Took my car to mechanic this week... think I'm GIVING UP on my garage

GarageWarrior · Feb 14, 2013

I have a garage - it has a car lift, tools/air, torch, welder, test equipment, some metalworking/woodworking/fab stuff. Most of the time it's even well organized. I've always worked on my own cars, bikes, boats, outboards because I thought I was saving money. From engine rebuilds to body work and upholstery - managed to do everything myself, and help out friends/family here and there.

Now though I"M ABOUT READY TO GIVE IT ALL UP:

This week my (soon to be ex)-wife's car had a problem with one of the cylinders misfiring. On Monday after work took it to my shop - spent about five hours between the usual fighting shop clutter and trying to do diagnostics - messed around with the ignition, checked out ECU, swapped out injectors, while at it - organized the spare parts pile, popped the valve cover and span the engine by hand - did not see anything interesting. Drove the car back home on 3 cylinders at 2a.m. Should have done the compression test, but didn't - not sure why, probably because it was late ha ha.

In the morning, done something that I NEVER do - brought the car to a local mechanic - took him like 10 SECONDS to figure out what I could not in 5 hours - the fuel filter was plugged up and caused exhaust valves to burn-out due to lean mix - he had it diagnosed right in the parking lot. The mechanic said he did another one just like that (Civic-EG) with the same problem a few days ago. Gave me $700 estimate and a day to fix. I dropped the car off late at night, by 1PM the next day it was ALL FIXED. All in all - $800 out the door - had the head out, valves lapped, oil/fuel/filters, parts/labor, best money I've ever spent. Gave car back to wife - for once she was happy.

What I'd typically do - spend another evening or 2 doing diagnostics/troubleshooting, and than another MONTH tearing engine apart, cleaning/de-carbonizing, buying parts, getting frustrated because there is a lot of little things that can really get you - it's the time, and the money, and the shop space, and not having the car the whole time.

I think how guys typically get in to fixing their own cars/trucks - they see $90/hr that mechanics charge and think they can make that rate by doing the work. But there is the dedicated space, and all the tools and machinery, the support staff and local vendors a call away that bring parts to you instead of the other way around, the expertise, and the experience of doing the same thing all day every day that come with that rate. I really don't think most guys can compete with what a good mechanic can do. Financially it does not make sense, just like it does not make sense to grow our own food. Or do you just do it as a hobby? I think for me it became more of a bad habit.

Right now I need to do exhaust work and replace quarter panels on 2 cars, rebuild suspension on one of the cars, pull the engine and replace the oil pump on a conversion van, replace motor mounts and impeller on a jet-ski, do some engine work on sports touring bike, plus some household repairs and a bunch of shop stuff - replace brake lines on a forklift , fix a relieve valve on hot pressure washer, etc etc. Ready to cave in. May be I'll be better at finding people to do good job on the cheap and writing checks, rather than spending nights and weekends trying to play a mechanic...

frankush · Feb 14, 2013

I learned a while back that it helps to pick and choose your battles whenever possible. With a "to do" list as long as the one you have, if it gives you peace of mind to farm a few things out, do it. Do the ones you enjoy doing. Sometimes you've got to tell family and friends that there are not enough hours in the day to get just your stuff done.

ratdoggy · Feb 14, 2013

frankush said:
I learned a while back that it helps to pick and choose your battles whenever possible. With a "to do" list as long as the one you have, if it gives you peace of mind to farm a few things out, do it. Do the ones you enjoy doing.

I agree with that....But if you want to get rid of the lift you have I'd be interested

The thing is that the mechanic probably did all the same things you did before he figured it out and then your car rolled in with the same problem. Cars are so complicated now that the shade tree mechanic might as well be a blacksmith.

