I would say that for some basic stuff, you probably will save money. The two things I’ve done that saved money even accounting for time spent (because they were easy to do but are sort of expensive to have a mechanic do) included changing my spark plugs and replacing the motor for a window.
I bought my repair book speculatively. Subsequently, as repairs became necessary I googled to get a feel for what the normal costs for that repair were and the cost for the parts. Then I looked at my book to see how much sense the instructions made to me and decided from there whether I thought I could get the job done for less time than the price difference would be worth, roughly speaking. I didn’t learn anything new to make the estimate and my only previous automotive repair experience was having changed my oil once or twice with my Dad as a teen. I did not think of myself as mechanically inclined at all, but had been working with a group of mechanical engineers for a few years which gave me the confidence that if I broke something while learning, I could buy a replacement part or, worst case, pay an expert to fix my error.
Is the time-investment more cost-effective than just paying a specialist?
And if so—for what kinds of repairs do you get the most benefit?
I would say that for some basic stuff, you probably will save money. The two things I’ve done that saved money even accounting for time spent (because they were easy to do but are sort of expensive to have a mechanic do) included changing my spark plugs and replacing the motor for a window.
How much incidental (non-helpful) knowledge must you learn in order to know what are the things that are worthwhile and what are not?
I bought my repair book speculatively. Subsequently, as repairs became necessary I googled to get a feel for what the normal costs for that repair were and the cost for the parts. Then I looked at my book to see how much sense the instructions made to me and decided from there whether I thought I could get the job done for less time than the price difference would be worth, roughly speaking. I didn’t learn anything new to make the estimate and my only previous automotive repair experience was having changed my oil once or twice with my Dad as a teen. I did not think of myself as mechanically inclined at all, but had been working with a group of mechanical engineers for a few years which gave me the confidence that if I broke something while learning, I could buy a replacement part or, worst case, pay an expert to fix my error.