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When your car needs service you either do it yourself or pay somebody- where do you go?

I do 90% of my own work. If I cant handle it I take it to one of my 3 (two are ASC Certified) mechanic friends!

Camaro/El Camino - DIY or an independent garage if needed (ex. - El Camino is at the frame shop right now). Oh, and my friend who works at a local hot rod shop does some of the bigger stuff for me (welded in the new floorboards, helped install a new door hinge, will probably do some body work and paint it for me)

Saturn - DIY for pretty much everything now, except tires.

Mazda - DIY for the majority of problems if they're simple to fix, dealership for oil changes and stuff

BMW - DIY if possible, though it's needed a shop to fix a couple of problems. When that occurs, we take it to an independent Euro/Import shop. Dealership is much more expensive and won't do a better job.

If I can't/don't feel like doing it in my dirt/mud driveway, I like to find a little hole-in-the-wall shop with honest mechanics. It's usually not hard to tell when I meet a scumbag that is going to rip me off, but I have been fooled before. If it's covered under warranty and it's not an easy fix,  of course I'll go to the dealership. So, overall, screw 'em.

I only have shops do alignments, that's it.

I do most of my own basic maintanance and repairs but I also have an independent guy for any really tricky stuff or for things I don't have the time or inclination to deal with myself.

Quote from: Secret Chimp on June 21, 2011, 03:11:46 PM
I only have shops do alignments, that's it.

I wish I had tire machines lke you.

Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on June 21, 2011, 03:13:12 PM
I wish I had tire machines lke you.

Everything bends to my will.

Quote from: Secret Chimp on June 21, 2011, 03:28:00 PM
Everything bends to my will.

Must be nice.

If it was something I didn't want to do I had a guy at the Mazda store that would do it for free. Or I should say I'd fix a dent on his RX-7, Miata or 626 and he'd do the mechanical stuff for me.
And the best part was I'd get all my parts for free! I never bought a darn Mazda part until just last week and boy did that suck.

Now that the Mazda dealer is gone I have to do all the work myself. And can you believe the other dealer charged me for my Parts?
Almost $500 for all the stuff to tune up the RX-8 and then about 3 hours of work out in my shop to do it all. I'd hate to seen the bill
if I had the shop do it all.

Define "service."

I take ours to the dealership for anything which would be covered under warranty, I now even take our vehicles to the dealership but provide filter and oil (durango really since the X5 gets them for free).  Why?  

I make a mistake and the engine has to be rebuilt/replaced I have to pay for it.  They make the mistake, they have to pay for it.  

Now that I have a true workspace set up with everything except hoists and tire changers, I find myself doing quite alot of work myself.  Something I used to enjoy, but got away from it since I did not have anyplace to do it at my old house.  Now, all my tools have a spot and I can pull the vehicle inside where its either cool or warm, as weather requires.  

Last job I did was change out the tie rod ends and ball joints on the Durango.  

Also, there is no voting slot for "little of this, little of that."  :huh:

Stuff that I'm too lazy to do, (Oil change) some local quick lube.


Otherwise: DIY. Why pay a mechanic something I can learn to do myself?

I do everything except stuff that requires special equipment (i.e. A/C, tires, painting).

Quote from: 2o6 on June 22, 2011, 12:48:45 PM
Stuff that I'm too lazy to do, (Oil change) some local quick lube.


Otherwise: DIY. Why pay a mechanic something I can learn to do myself?

Like an oil change?  ;)

My dad has the Mercedes E350 CGI serviced at Mercedes in M?hldorf. Actually I should say he will have it serviced there since it was serviced by Mercedes Munich before we picked it up and there's been no reason to bring it to the shop. MB 1 : Consumer Reports 0



The BMW is serviced at the BMW Dealership in M?hldorf. The time when my ignition coil failed BMWs Munich Mobile service stopped by to help me out after I called them (they arrived within 30 minutes. Not bad, not bad).

Link: http://www.carspin.net/forums/index.php?topic=24216.0



Only my fathers 1989 Mercedes 500SL is serviced by a buddy of his who runs an Opel dealership. It's still a car where a lot of cheap and easy DIY work can be performed on. Try doing that with the 118i and E350 CGI...

Quote from: Onslaught on June 21, 2011, 07:59:41 PM
If it was something I didn't want to do I had a guy at the Mazda store that would do it for free. Or I should say I'd fix a dent on his RX-7, Miata or 626 and he'd do the mechanical stuff for me.
And the best part was I'd get all my parts for free! I never bought a darn Mazda part until just last week and boy did that suck.

Now that the Mazda dealer is gone I have to do all the work myself. And can you believe the other dealer charged me for my Parts?
Almost $500 for all the stuff to tune up the RX-8 and then about 3 hours of work out in my shop to do it all. I'd hate to seen the bill
if I had the shop do it all.

Do you recall the cost of a timing belt and cam and crank seal replacement?  Just curious since I'm doing that now.  Mazda branded parts were $119 plus shipping, the three seals, the belt the cam cover gasket and the tension spring.

Quote from: EtypeJohn on June 23, 2011, 12:20:57 PM
Do you recall the cost of a timing belt and cam and crank seal replacement?  Just curious since I'm doing that now.  Mazda branded parts were $119 plus shipping, the three seals, the belt the cam cover gasket and the tension spring.

I can't. I did that myself and got the parts for free. It's been a long time.