GarageEnvy · Feb 14, 2013

A clock in the center of a famous Swiss village known for fine timepieces broke down. It was the pride of the village and heritage of the people there. Virtually every villager (many who were expert clock repairmen) attempted to fix it. Nobody could figure it out. In desperation they turned to a guy reported to be the guru of clocks. In less than 2 minutes he had it up and running and gave them a bill for $100,000. Outraged, the villagers insisted on a detailed invoice justifying the fee. The guru provided an invoice stating:
1) Repair of clock.........................................................$50
2) Knowing what was broken and how to fix it.............$99,950

You got the knowledge and your time at a reasonable rate. I agree with farming things out when your time is worth more or someone else can do it better and/or cheaper....but keep the tools. No point in throwing the baby out with the bath water. No comment on the merit in throwing the wife out.

06 DIESEL · Feb 14, 2013

I know the feeling of being so far behind on to do lists that it feels impossible to get caught up. The main reason I do 99% of my own maintenance/repairs is that I trust myself to do the job as I would want it done and I am not that certain on someone else doing it that way. True I have spent months trying to diagnose a problem, even using the phone a friend multiple times and we could not figure it out. Finally was able to borrow a high dollar scanner and within 15 minutes diagnosed the $40 part that was bad and fixed it. I had already spent close to $2,000 trying different things trying to fix it. Sometimes it is not who you know but what they know, or what they can bring to the table that you can not.

Don't get frustrated, as the mechanic said he had just done one the same, that is why he knew what was the problem right away. Who knows, he may have spent two days figuring it out on that first car.

richashley · Feb 14, 2013

I think you definitely have to pick your battles. I just replaced the timing cover gasket on my son's '98 F-150 V6. Lots of labor, but most of the tasks were pretty straightforward and we could afford to have the truck laid up for three days. On the other hand, the water pump on my wife's '08 Toyota RAV4 V6 that was 600 miles out of warranty was done by the dealer. Fortunately Toyota is going to reimburse us because the water pumps are a known problem.

brownbagg · Feb 14, 2013

i do my work because the local tire store has labor at $100 a hour, they feel $50 to plug a tire is a good price

shoturtle · Feb 14, 2013

I gave up on most car repairs myself. Cars have gotten way to complicated. I only do the routine stuff on my cars. I however ever enjoy working on my bikes myself. They are still are not super complex with a million different parts like a car. Also with the new warranties going to 5/50 wit some brands. It is just not worth my free time to work on my cars.

And a pro spends all his work time on cars. So they see way more the the shade tree guy and get the work done allot faster. And dealers send their tech to the oem schools. So they know more.

Just work on what interest you. Time is money, if it does not interest you. You are wasting your valuable personal time.

JCQuick · Feb 14, 2013

I know I'm not a mechanic, But i've spent most of my life dealing with them. Whats nice is I have many friends that help me decide if its some thing I can do or should let them or someone else do.
I look at it as knowing my limits

mrodgers · Feb 14, 2013

GarageWarrior said:
Financially it does not make sense, just like it does not make sense to grow our own food. Or do you just do it as a hobby? I think for me it became more of a bad habit.

I'll have to absolutely disagree with the grow your own food thing. You can't buy chicken or eggs like I have in my freezer or the beef that my father-in-law has filled my freezer with. I won't touch a tomato until they are ready in my back yard and if you've never eaten a cob of corn 10 minutes after you've pulled it off the stalk, you don't know what you are missing. Purchased food is full of chemicals. My food has none of that.

I also pick my battles with cars. I haven't been in a shop in years and years with my Toyotas until I broke down and thought I wanted something brand new for the wife to drive the kids around in. Big mistake, bought a new Ford over my usual used Toyota. Worked on that thing from the day I brought it home more than I ever did any of my previous Toyotas purchasing with close to 100k miles on them. I typically do maintenance stuff, change brakes, oil changes, that sort of thing. I've changed a clutch before and I've done a head gasket on a million mile Honda before (thus, with that many exaggerated miles, I didn't bother with checking the head or having it shaved down.)

