon_mrgr

[jingjing]

i do my own, if i need tools, i go to my bros. house since he was an ase mechanic and has all the tools, air compressor and portable lift.

[wukindada]

^^^

Ditto:):)

[SubiGT]

Do my own work. About the only thing I won't tackle is gears, or something really heavy, like say the 6mt specB tranny swap I'm dreaming of:)

[CrakuhBlack]

I refuse to have any shop or dealership turn a wrench on my car. If I really screw something up (which hasn't happened yet) my pops is on speed dial.

[fweasel]

There are shops that work on cars???
I've heard rumors of shops located in Naperville and Bartlett, but the owner's are a little rough around the edges.

[Garandman]

Can't vote in your poll.

We had three antique cars growing up that I helped with - my dad was an aircraft mechanic in WWII and so it wasn't much of a challenge to work on flathead V8's. I've done everything up to and including brake jobs, axle replacements, valve jobs (including V8's) , clutch replacements, and transmission replacements. This is not to mention changing power packs on M60 tanks and M113 APC's.

So I'm not afraid to get my hands dirty, but 1. I live in the city on a hill, 2. professionals do a better job most of the time, 3. 5 of our 6 vehicles are still on warranty, and 4. I can make more at work than I could working on the car.

About the only things we do on our own are the winter tire swapover; lights, wipers, and other exterior consumables; and cleaning.

The Army has recreation centers on most posts with fully equipped shops and mechanics on staff to advise. When I was at Ft. Benning I bought a 1964 beetle wit ha 1600 cc bus engine and fixed a dent and repainted part of the body; replaced the floor pan where the battery had rotted it away; and converted the electrical system to 12 volt. There were some real hackers there, and some absolutely perfect work.

In the Cav in Germany, one of our helicopter mechanics bought a Porsche 928. He liked to work on it because it was so simple.....

[f1anatic]

think you will find around the country a few tight LGT communities. I know the preferred way to do it in Chicagoland is to have "install meets". There are things one does by himself and a few things that really need a shoop but usually the preffered way is to get your buddies to lend you a hand and in turn you help them with their project.

I scratch your back you scratch my back type of relationship gets most LGT projects done, I would imagine.

[bluesuby]

There should be more options in this poll. I'll do a lot of work, fluids and maintenance mostly, but I'm saving the subybucks for jobs like spark plugs (which I could probably do, but it's a pain) and timing belt replacement. Hey, this funny money has to be good for something.

[F1inspiredLGT]

think you will find around the country a few tight LGT communities. I know the preferred way to do it in Chicagoland is to have "install meets".
I scratch your back you scratch my back type of relationship gets most LGT projects done, I would imagine.

I only wish I had a few tight LGT buddies around me to have install meets. It seems I'm the only Central Valley dude on this site, all the others are either in the Bay Area, Sac town, or LA. Sounds like fun to have though.

[Garandman]

.

[pillboy]

There should be more options in this poll. I'll do a lot of work, fluids and maintenance mostly, but I'm saving the subybucks for jobs like spark plugs (which I could probably do, but it's a pain) and timing belt replacement. Hey, this funny money has to be good for something.
:whore: Some poll topics need more choices and this is one of them.

[AirSix]

We're lucky in the Seattle metro area to have Dave Wise over at www.solar-reflections.com/solar-reflections.html (http://www.solar-reflections.com/solar-reflections.html) (shamless plug). Dave is a highly skilled Subie mechanic who does great work at fair prices. My mechanical skills are limited by my extreme lack of patience. I'd rather make a donation to a locally-owned & operated small business that's pulling for the cause than spend extra hours in my garage fixing my mistakes.