Dealer.  They pick up the car and bring it back.  I still get a discount, but even so, a quart of oil is only $3.00 and a filter is $4.00, labor $9.45 and that's without the discount  Not much more expensive than buying it myself at Advance. My time is worth more than $10.00.

Since I get a discount, it is even a better deal.

Of course, the VW stuff, I do.

All of the above.

Do oil changes myself when I'm there, get repairs done at the dealer when I'm at home, get repairs done at a independent when I'm at school, get the oil changed at a low end place when I'm at school, and last had Goodyear change my oil here in Atlanta (though they were cheaper than Jiffy Lube and the such).

I get my car serviced at a place in Norman called Eurosport.  They're very good.

I get the dealer to do maintenance on the Mazda. I don't have much to do on it anyway, just oil changes so far. The charge me about $36 per change; oil and a filter alone cost about that much to begin with.

I do as much as I can myself.  If I can't or won't tackle a job (usually when it's the middle of winter and I won't be able to borrow somebody's garage in a timely fashion), I've got an indie guy that I trust.  He's two blocks from where I work, so it's really convenient too.  He has no problem cobbing something to buy you a few years and save some money too.

I've had less than favorable experiences at both Mazda dealerships here, so they'll never get a dime of my money.

I enjoy working on the car.

Mostly the dealership, since they've been pretty good with the pricing for my oil changes ( $29.99! ) and other issues I've had, which have been very few.

I get a friend to do the brakes and I do my own spark plugs and other various very minor maintenance.

Quick question. Is it common for dealerships to ask for almost $300 for spark plug replacement? My brother and a friend of mine both have Hyundais, but different dealerships. Both quoted $280.. for plugs! This was no different at a Mazda dealership that another friend takes his 5 to.

Quote from: Northlands on June 25, 2011, 04:23:18 PM
Mostly the dealership, since they've been pretty good with the pricing for my oil changes ( $29.99! ) and other issues I've had, which have been very few.

I get a friend to do the brakes and I do my own spark plugs and other various very minor maintenance.

Quick question. Is it common for dealerships to ask for almost $300 for spark plug replacement? My brother and a friend of mine both have Hyundais, but different dealerships. Both quoted $280.. for plugs! This was no different at a Mazda dealership that another friend takes his 5 to.

That seems steep, but some of the plugs can be difficult to reach.  On a transverse v6, for example, changing out the rear bank can mean removing a motor mount and rocking the engine forward.  That's certainly a big job, and labor dollars would reflect this.

Takes 20 minutes to change the plugs in both of my cars, thankfully.  The Mazda is only an I4, so everything is right on top, and the Audi is a longitudinal I5.  Something like a 28 degree slant, but the plugs are still easy to access.

I have Fred's Brakes down the street change my oil and do my brakes. The old guy that works there does it quicker than I could, and nearly as cheeply. Most everything else I take care of myself; except body work. I've done body work, but I hate it.

I do most of the stuff on the Porsche, but I have an independent specialist type guy do stuff that's too big, requires specialized equipment, or is too PIA for me (timing belts are too big, A/C has too much specialized equipment, brakes are a PIA). I've also been known to have him change the oil while he has the car. :lol:

Explorer varies more. It doesn't need anything, and most of the little modifications I've made (lights, stereo stuff) I can do myself. I change it's oil, etc. When I first got it, I had the dealer do complicated stuff (cruise control), cheapo lube place do fluids, and an indy shop do most other stuff.

I'm at a point now where I just want shit done right and without a lot of aggravation, so I find that I lean towards shops more and more.

Quote from: Rupert on June 27, 2011, 10:44:21 PM
I do most of the stuff on the Porsche, but I have an independent specialist type guy do stuff that's too big, requires specialized equipment, or is too PIA for me (timing belts are too big, A/C has too much specialized equipment, brakes are a PIA). I've also been known to have him change the oil while he has the car. :lol:

Disc brakes or drums?

Most shit we do ourselves.  But other than that, Van Bortel Subaru.  It's awesome.  Great lounge with fridges stocked with free food and drinks, computers, or free wifi etc.

Quote from: hotrodalex on June 28, 2011, 12:00:53 AM
Disc brakes or drums?

Discs, but I need to turn the rotors. I would have to jack the car fully off the ground (which is a bit of a sketchy proposition on that car), pull off all the rotors, take them somewhere, etc. I also need to get a line replaced after I grazed it with a drill, and I hate hate hate dealing with brake fluid and bleeding brakes.

Quote from: 68_427 on June 28, 2011, 12:11:26 AM
Most shit we do ourselves.  But other than that, Van Bortel Subaru.  It's awesome.  Great lounge with fridges stocked with free food and drinks, computers, or free wifi etc.

It ain't free, it's covered by the cost of the service. 

Same dealer I've been going to for 7 years. 

Usually, we go to an independent mechanic for the Subaru.

Audi, Acura, VW and BMW go to their respective dealers. VW+BMW provide free maintenance for some time (36k miles for VW, 50k miles for BMW). Audi dealer is very reasonable, I have no experience with the Acura dealer.

I'd actually love to learn how to DIY auto repair, but I don't have the time or the tools.

Anything I can do myself I usually do.

Failing that, I know a Honda/Acura mechanic that does work at his house, and if he can't do it at home I will bring it to him at the dealership.