So back to the Ford POS, failed inspection 2 years old just out of the 36,000 mile warranty, bushings were shot in the lower control arms. Really? At like 38,000 miles all 4 rotors need replaced and the lower control arms need replaced? I've never touched a rotor in my life, and I drive my cars typically from 50-80,000 miles to 175-200k miles. Now I need to replace (not turn, replace) all 4 rotors at 38,000 miles?

Anyways, I hate tearing into the suspension. I just spent all weekend cursing at the suspension and getting it all back together when I hydroplaned on the highway and the ABS and 4WD light starts flashing. It was the speed sensor ring. Of course, a nickel worth of aluminum shaped like a geared ring isn't available anywhere at the time. I've got to shell out I think $69 or $169 (can't remember, one price was the control arms, the other price was the axle) for an axle and tear the suspension back apart again.

I threw in the towel and took it to a local guy. I don't mind working maintenance on a car, but at the time, the garage was a mess and I was out lying in the gravel driveway in 100° in the sun (though it would have been much hotter in the garage) screwing with something I don't like to screw around with. Maybe it would be different with a lift, but I don't have that luxury. I'm on jackstands kneeling and lying in the gravel and mud to do the work.

Recently also took my Jetta into the shop. Needed a front wheel bearing. Paid to have it done. I did the rear, pull tire, slip hub off, slip new hub with bearing on, replace tire. But the front, I don't have a press so I left it for the shop to do. It is right now in the shop overnight. Tires are as smooth as the computer screen you are looking at and while it's getting tires (I surely couldn't do car tires, done motorcycle tires, but not car tires), it is getting new strut assemblies front and shocks in the rear along with an alignment. It will be about $100 more than I'd have in parts to have it done. When I get it back, I'll change the oil myself.

marlinspike · Feb 14, 2013

shoturtle said:
Cars have gotten way to complicated.

I used to think this until I started working on the newer ones. They are WAY easier to fix.

davidlee · Feb 14, 2013

You are not paying to have your car fixed, you are paying for the knowledge the mechanic has to know what the problem is and be able to fix it. Knowledge is priceless.

shoturtle · Feb 14, 2013

marlinspike said:
I used to think this until I started working on the newer ones. They are WAY easier to fix.

I found it the other way around. Everything is now computerized and you need special equipment for some work. And the way they cram in so much into the engine bay makes working in them more difficult. You have to take off so many different covers to access different thing. My wife's 2010 VW is a pain to work on.

Heavy Metal Doctor · Feb 14, 2013

I also pick my battles anymore. Used to do all repairs myself based on need - I was young and broke and a few hundred spent on paying labor to a pro could have meant the house payment was late or kids went hungry.....not the case anymore. In fact I usually take my regular automotive stuff to the shop after just a quick look for obvious stuff. These days I literally give anything in driveability issues 15 minutes and close the hood and run it down the street to the indy shop near my house. I know I am not a pro and have nothing beyond a code reader for diagnostics on those sorts of prodlems and I don't want to end up guessing things I don't really "know". Hard parts problems (leaking steering box / brakes and such) and PM / tuneup I usually do it when I have time, but will pay the shop if there's a time crunch. When work I am capable of goes to the shop for whatever reason, I don't kick myelf later thinking "I shoulda done that myself since I KNOW I could have" my time worth more to me, I have a little money these days and hassle avoided is worth more than it was 20 years ago. I still want to have a dream shop to work in - but that's for the work of choice. I'd sooner spend weeks on a project I like than 2 hours doing car repairs I hate / don't feel equipped to handle right.

64 lane · Feb 14, 2013

Beat me to it. I'll take your lift. And the money I have saved my family and friends over the years, justifies the tools I want or need to my wife.

kams1973 · Feb 14, 2013

Sounds like you may be suffering from depression. Don't make any rash decisions until you sort it out.

Kevin C · Feb 14, 2013

I generally do all my own work. A rule of thumb is if it takes me longer to drive down and get a ride back than the job takes to do, I do the work.

