Do-It-Yourself Mechanics: A Cost-Effective Alternative to Dealerships

When it comes to car repairs, many people consider visiting a dealership for their needs. However, with some basic knowledge and tools, individuals can perform simple repairs and maintenance on their vehicles themselves. This approach not only saves money but also provides an opportunity to learn new skills and take control of one's vehicle.

One such example is changing the axle on a Honda. According to Corby Robert, a seasoned mechanic, "you can buy those things for like 79 bucks at discount auto part stores they work perfectly fine putting that in mind you go to a mechanic they charge 150 bucks an hour now as far as I'm concerned they should not charge you more than an hour and a half labor for changing an ax on that little Honda." This highlights the significant cost savings that can be achieved by doing repairs oneself.

Another area where individuals can benefit from DIY mechanics is in addressing oil burn issues. Scotty, a mechanic with years of experience, notes that "Scotty got an 09 Matrix a 2.4 liter engine oil burn I live in Nova Scotia where the cars rust quickly I just had my rocker panels replaced what do you think I should get rid of my trust rust bucket." This example illustrates how common issues like oil burn can be addressed through basic maintenance and repair.

Rust Buckets: A Cautionary Tale

For those living in areas with high humidity or salted roads, such as Nova Scotia, rust is a constant threat to vehicle integrity. According to Scotty, "I would just say look under there if everything's all rusted and the control arms are going to fall off and the break are all rotten and rusting away I just said get rid of it cuz I see a lot of vehicles like that here in New England now." This sentiment is echoed by others who have had similar experiences with rusted parts, highlighting the importance of addressing issues promptly to avoid costly repairs.

Brake Fluid: A Crucial Component

When it comes to brake fluid, many people are unsure about its importance or how to maintain it. According to Gilbert, "I'm getting a PO 193 Cod of my 2005 F-150 bad fuel rail pressure sensor my engine shakes is stalling out what should I do well replace the fuel sensor those things break all the time on Ford those fuel rail pressure sensors are always going bad." This example highlights the critical role that brake fluid plays in ensuring vehicle safety. Regular maintenance and replacement of brake fluid can help prevent costly repairs down the road.

Tattoos: A Permanent Record

For many individuals, tattoos hold sentimental value and serve as a permanent record of life's experiences. However, according to Tracy bet, "I don't have any tattoos none whatsoever I couldn't think of anything I want to stick on that I want to look at forever and if you've ever seen people as they age with tattoos the tattoos look horrible as you age they kind of fade away and they look like junk." This sentiment is echoed by others who have had similar experiences with tattoos, highlighting the importance of carefully considering the permanence of such a permanent mark.