[SubiGT]

I only wish I had a few tight LGT buddies around me to have install meets. It seems I'm the only Central Valley dude on this site, all the others are either in the Bay Area, Sac town, or LA. Sounds like fun to have though.
We can have a mini install meet if you want to come up to Sonora over New Years. I will be installing my STI UP, Invidia full length catted DP(w/TDC stage 2 FTW), Worx pulley, and Crucial T-stat:)
The Northeast guys can drive a few hours and cross state lines, I drive a few hours and I'm in Fresno, Frisco, or Sac.

[zildjiank]

Most of the modding stuff is Plug and Play IMHO...I didn't even look at any of the install threads...

But more of the involved stuff may need some help such as a FMIC, or turbo swap (just to make sure I don't mess up the oil feed lines or something), or clutch (though when the time comes I think I'll just figure it out cause it looks fun :icon_wink)

[antny]

think you will find around the country a few tight LGT communities. I know the preferred way to do it in Chicagoland is to have "install meets". There are things one does by himself and a few things that really need a shoop but usually the preffered way is to get your buddies to lend you a hand and in turn you help them with their project.

I scratch your back you scratch my back type of relationship gets most LGT projects done, I would imagine.


Well in Oklahoma there arent too many Subaru enthusiast in whole let alone a LGT. I am the first LGT in the OK crew. We have meet/work days about every 2 months. Just by reading some of the for sale add's I have seen alot of people saying when the parts get off the car from such and such shop. So that brought my question about. I did every bit of wrenching of my WRX and so far the LGT. I did springs, brakes, sway, headers w/integrated up, Dp,axleback, STS, cleared and painted headlights, HID's and some other goodies with having 2k on the odometer. the local guys here are great and pretty much have general wrenching abilities (righty tighty lefty loosy) and some pretty good subaru knowledge. Luckily we have someone that can tear apart a tranny and put it back together in 4 hours. I know I plan on doing the turbo, fmic, injectors, tgv's and fuel pump on my own. i figured once you have taken one turbo off before you can take any subaru turbo off.

[Xenonk]

I do 90% of my own work on the car.. until I need a welder or painter..

[LUKEGT03]

So far i have done my own UP,DP,Catback,Boost Gauge, Turbo Timer, Brake Pads, TMIC, Clutch, Flywheel, and currently doing a Turbo Swap, Catch Can and probably fuel pump. Only things i have not done were my Springs and stereo upgrades mainly because i didnt have time and didnt feel like doing them.

[LIZARD]

About 80% my own hands, the other 20% I'll chalk up to others like TDC and wrench turning friends that do good work for cheap $$ and beer.:)

[G.T.Subie]

Depending on difficulty I'll give it a shot.
Ususally jsut go to WhiteTiger.

[Spec B]

I do my own performance mods...at least the simple ones.

I leave oil changes and the boring maintance stuff to the pros! :)

[lgt_nube]

Early life lessons that I have absolutely no talent or ability for it. All I'm good for is getting something started and not being able to finish. So to the shop it goes. I love it that there are great and talented people who want to do the things I'm either not good at or don't want to do.

[unstablementaly]

i do most of my own work. but a friend of mine works at a shop so the lift and air tools come in handy! plus, his general automotive experience is a big help too. i'm an hvac mechanic so troubleshooting anything really isn't a problem. doing the work isn't really a problem. but the more electronic stuff i'll probably bring to someone else.

[BMac1203]

I can't justify working 5-6 days a week to hand my check off to some over-paid mechanic (no offense to guys here that are just that). I used to have a Civic that I did all my own work on. I think that doing your own work teaches you a lot about automotive in general. If you can't do your own work, seems that today you can find a friend that can help. I used to meet guys on forums that were local and I had never met before and were more than happy to meet me and help. ::tears of joy::

[peterjmc]

I do my own work most all the time. If I don't have the directions, some help, or proper tools to do the job, I'll take it to a professional.

Sometimes when I do something I'll mess something up or take double the amount of time it would if I had a professional do it. In the end I save a lot more money and am able to put it toward other things like more upgrades!