Paint work on my wife's car? That got sent out. Yes I can paint cars but I'm not set up.

Brakes on my Passat? I can do the job less time than the drive back and forth to the shop and I don't have to wait around.

I actually found that I was better at diagnosing my Passat's check engine light issues that the dealer was. A coworker had the same check engine light issue, the dealer first replaced one of the O2 sensors, then the converter and then the MAF. The story was that he had multiple failed components.

Before he got his fixed I had gone through the same issue. I used the data logging feature on my VAGCOM, looked at the graphs read up on the issue on a forum and got it first try, it was the MAF. The VAGCOM I bought more than paid for itself.

The main reason I went back to fixing my own car was the dealer kept making mistakes on mine. One time they even pulled the wrong ticket and did the wrong repairs. That killed an entire day.

Another time for the 40,000 mile service they used the wrong oil in the engine and forgot to check the fluid level on the trans-axle.

Four weeks later I was on a long trip and noticed ****** was getting hard to shift, it was down a quart and a half.

I asked at the service desk how they missed it being that low and I was told it was a sealed unit did not get checked. He insisted he was right I asked why they said to check it in the owners manual? I had to show him where the plug was. He printed me the service checklist for the 40,000 mile service to prove to me it was not a listed service. I pointed out the line at the bottom of the page with an asterisk saying that the manual transaxles had to be checked at 40,000 miles. He still gave me grief....

The aggravation of having to go back multiple times was not worth it. Front end alignment every time its getting sent out. It's all about efficacy, that and I enjoy doing some jobs.

JakeKohl · Feb 14, 2013

Aaaahhhhh yes. Have a seat Mr. Warrior. Let me tell you a story about a man who came of second age. He builds a garage so that working on things is more comfortable and to increase the incredible joy derived from this work. The garage is so he can further bask in the satisfaction of a job well done and swizzle down a cold brew under protected cover while admiring his craftiness. This man was, at one time in his life, broke and also found pride in having nice things because he was not only willing, but able, to work for them. This man grows. The 401K matures. The wife's mood swings are just an unremarkable part of life now and the house payment isn't anywhere near as terrifying as it used to be. One afternoon, this man frustratingly discovers that his hydraulic convertible top on his three year old car won't go back up. He pulls it into the garage and discovers that this is thing is far more complicated than it needs to be. He tinkers and toils removing parts and checking them with meters and calipers. He's so fortunate in his nice garage to have a laptop and Wifi and spends two hours searching the internet to gain experience from people in his same situation. After spending half a day and getting nowhere, he retires to bed. In the morning, he wakes with the realization that yesterday was not enjoyable. Nothing was repaired and no money saved. In fact, if he does the math on the time he just spent on the job that went nowhere, he realizes he could have spent that time earning more money than it would have taken to pay someone that had the tools and the experience to fix it quickly. He starts to question all of this time and energy spent on building a garage if it's not fun and value added. Why? What is the meaning of it all?.....

JakeKohl · Feb 14, 2013

.....the answer is this: "you're doing it wrong, dummy". Use the garage for things you enjoy, not things you feel an obligation towards. You've worked hard to get here - you no longer have to work on the nasty frustrating things that someone else can do. You've paid your dues. It's time you got a new fun and interesting project, my friend.

justanengineer · Feb 14, 2013

Not to sound like a ****, but I would question if those having issues arent investing their time and $$$ in the wrong areas. Having a lift or a box with every known socket in the garage doesnt really do you any good if you dont have a few good reference manuals to provide guidance or a quality scan tool to handle the diagnostics. I know this, bc Ive been there in the past and had to work with some equally stubborn techs in the past.

That being said, sometimes we all miss the obvious or cant solve an issue and have to realize our limitations. Even a professional tech will occasionally be forced to ask another for help, and a good one will do so gladly. I take my vehicles into the local dealer every year or two, occasionally for a silly "this model only" question/issue, but also to get another set of eyes on my vehicle to ensure Im not missing obvious issues/maintenance before a road trip.