Conclusion

In conclusion, doing-it-yourself mechanics offers numerous benefits for individuals looking to save money and take control of their vehicle maintenance. From changing axles to addressing oil burn issues, simple repairs can be completed with basic tools and knowledge. By acknowledging the risks associated with rust and brake fluid maintenance, individuals can ensure their vehicles remain safe and reliable. While tattoos may hold sentimental value, it's essential to consider the permanence and potential consequences before making a permanent mark on one's body.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engin oh Neil says what are the best engine oil filters for 03 Honda Accord what you want is the high quality oil filters there are many of them out there they usually call them synthetic or high mileage they have better filtration in them regardless of how good they filtrate I still am a firm believer that you change your oil every 5,000 Mi with full synthetic oil and the filter right now those filters they say are good up to 10,000 mil but the oil really isn't so I would change it but any of them Wix Bosch you name it they all make high-end filters that as a matter of fact there's only a few companies that make them like uh mobile one has a synthetic filter right they don't make it the last I saw they were buying them from Fram they were the fancy high-end frams and they just put mobile one labels on them cuz mobile one buys them from Fram so any of the high-end ones are good don't go to the auto part store where they'll try to sell you them for 15 bucks D like me buy them on Amazon for you know half that price and then store them in your garage like I do Miguel Koo says Scotty my car runs good until I accelerate hard and it starts to bog up makes like a rattlesnakes down also I lose power going uphill what do you think it could be well if you really get a rattling noise that's often something's wrong with your timing like the timing chain or timing belt depending on your engine design is worn and the timing's off so then it rattles when you put it on a full load right now the other thing that we'll often do when you full load and you go up a hill and you try to accelerate high speed is either a Clogg fuel filter or a weak fuel pump in that case you change the fuel filter because that's the easy thing to do and then if it's still is doing it pressure tests the fuel pump and if it's weak replace the fuel pump now you want to change the filter first because a clogged filter will make low pressure and a filter cost like 20 bucks and a pump might cost you five or 600 bucks so you don't guess with the expensive part you change the filter and if it fixes it great if not then pressure test it cuz if it still has good pressure then that's not the problem it could be the fueling injectors are clogged lots of things can do it but you do logical in those steps and pressure test rather than just guess and start putting Parts on cards fan $1299 you must be depressed they've been lousy for a while here I got a 2016 Ram 1500 big hor 150k on it never Chang the chiny fluid there's no problem do you think I should change it no I would have changed it every 40 50,000 miles with the filter you've never touched it it's got 150,000 leave it alone American vehicles are very touch and if you change the fluid now it may slip it may not even move down the road of its own accord all that fluid that's in it now is somewhat dirty Dirt has more friction it drives on the fluid friction you put in new slippery fluid on something that's dirty sometimes it'll start slipping like M leave it along generally they don't last much more than 150k anyways you're in bonus territory now and if you change it and lose it you'll kick yourself it might go even more without doing anything but if you do change it now it might start slipping immediately J k90 says I'm buying a used vehicle with only 15,000 mi when you say take it to a mechanic to hook to their machine would it be the same to take it to autoone to hook up their machine and read codes no not in the least you got minimum wage workers looking at a machine they'll plug it in they'll say there's no codes there's nothing wrong that only gives you basic OBD information I have an autel ultra syy system that does so much data let's say the autos on one did 80 points of data I have things that do over a thousand points of data and they're colorcoded so when you look at the data if it's black it's good and if it's red there's a problem and they will find problems that the AutoZone guys wouldn't even know what they mean they're minimum wage workers you really want a mechanic to check it out especially with a vehicle that only has 15,000 miles why would someone want to sell it maybe it was wrecked or flooded you want a mechanic Who's Got Brains and understands cars to say up that was flooded don't buy it oh that was in a fire don't buy it oh look at this weird data there's a problem with a car don't buy it you need the mechanic's brain power you don't want to just go to Discount Auto part's place and have't plug something and say there's no codes it's fine that's only the tip of the iceberg the rest of the information is hidden that you need a really good machine and someone who knows what the data on it means Omen says Alexa ES300 hybrid UK base what are your thoughts well I like the 300s it's a hybrid I'm not particularly a hybrid fan because I know how much money it cost to fix them when they break but being Toyota lexus's same company R they last a long time before they break if you're talking about buying a brand new one you'll probably get over 200,000 miles of relatively trouble free driving if you're happy with that go ahead and get it if you're buying a used one that's another story I would not touch a used hybrid car if it had more than maybe 130 140,000 miles and I wouldn't pay that much for it either CU I know what the repairs are when they finally break down but if you're talking new no very good if you don't mind spending that kind of money Nan ROM says what do you think of the CVT transmission on the new Corolla well they've been making good CVT transmissions of crw for a long time my son's got a 5-year-old croll ass it's got a CVT transmission he drives like a