[BMac1203]

It's true. Sometimes it's not even about the money, though. Maybe I just like the satisfaction of knowing that I did it (and even more satisfaction when I don't end up with extra screws/bolts). I used to read a lot of tuner magazines, and their top cars were always cars that a shop did. Where is the pride in handing over your car to a shop, paying them $5k-10k, waiting a month, and having a winning show car? I never understood why the reports were always on cars that a guy/girl never even turned a wrench on their own, where is the honor in that? Why read about a car that some guy sent to a shop for 6 months when you can read about some kid who did an STi swap in his garage by himself in a weekend? What's the point?

[meier motor sports]

im a mechanic. of course i do my own work

[BMac1203]

im a mechanic. of course i do my own work

I have to ask, how are you paid? For instance, if I'm paying a shop $80+ per hour to work on my car, how much is your cut? It would make me feel better to know that you're still not making that.

Maybe I'm just in an over-priced area, but my local mechanics make $80-90 per hour. How in the heck is that justified? And they charge by the hour (AkA if it takes them 10 mins, you still pay the full hour) How do these guys sleep at night?

Shoot, my school cost $43k a year to go to and I won't even make $80 - 90 per hour......

[meier motor sports]

my shop is 76.50 and hour and i can make $22 and hour book time
my last job the labor rate was 110 or so and the top rate was $24 an hour

[BMac1203]

my shop is 76.50 and hour and i can make $22 and hour book time
my last job the labor rate was 110 or so and the top rate was $24 an hour

How did you feel knowing that they charge people that? Don't get me wrong, certain things are very hard work....but at the same time, other things are a piece of cake and get charged the same rate. I still think it's amazing the rates they charge these days.

When I had my Civic. Every once and a while when I needed a hand, I would call an Ex-Honda Mechanic who did routine maintenance and work for people for less than half of what the dealerships charged, but he was certified just like them. It was funny the stories he would tell about changing headlight bulbs, air filters, etc. The things that he would get paid full price to do....amazing...

[meier motor sports]

i wish i could work for half what the dealer makes. that would land me twice what i make working for them.

[direavenger]

I just started doing my own work on the legacy. Oil changes, tire rotations, air filters, and other normal service things. I still don't have enough confidence in myself to do much else. Mostly its because I don't have anybody else to help me, you know, like anybody who has ever done this stuff before :lol:

[captainmorgan]

This isn't brain surgery. Working on cars is so easy, I don't know why some people are afraid of doing it. Its all plug and play, and can mostly be done in a weekend.

If there is something that is a warranty replacement, I really have to think hard about letting the dealership do it. I hate to say it, but even being a novice, I'm a better wrench than most of the tech monkeys at the local Subaru dealership. I have a hard part putting my trust in them.

[whitetiger]

This isn't brain surgery. Working on cars is so easy, I don't know why some people are afraid of doing it....



Yet, the majority of people in this country dont even know how to pop the hood let alone know how a 4 stroke engine works. You may find it easy as do alot of us on this ENTHUSIAST web site, but for most, the only thing they know about a car is that it can be driven. ;)

[one69chev]

cut my teeth on classic chevys and unless it's warranty, i really don't like somebody else touching on my baby...

[direavenger]

This isn't brain surgery. Working on cars is so easy, I don't know why some people are afraid of doing it. Its all plug and play, and can mostly be done in a weekend.

If there is something that is a warranty replacement, I really have to think hard about letting the dealership do it. I hate to say it, but even being a novice, I'm a better wrench than most of the tech monkeys at the local Subaru dealership. I have a hard part putting my trust in them.

I think what scares me is that if I screw up, it is an expensive oops. The whole point of me doing this is to learn more about my car, and take pride in its proper care. I'm learning, but I'm sure you triple checked stuff too after your first few oil changes too. I just happen to be starting now instead of when I was like 6, like the rest of you gearheads :lol:

[mpetty]

Just did the UP/DP on my car yesterday.