As to modern vehicles and garden vegetables - vehicles get easier to work on every day bc of the electronics (dont even have to open the hood for a lot of troubleshooting anymore w/the OBD2 port, no more "tuning" etc)....and growing your own food is a necessity if you want flavor.

Racecarl · Feb 14, 2013

My daughter's 1996 Cavalier recently broke the timing chain, which bent 3 valves. After soliciting some advice on this forum and googling some other information, I removed the cylinder head. I replaced the bent valves, replaced the timing components, and reassembled the engine.

I was not pushing myself to work fast, I just kept a steady pace. I suppose I had around 15 hours of work involved. If flat rate was 10 hours to do this job and the shop rate was $90/hr, I saved $900 in labor alone. Full list price on the parts would have been around $350, I spent $200. Since I used to wrench for a living, I had all the tools I needed. My daughter did not have $1200+ to put into an older car, and I really did not have anything better to do, so it worked out that I could help her out. I enjoy working in my shop and this was a fun project. I am NOT ready to return to wrenching full time again, but once in a while I like it.

I have taken vehicles to a shop--two different mini-vans have gotten transmissions that at the time I did not have a shop or the time to fix. Circumstances vary. I agree with previous posters--tackle the jobs you want, save yourself some money when you can, pick and choose your battles.

GarageWarrior · Feb 14, 2013

Kevin C said:
I generally do all my own work. A rule of thumb is if it takes me longer to drive down and get a ride back than the job takes to do, I do the work.

Paint work on my wife's car? That got sent out. Yes I can paint cars but I'm not set up.

Brakes on my Passat? I can do the job less time than the drive back and forth to the shop and I don't have to wait around.

I actually found that I was better at diagnosing my Passat's check engine light issues that the dealer was. A coworker had the same check engine light issue, the dealer first replaced one of the O2 sensors, then the converter and then the MAF. The story was that he had multiple failed components.

Before he got his fixed I had gone through the same issue. I used the data logging feature on my VAGCOM, looked at the graphs read up on the issue on a forum and got it first try, it was the MAF. The VAGCOM I bought more than paid for itself.

The main reason I went back to fixing my own car was the dealer kept making mistakes on mine. One time they even pulled the wrong ticket and did the wrong repairs. That killed an entire day.

Another time for the 40,000 mile service they used the wrong oil in the engine and forgot to check the fluid level on the trans-axle.

Four weeks later I was on a long trip and noticed ****** was getting hard to shift, it was down a quart and a half.

I asked at the service desk how they missed it being that low and I was told it was a sealed unit did not get checked. He insisted he was right I asked why they said to check it in the owners manual? I had to show him where the plug was. He printed me the service checklist for the 40,000 mile service to prove to me it was not a listed service. I pointed out the line at the bottom of the page with an asterisk saying that the manual transaxles had to be checked at 40,000 miles. He still gave me grief....

The aggravation of having to go back multiple times was not worth it. Front end alignment every time its getting sent out. It's all about efficacy, that and I enjoy doing some jobs.

Your dealer *****, actually most of them do. Had a bit of experience in the industry - when I was out of college recession was in full swing, so had a choice between staying unemployed, working mall security, or turning wrenches. Our local Suzuki dealer was just starting out and hired me as their ONLY tech :eyecrazy:

... I've rebuilt a couple of my own engines before but never seen a car lift. It was an interesting experience, but I lasted only a few weeks before actually the whole dealership went under (wasn't because of my wrenching

)

So after that I packed my tools and moved to an independent shop next town over, got a pay raise and worked there for the next year and a half. I was never really a pro mechanic but did do brakes, suspension, tires, ****** flushes, inspections and other odd jobs. One thing that put me off from ever bringing my car to mechanic - there was a foreman who was a salesman. I think a lot of garages have a guy like that - he doesn't do any of the work but is good at "selling", the typical sales guy, regardless of what they have to sell they usually get pretty good at it. Obviously at a repair garage - parts and labor is the only thing to sell, needed or not, so they excel at that.

