Hi,
I'm wondering if its advisable to service the car yourself than to pay $100+ for it if its just changing oils? I inquired at a local service provider and they said all they do is check engine oil, brake oil and a couple other things, is that it or am I missing something?
Exactly as said above.
But what wasn't mentioned was SAFETY
You can easily kill yourself servicing your car
You can easily kill someone else while driving, if you miss a simple thing or forget to tighten a bolt or clip
You can easily kill someone else while driving, if the apprentice doing the work unsupervised at the dealership misses a simple thing or forgets to tighten a bolt or clip
Fixed.
totally agree BUT the responsibility lies with the stealership, not the OP
Yup, but unfortunately responsibility won't wind back the hands of time if something does go wrong. I would have been utterly homicidal if something had gone wrong when my wife's car came back from a regular service with multiple wheelnuts missing, but aside from retribution, there's no coming back from some events.
The point is that if you have the aptitude & capacity, & exercise appropriate diligence…provided you don't have log book/warranty requirements to meet, there's nothing whatsoever wrong with doing your own basic maintenance.
Not tightening a bolt in an oil change would just result in leaking oil. At worst you should see your car start to overheat when there is a big loss of oil. Not sure where you'd find a clip when changing car engine oil. If you followed the instructions including the oil leak checks, it should not be a problem.
I'd be far more concerned about securing the car properly when jacked up. It needs to be on a ramp or those small tripods. Don't go under when it is supported by only a tyre jack.
The bigger problem is when doing it for the first time, it's tough to get the filter out as it is usually far overtightened by the garages. Whatever you do, do not puncture the filter as your car will become undrivable and will need a callout.
You do realise engines seize by the time the warning light comes on to tell you there is no oil
Maybe not such a problem in the latest and greatest modern cars with a million canbus instructions been read at once but for cars sligtly older gauges and warning lamps are all but useless
You do realise engines seize by the time the warning light comes on to tell you there is no oil
No, they don't…most cars have had oil pressure sensors attached to a warning light for literally more than half a century. Now, if you're stupid enough to keep driving once the idiot light comes on, different story…
Agreed old XE falcon blew a pressure sensor resulting in a massive oil leak. Warning light came on saw problem straight away, checked oil level and managed to limp 10km into town checking the oil level every few km.
Car survived many more years with no increased oil usage after replacing the pressure sensor.
silly statement! I have seen cars coming from busy service places in awful conditions!
Brakes have not oil perhaps this is your most important issue. Youtube and it is a piece of cake.
Tell us more about model and milage. A missed timing belt is going to more than just sorry!
Wrong coolant could also being overlooked.
I service my own car. Stuff like changing spark plugs, engine oil, transmission fluid etc. can all be done with the help of youtube and forums. It's pretty straightforward (at least for my Jeep). But the only thing I'm concerned would be not knowing what's starting to break/wearing out.
My car is at 60k, and I'm planning to get it serviced at a mechanic maybe when it hits 100k.
You'll need a set of axle stands to begin with - at a bare minimum. Never get under a car supported by just the jack, it's a great way to get someone crushed.
When I do my own work, I will generally try and find out what a mechanic would charge, then find the parts costs, and invest half the difference in some form of tooling. That way I save money, but also build up my tool supply. Eventually you have enough kit to do nearly everything, and it's actually fairly quick to do.
The other aspect too - if you take it to a mechanic and something stuffs up, they pay (provided you can pin it on them). When you do it yourself, you pay.
I've always done my own services, but will avoid anything too tedious. Far too much can go wrong which will cost you many many more dollars than what you would save doing it yourself (e.g. miss-aligned timing belt)
What i would recommend is a Gregory's service manual, although youtube is great, I think having a book there giving you specific torques and instructions related to your specific car is very worthwhile.
Tooling wise (essentials should be listed in the service manual):
* a socket set
* either ramps or axle stands with hydraulic jack
* Torx T-handles (or whatever) that fit your car if it has an undertray
* filter removal tool (this is not universal, depends on your car)
i would also recommend a torque wrench too but its not essential.
Try to replace your sump plug washer every 2-3 changes also and maybe take it to a mechanic every 4th service, although they usually go over it pretty well for a pink slip anyway.
also, do not miss match your fluids. e.g top your radiator fluid up with distilled water until you flush the system, dont put a different coolant in there unless you know exactly what was used previously. same with brake/clutch fluid etc.
Depends on how fast can you do the service yourself,how much mechanics charge,how much you earn,what sort of car you got,with warranty or not,how long do you plan to keep the car.
Things like engine oil,filter only takes an hour max at home including set up tools and put away,it's more economical to diy,cheapest oil,filter change Ive seen locally is $99 with who knows what oil.you buy fully systhetic oil on sale plus filter will cost $50 max even cheaper if you know when to buy,you save at least $50 for 1 hour of your time,most job pays less than this/hour,and your car gets fully systhetic oil.
but for things like timing belt,transmission flush,I'd use mechanics,because for most people the opportunity cost is a lot higher to diy than use someone do this for living.
for new car with warranty,I'd use mechanics for logbook service just to avoid arguement over warranty claim.
For newer 2nd hand car that has cheap capped price service programme,i'd also use dealership,i.e,hyundai,petrol 2nd hand hyundai only cost $219/ year fixed for warranty period,and around $300 +－fixed for the life time of the car out of warranty period depends on model,even it's the first hyundai that came to Australia in 1985.
hyundai website allows you to get instant quote online,see:
https://www.hyundai.com.au/why-hyundai/hylights/issues/2014/…
For cars like import sports car or modified car,I'd either use specialist or diy,because most general mechanics won't be very familiar with it,it' not the commodore or corolla they see everyday,just like for minor problem you see a gp,for serious problem you see a specialist.
Changing the oil/fluids is easy. Heaps of people do it, myself included. Your car's service manual will tell you what needs checking, and how often. The Internet will usually help show you the best way to do it. YouTube is great for that.
Only problem is you need a bit of mechanical knowledge to be able to pick up other things that are going wrong. Being able to work out what the knocking sound is, knowing how worn your brake pads, tyre wear and that sort of thing. A good mechanic will put your car up on a hoist and have a look around and take it for a short test drive to check some of that stuff out, but there is no reason you can't learn to do it yourself.