With the rising cost of car repairs, people are questioning if DIY car repair is possible these days? The complex answer is, as always it depends. The simple answer is YES DIY car repair is still possible. There are three things it takes to fix a car. You need time, tools, and ability. A place to do the work is a serious consideration, but not a necessity.
You can fix a car anywhere as long as you have enough time in that location. There are people who have done complete engine swaps on the side of the road. Granted it takes a lot of ability, tools, and time. Yet it can be done. If you are really concerned about having a place you can see if there are any garages in your area that will rent you space. The DIY garage does this in Omaha, Nebraska.
Time
No matter what your skill level it takes time to fix your car. This time is why so many people just take their car to a mechanic even for oil changes and tire rotations. If you are new to fixing your car, and you want an estimation of how long it will take to fix your car. You can go to NAPA or Repair Pal. to get an estimate of the cost of your repair. Unfortunately, you will be given only a dollar cost of labor.
If you take the dollar amount of labor and divide it by the average hourly shop rate in your area, you’ll get the standard time of the repair. If you don’t know the average labor rate in your area use $100/hour it will be close enough. With the rough estimate of book time on the repair you want to do, take that time and double or triple it. Unless you are a mechanic you won’t make book time on a repair. There’s also that oops I forgot something trip to the parts store you never plan for. This is just an estimate. The time it takes you to fix your car depends on the tools you have, and your ability.
Tools
The most important thing you’ll need to fix your car is tools. You will need at least a Basic Set of Automotive Tools. If you have no tools fixing your car isn’t cost-effective, by the time you buy all the tools you’ll need a repair shop is cheaper on many things.
Many repairs take specialty tools to make sure you take that into consideration. This is where having a friend who works on cars comes in handy. There are places you can rent some of these specialty tools, like local parts stores and whatnot. If you have to buy a special tool consider Harbor Freight. With Harbor Freight you will always get what you pay for. If you only need a tool for one job there is no need to pay a huge amount for it. For the common tools pay extra for quality. More bloody knuckles have been caused by a cheap ratchets breaking.
Ability
Your abilities really determine if you can fix your car. Most people think it is knowledge, but knowledge is easier to gain than ability. If you are good at using tools you can fix your car. With the internet, you can get the knowledge you need to fix a car anywhere. YouTube has plenty of good videos on how to fix anything that is wrong with your car. Be careful with YouTube there are a few bad videos also. Make sure you watch a few videos before you try a repair to make sure the first one you watch isn’t bad advice. There are also websites like AllData where you can pay for a subscription and get all the information you need. If you want something for free AutoZone has a repair help section on their website.
There is an understood feeling in the mechanic world that ASE certification is just proof you can take a test. If those certified mechanics have no ability they can’t fix cars. This is where you must be honest with yourself if you have no ability, get help or let the professionals fix your car. If you are good with your hands and tools, don’t be afraid to learn new things. You will be able to fix your car.
Conclusion
If you have more time than money then DIY car repair is for you. You, of course, will need tools and some ability. Like everything the more time you have the less ability you need because you can gain it while you work. Just like if you are lacking in specialized tools many times your abilities can make up for it by the skills you have with the tools you have. However, if you are short of time, lack ability and tools, DIY car repair may not be for you. Otherwise, do it. You’ll be fine new car basics aren’t any different than older cars.