My parents and my sister would always check with me (sometimes before, and sometimes after) about having their cars worked on, and frankly they'd always get ripped off. Repair garage charged my sister a cool grand to replace a leaking radiator, and $250 for a serpentine belt ON A 4 CYLINDER SUNFIRE!!!. My dad would get a quote of a cool $1000 for doing front/rear brakes on his Cadillac whenever he brought it in to the dealership for an oil change. He'd ask me to check it and I'd tell him his fronts were 50% worn and rears about 35%, so he could check back in with me in a year. Eventually I did tell him a place that could do his brakes for $70 instead of a grand, and would not charge him if he did not actually really need it done, but he drove by and said he was afraid to leave his car there because it wasn't in the good part of town :rolleyes2

At the end of the day I think it's good to have the KNOW and the HOW of the repairs, so you can find the guys that can do them and not rip you off.

PECVD2 · Feb 14, 2013

One tool I keep in my garage is a spare car (paid for many years ago).
This allows a shade tree guy (with a garage) like me to work on the vehicle over a week or so after work. this gives me time to look over manuals, google, forums etc for help solving problems. But as others have said, I know when to say when and pay a pro.

GarageWarrior · Feb 14, 2013

Heavy Metal Doctor said:
I also pick my battles anymore. Used to do all repairs myself based on need - I was young and broke and a few hundred spent on paying labor to a pro could have meant the house payment was late or kids went hungry.....not the case anymore. In fact I usually take my regular automotive stuff to the shop after just a quick look for obvious stuff. These days I literally give anything in driveability issues 15 minutes and close the hood and run it down the street to the indy shop near my house. I know I am not a pro and have nothing beyond a code reader for diagnostics on those sorts of prodlems and I don't want to end up guessing things I don't really "know". Hard parts problems (leaking steering box / brakes and such) and PM / tuneup I usually do it when I have time, but will pay the shop if there's a time crunch. When work I am capable of goes to the shop for whatever reason, I don't kick myelf later thinking "I shoulda done that myself since I KNOW I could have" my time worth more to me, I have a little money these days and hassle avoided is worth more than it was 20 years ago. I still want to have a dream shop to work in - but that's for the work of choice. I'd sooner spend weeks on a project I like than 2 hours doing car repairs I hate / don't feel equipped to handle right.

That's a good attitude! I used to be so cheap - if I could walk a mile or pay a dollar for a bus fair - I'd just walk a mile. Where I ended up now is A LOT of money in the bank, but no free time and a plugged-up pipeline of things that need to be take care of. It used to be - I'd never pass on a job if I could do it myself, just gotta find a way to live differently.

GarageWarrior · Feb 14, 2013

GarageEnvy said:
You got the knowledge and your time at a reasonable rate. I agree with farming things out when your time is worth more or someone else can do it better and/or cheaper....but keep the tools. No point in throwing the baby out with the bath water. No comment on the merit in throwing the wife out.

I'll keep the tools if I can, but the unit I'm keeping them at is costing me a cool $430 month. I also pay for gas heat and electricity which also adds up, so it's not a free lunch by any means.

And wife was the one who filed and is going on hikes with some dude from the meetup. He looks like he never turned a wrench in his life, but I'm not judging.

69GSCAL · Feb 15, 2013

shoturtle said:
I found it the other way around. Everything is now computerized and you need special equipment for some work. And the way they cram in so much into the engine bay makes working in them more difficult. You have to take off so many different covers to access different thing. My wife's 2010 VW is a pain to work on.

I find newer cars far more easy to diagnose, but more difficult to actually work on.

My most recent example.

My 69 Buick GS seems to have a miss. Low, unsteady vacuum and some backfiring, but only sometimes, not all of the time. Verifyied timing, adjusted carb, pulled, checked, cleand and gapped plugs, checked the coil, ohmed the plug wires and checked for arcing in a blacked out garage. I was still having intermitent misses and backfirs and low vacuum. After a long test drive with a new coil (knowing soemtimes heat will cause a bad coil), I checked coil again and plug wires again.