I did springs last year.

I will tackle most jobs short of serious bodywork or a engine/tranny rebuild. It is rewarding and great to learn more about the car.

Also, having done this type of thing for a long time, I can tell you that sites like this are invaluable. Any job I do I plan extensively based on researching on here, and so far it has paid off - I go in knowing what to expect and where the pitfalls are.

It was a heck of a lot harder before the interweb came along, and you had to do figure it out on your own...

:lol:

[shtbxr22]

How about 16 bucks out of 86 is mine to keep......yippee. overhead my ass.

[BMac1203]

How about 16 bucks out of 86 is mine to keep......yippee. overhead my ass.

Hence why freelance guys charge around $40/hr, but they keep...um...all $40 of it.

Like I said earlier, my parents used to use this Ex-Honda Mechanic, he did freelance work for $40 an hour, less than half of what Honda charges. And he did better work.

BUT, I do my own work as well :)

[jlce88]

all but any welding

[mccorry]

all but any welding



<<<<<< Welds, also! ;)

[shtbxr22]

ooh,ooh, me weld too, I got trophy for 1st place @ competition for welding

[wukindada]

No welding, electrical wiring or metalworking for me;)

[jonklein611]

We do the usual (timing, oil, tires, brakes and so on...)

the one that pretty much maxxed us out was re doing the struts for my 96 Leg. Took a bit of work, but it saved us some $$$$

[elle]

first car - scared of messing it up...

i send it places for work.

[ex-ma hole]

I pay someone to do it. For me it's a time issue. I look at it like this, any time spent on the Subie, is time that could be spent either on my Impala or my Bug. They both need a lot more TLC than the Subie.

Also the dealership is about 1/2 mile from work. I drop it in the AM, and pic it up in the PM.

Also, I have a 2 1/2 year old. so I'd rather pay someone so that I can spend more time with her.

For me it's not a "I'm afraid to get dirty" thing, it's a time management thing.

[CwhillVT]

Just got my LGT about a month ago all ive done thus far was filters, oil, modified my shifter length, and installed an aux input for my MP3 player. I have a feeling that this car will be a bit more challenging to work on mechanically than my Jeep was. On the Jeep I did u-joints, brakes, radiator, fuel pump, wheel cylinders, water pump, distributor, plugs, AC conversion, misc wiring, leaf springs, shocks, replaced the fuel tank...the list goes on. I have a feeling that my LGT will be a bit more of a challenge. We shall see.

[DSMsuby]

I use to work as a tech at a Honda dealership and Sears so I have plenty of tools and experience. Not to mention I've been playing with DSMs for over 17 years now so when it comes to these cars I have a very good idea of how things work.

A lot of times when I hear about people doing their own work it makes me cringe. It's not so hard to take a nut/bolt off a car and put it back on. It's not that hard to read a manual or DIY book and follow instructions either. But a lot of times these DIY books or manuals aren't very complete or inclusive and it's the small details usually that can cause big problems.

I've known way too many instances where people that have tried to put a motor together for the first time screw up a tiny little detail and throw thousands of dollars away as their motor takes a dump really quick.

But it's not limited to motors. How many people actually know how to torque their lugnuts properly, or install brakes so they don't fall off. You'll be surprised!

The funny thing is when I was a lot younger I thought working on cars was easy and everyone should be able to do it. I even taught countless DSMrs and other friends how to do things like timing belts and brake jobs, etc. Ultimately, it has been my experience after watching these people I've taught or hearing about their experiences or experiences of others on-line that have sought help from car forums that has led me to my current opinion.

It is easy for some but sometimes it is much cheaper and safer just to get the job done right the first time. And experience is a great teacher but repetition teaches perfection.

Or as my wife use to say practice doesn't make perfect. Perfect practice leads to perfection.

BTW, I'm a stay home dad now and only like to work on my own cars so I'm not saying any of this to try to get more work.