lunatic he says he can gets better gas modage than it was supposed to and he likes how fast it is so you know Toyota if anybody makes a good CVT transmission it's Toyota me I'm not a CVT fan if I was going to buy a new Toyota I'd get a r 4 I get a Camry because they still have actual automatic transmissions with gears I just like them better they cost more money to build but they last longer the ones in the Corollas work perfectly fine for what they are and I don't believe they make an actual automatic transmission cor anymore I think they're all cvts so you got no choice says I got an 07 Pine G6 GT convertible I have a bad front brake Rumble when I come to a stop what should I look for first thing you want to do is check the rotors see if they're warped if they're warped they're rumbling change the rotors in the pads simple job right but if you say you come to a stop and you get a rumble there are so many things that can make it Rumble Jack the car up in the air watch my video how to check out your own car suspension system Scotty Jack it up pulling the tires like that if they go clunker clunker you need a tie rod go like this if it goes clunker clunker it needs a ball joint if it goes clun clunker anyway you grab it you need wheel bearings start there and if you don't find any clunker clunker replace the rotors and the brake pads Christopher De says should I buy a Toyota Land Cruiser now or should I wait for the new one okay well what do you want see the new one they claim to coming out is a much smaller vehicle it's only be a four banger four-cylinder engine with a turbo right if you want the big old V8 Land Cruiser you got to buy an old one if you want a smaller version and they're much smaller inside too and you want to get a lot better gas Modge I would wait for the new one it's what do you want do you want the big old Monster Land Cruiser or the new modern one that's going to be smaller Sarah says Scotty what's a fair price to replace an axle on the front driver side of a 2013 Honda Fit all right well if you want to do it yourself you can buy those things for like 79 bucks at discount auto part stores they work perfectly fine putting that in mind you go to a mechanic they charge 150 bucks an hour now as far as I'm concerned they should not charge you more than an hour and a half labor for changing an ax on that little Honda I can change an axle in that little H in about half an hour if I'm in a hurry right so if you can find a place that'll replace it for that kind of money but realize you can get a good axle for 79 bucks don't let them say well a dealer they're $895 for the axle and we're going to charge $300 to put it on go somewhere else then they'd be ripping you off it's not a hard job actually at all Corby Robert said Scotty got an 09 Matrix a 2.4 ler oil burn I live in Nova Scotia where the cars rust quickly I just had my rocker panels replaced what do you think I should get rid of my trust rust bucket hello to the land of the Trailer Park Boys Nova Scotia those guys are scream I actually went to school with a guy who was a friend of uh Mr Le he of course passed away now right now if it's Rus in away I mean there's no point in trying to get too much out of it because eventually your control arms will break off the car will fall off the road and you'll be killed right if it's that bad and it really is a rust bucket I would just say look under there if everything's all rusted and the control arms are going to fall off and the break are all rotten and rusting away I just said get rid of it cuz I see a lot of vehicles like that here in New England now I'm in Rhode Island now and uh I just tell people just drive it when I tell you it's unsafe get rid of it and sometimes I'll say it's unsafe now get rid of it soon before something breaks when you're on a highway going 60 and you get killed but if you drive just 30 mil an hour what the heck you're not going to get hurt just keep driving until the wheels fall off Joy gy said Scotty 0500 CT 38,000 Mi how important is new brake fluid waterers over 4% well you might as well as change it out it's not that hard to do you can get a little turkey baster suck it out of the master cylinder and then bleed all four wheels what happens when you get water and it starts rusting the system out and then you got really expensive Parts you're going to buy if it's working now but it's got too much water just bleed the water out of it it's not that hard to do or most mechanics will do it for 100 bucks if you don't want to bother getting your hands dirty but you want to do it now cuz if it rusts things out then you're talking about really expensive parts Gilbert all say Scotty I'm getting a PO 193 Cod of my 2005 F-150 bad fuel rail pressure sensor my engine shakes is stalling out what should I do well replace the fuel sensor those things break all the time on Ford those fuel rail pressure sensors are always going bad now you want to do it the absolute correct way you pay a guy like me we had our fancy scan tool we do bir directional testing we give it different information we see if it feeds back correctly you're going to pay somebody like me 150 bucks an hour to analyze it you might as well just buy the fuel pressure because it's a known problem with those they just bolt on and off do it first thing in the morning when the engine's cold so the little gas that sprays won't start a fire it'll be on a cold engine after it sits all night and you'll probably find that fixes the problem Tracy bet says Scotty do you have any tattoos no I don't have any tattoos none whatsoever I couldn't think of anything I want to stick on that I want to look at forever and if you've ever seen people as they age with tattoos the tattoos look horrible as you age they kind of fade away and they look like junk I know so many people my age who got tattoos and now they're kicking themselves some of them go to the laser places try to get them bleached out and get rid of the things but do you really want to put some sentiment on your arm back or whatever that you're going to have the rest of your life and as it ages it's going to look crappier and crappier me no I'm not a sailor I don't particularly like the sea so I have no tattoos so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that Bell\n"