Low and behold, I had a bad plug wire that was only bad when hot. Ohmed out great and had a steady 720RPM when cold. When hot, it ohmed as an open and fired at an erratic 200-550RPM.

Replaced plug wire and I was all set. Diagnosing took all damned day but fixing took 3 damned minutes.

My girls 2007 Mazda had the CEL come one. I ran to Napa and had them pull the code. Thermostat sticking. Not causing temp fluctuations but still being sensed by the ECU.

Bought a new thermostat housing with gasket. Had to pull the power steering pump, remove battery and the damned belt to get to the housing. Install new housing and re-install belt (new, may as well since I'm in there) battery and power steering pump.

Took 2 minutes to diagnose but nearly 3 hours to change (yeah, I'm slow and enjoy my beerwhen I'm tooling ont he car).

I could throw out tons of examples like this from experiance. The ECU tells you so much it makes figuring these cars out easy. Now does that mean it is worth your time to actually fix them? Not always. Specialty tools, room and an extra set of wheels can limit what you can do on newer cars. Sometimes it isn't worth your time to try and save the coin.

Hghgrad · Feb 15, 2013

I've learned to do the things I like to do, and farm the rest if it out. Just took the wife's car in for exhaust work. Worth the $100 for me to sit in a waiting room instead if laying on my back getting burned by hot slag.

bams50 · Feb 15, 2013

JakeKohl said:
.....the answer is this: "you're doing it wrong, dummy". Use the garage for things you enjoy, not things you feel an obligation towards. You've worked hard to get here - you no longer have to work on the nasty frustrating things that someone else can do.

This is the answer.

I'm planning my dream shop to work on classic cars, which I love to do, and have the knowledge/experience for. It will also be for modern daily drivers to pick and choose the things I know I can easily do. But I'm doing it for all cash, no loans. That means I can do as much or little as I want, and send the rest out.

If it cost me $430/month, I'd have to make sure I did enough work to cover that. And that would **** all the joy out of it for me.

One idea might be to dump the paid shop and put your equipment into storage for now. Then when the divorce is over and things settle down, reassess your feelings, and look for a place that has a garage, eliminating the shop rent cost.

Drew_flux · Feb 15, 2013

experence often tends to trump good intentions. When doing after hours work, I tend to charge a higher rate if I have to fix someones mess.
Sometimes you have to know where your limit is before you make it worse.

saabman · Feb 15, 2013

Like others have said, I pick and choose what I work on. For my oldest vehicles I do most everything since they have old (simple) technology (carbs and distributors for example). On the other extreme, I only do maintenance on the newer vehicles.

Thruxton · Feb 15, 2013

Everyone who chimed in with "choose your battles", and especially JakeKohl, has it right. My battles are limited to working on my car only, and I do it because I like the work. I refuse to work on anyone else's machinery (oil changes on my wife's Honda excepted), period. It would ruin my hobby.

shocksandstrutz · Feb 15, 2013

I do a lot of my own work, but i DEFINITLY know where to stop and take to a shop......gotta pick your own battles......hey im with some of the others.....ill take the lift!!!! haha

Lippyp · Feb 15, 2013

I farm some stuff out, for instance I have a phobia about working on brake hydraulics which dates back to my youth and an incident involving an Alfasud, a spin, a kerb and a lampost! If it needs calipers, brake hoses/lines I get someone else to do it. That said I just tried to get someone to replace both rear calipers on my blazer and it all went totally to **** and took three weeks. Three duff remanufactured calipers with knackered threads, two more expensive different brand calipers and then the mechanic had a stroke and woke up paralysed so i had to rescure my car half done and find someone else to finish it, ended up bleeding them myself!

Sometimes if I know I haven't got the time or the facilities for a particular job I'll send it out, I don't have a press for example so something like the wheel bearings on my trooper need to be pressed on/off.

I say dump the day to day to day stuff and work on the toys!

Steves32 · Feb 15, 2013

JakeKohl said:
.....the answer is this: "you're doing it wrong, dummy". Use the garage for things you enjoy, not things you feel an obligation towards. You've worked hard to get here - you no longer have to work on the nasty frustrating things that someone else can do. You've paid your dues. It's time you got a new fun and interesting project, my friend.

This!!!!
I hate working on newer cars so.....I don't.
The only cars that go on my lift are hot rods. The daily drivers go to a shop or the dealer. Keep it fun & work on what you like.

GarageWarrior · Feb 15, 2013

bams50 said:
This is the answer.

I'm planning my dream shop to work on classic cars, which I love to do, and have the knowledge/experience for. It will also be for modern daily drivers to pick and choose the things I know I can easily do. But I'm doing it for all cash, no loans. That means I can do as much or little as I want, and send the rest out.

If it cost me $430/month, I'd have to make sure I did enough work to cover that. And that would **** all the joy out of it for me.

One idea might be to dump the paid shop and put your equipment into storage for now. Then when the divorce is over and things settle down, reassess your feelings, and look for a place that has a garage, eliminating the shop rent cost.

I'm using shop unit space for storage, because my place is a 1 bedroom. If I get rid of the shop, I'd basically have to sell all the tools ... but if I payed somebody else to do the work - I would not need any tools. That's a new concept to me, used to do everything myself from roofing to plumbing, gonna have to think on that one :dunno:

Gary S · Feb 15, 2013

I gave up on new cars that require expensive and complicated repairs. I drive old simple cars I can repair cheaply myself. I've never spent $800 repairing any car I have owned in the last 45 years.
Usually my repairs on my old cars cost $50 or less.

theoldwizard1 · Feb 15, 2013

To the OP, I know how you feel !

I have been the family shade tree mechanic since I was about 15. I have done all my own oil changes and tune ups and brakes since then. I have done a lot of basic maintenance of friend and family vehicles also.

A couple of years ago, I need new shocks on my then 12 year old Ford E150 Club Wagon, something well within my capability. The weather was hot and I had a deadline, so I took it to a shop and had it done. :sad:

Then about a year after that, I figured the original rear brakes should be done. Again, well within my capability, but I took it in anyway (they replaced the wheel cylinders and the rear brake line also). :sad:

The flip side was just this past fall. Same vehicle (now 14 years old), needed inner and outer tie rods, adjusters, and center link. I knew that was only a matter of about 4 bolts and by purchasing the parts on the Internet and doing it myself, I saved about $400 ! :bounce:

Plus I got great satisfaction of knowing that this old fart can still twist a wrench !

The car did drive pretty funny for the 1 mile I had to drive to get the alignment done !

Some movie line : "A man has to know his limitations !"

wornoutoldman · Feb 15, 2013

theoldwizard1 said:
Some movie line : "A man has to know his limitations !"

PRND3L · Feb 15, 2013

Why you would go through all that bother for a soon to be ex-wife mystifies me. :dunno:

cburnscrx · Feb 15, 2013

PECVD2 said:
One tool I keep in my garage is a spare car (paid for many years ago).
This allows a shade tree guy (with a garage) like me to work on the vehicle over a week or so after work. this gives me time to look over manuals, google, forums etc for help solving problems. But as others have said, I know when to say when and pay a pro.

I could not agree more about the extra car! I have a Suburban that I use as an extra vehicle paid for in cash, it's also great for snowy days as it's a 4x4. Great for hauling **** and long road trips, but not so good on gas as a commuter vehicle. For that I drive my Acura. If something breaks and the car isn't drivable, you can pull it in and work on it. It takes a lot of the pressure and rush to get things done out of the equation.

Took my car to mechanic this week... think I'm GIVING UP on my garage

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