stripped fred Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I'd be interested to know how much maintenance, problem solving, fixing of cars you do yourself and if you sub work out to a gargage and why? If I'm honest I probably only do about 25% myself and the rest gets passed between an old school garage and an Alfa specialist. My excuses are time as I often need the car for work, lack of space for big jobs (and the missus would moan if her car was moved onto the road for any length of time as she claims she can't parallel park, which is probably true), and lack of skill. If I changed to a car easier to work on than the Alfa I might be able to do a bit more. I still prefer to run an older car though even if it costs me more than some. More character, no finance cost and limited depreciation. So, anyone out there do it ALL themselves? eddyramrod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Apart from paint ,everything . And for loads of customers too saucedoctor and HMC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripped fred Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Apart from paint ,everything . And for loads of customers tooI've got a feeling i'm going to feel a loser before this thread is finished! You are the winna so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omegod Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Only work I pay for is tyres, and thats a rare occurence as I normally stockpile spares from the cars I break as a sideline. Biggest job yet was a clutch on wifeys fiesta but I can't see the point paying someone a higher hourly rate than i earn to do something I can learn how to do myself explosive-cabbage 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LabRat Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 As much as i can, mechanically anyway. Though the v6 in the mondeo is a bit awkward for space. The wifes alfa is easy enough, but its only a 1.6, so fairly straightforwards. Im no good with paint or welding, can do a decent filler job though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barefoot Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I do less than one per cent myself, because although I have a fair idea of what may be wrong, I am totally fucking inept at anything mechanical. I used to have a bash and I have successfully stripped more threads, sheered more bolts and fucked more simple tasks than anyone I know. Tomorrow, the T2 is going to the garage to have the interior light bulbs replaced with leds. I have replaced bulbs in the past, but a new headlining with much additional sound proofing has just been fitted and I don't need to balls it up when its less than a month old.I can haz shit at repairs.Although I do check all fluids every couple of days and listen carefully for new and exciting noises.I am not embarrassed by my lack of ability any more. Vince70 and eddyramrod 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spike60 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Apart from paint ,everything .And for loads of customers tooSame here, except customers are friends and family, not payers! I'll paint wheels but not much else. Dead_E23 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robinmasters Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 If it's going to the garage, it's going to cost more than the car's worth! Which is a handy cop-out, because my skillz are limited to relatively small jobs. I occasionally have a bit done at the garage at MOT time, because I never get the MOT done early enough to have gone to do it myself. In terms of time/complexity, clutch and above means the car goes to the garage/bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloth in a bowl Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Octavia: Goes to the garage Puma: I'll do as much as I can, service, brakes, so far, nothing on it is too seized to be horrible, yet. 260Z: Mainly been away for major work, but I need to take responsibility and do more. Really want to swap the carbs for injection which will be a proper home engineering project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat_the_cat Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Everything apart from tyre fitting (although I take off the wheels), engine machining, and as of recently, the respray on the Stellar. I have done some paintwork before, but usually not invisibly! But I started out only doing servicing, and just went on from there; nobody was born with the knowledge. dollywobbler and Luckythirteen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brickwall Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Just about everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Do brakes and other maintainence and repairs. Basic electrical fault finding. Do all my own welding / rattle cans. Doing less now as getting older and cannot be arsed. eddyramrod and Taff 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bren Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Having worked things out I do 88.5% of my repairs. Did you know 96% of statistics are made up on the spot? stripped fred, RayMK, HMC and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthecapriman Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 About 75% of work I do myself. I don't do anything too heavy like clutch changes or engine changes. I'm paying to have one engine rebuilt at the moment as I don't have room to do it myself and I'm not man handling an enormous V8 in and out! A much better and quicker job can be done by paying a professional.I don't do re sprays either, but will do a bit of rattle can touch ups or localised repairs. Most other stuff I'll do though, including welding and metalwork. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stanky Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I'll tackle anything that is either cosmetic or makes the car go, that way if I fuck it up then the worst case scenario (other than fire) is that it becomes immobilised. Tyres, brakes and suspension get farmed out as it gives me the willies that I'll do something wrong and the car will collapse underneath me or fail to slow down when I press the middle pedal at 70mph (or both) and I will surely die. So as a %age of things that have required work, I would say about 60% I do myself, 40% gets farmed out to my uncle-in-law who does family rates on work which makes the financial blow softer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaseracer Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I possess more enthusiasm than competence, as FPB7 will attest... Twiggy, eddyramrod and mat_the_cat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamworthbay Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 99% of stuff, everything from engine rebuilds to weldathons. Not very good at paint prep but my mate is so that helps. It does help having access to a four post lift and pretty much every tool you could think of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skattrd Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Probably 50% overall.If I'm working, I'm often too busy so I ask my local old school garage to do the work. If he's not done it in a few weeks I'll start it myself at the garage and nab him for assistance when needed. It's a reasonable agreement as I use the tools and lift there foc anyway ... it's handy when the mechanic is related.If I'm between contracts (like now) I'll do most of the work myself, like the current turbo swap and other bits on the boring. However this will be done at the garage with the use of the lift and his tools. I know I am very lucky to have access to a professional garage to use and don't know how some of you manage doing the work on the street etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Negative Creep Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Very little, because to be honest I can't be bothered. I have tried before but usually break something so end up costing myself more to get the garage to fix it and even with a guide things don't come off the way they should. That said, if I had someone more experienced there to help I would, but I don't eddyramrod 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddyramrod Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I will have a go at quite a lot, if I have somewhere to do it. Unfortunately at the moment, I don't, which means just about everything goes to my friendly garage across the road from the bakery. However, as we have already seen here, I can quickly run out of talent/knowledge, and even if I have my own space, tools are never where I last saw them so I spend at least 70% of the time on any job just looking for stuff, and getting more and more frustrated. It's worth several times my hourly rate for someone to do it who can lay hands on exactly the right spanner when he wants it, hoist the car if he needs to, and have it done in 24 hours instead of 24 months! Also, I'm not getting any younger and my back hurts. Bobthebeard 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
captain_70s Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Too much of it, I'm also incompetent and clumsy so I tend to break things before I fix them. Unfortunately lack of funds mostly rules out sending the cars to the garage so it's a case of either I fix them or they stay broken. If I'd sent my £800 cars to garages to be fixed they'd have cost me billions, unlike me bodging them up personally which has only cost me millions. I also have little faith in garages to actually do a job properly or in a manner that will last, at least if I royally fuck something up or bodge it I don't charge myself for the privilege and I know it's happened. I'd love to meet whoever thought it was a good idea to rivet wheel arch repair panels over the originals on my Dolomite 1300 or the garage that was "servicing" it when I found the valve gear coated in a half inch of sludge less than 1000 miles since they'd apparently set the valve timing... I hope to rip the engine out this winter a rebuild it, that'll be fun as I've only had it striped down to the head before and never had it out of the car. DodgyBastard and Luckythirteen 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymous user Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Doing less now as getting older and cannot be arsed.Same here, used to do more, but lack the time, inclination and no longer have the space, tools, or strength to do some jobs. I'd rather earn the money to pay someone else, but do feel guilty sometimes. Plus my knowledge of car mechanicals stops somewhere in the late 1970s, so fuel injection and clever electronics passed me by. I do top up the washers myself though. stripped fred and eddyramrod 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twosmoke300 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Very little, because to be honest I can't be bothered. I have tried before but usually break something so end up costing myself more to get the garage to fix it and even with a guide things don't come off the way they should. That said, if I had someone more experienced there to help I would, but I don'tMore than welcome to come down of a Saturday and use the ramp/ tools/ tea/ advise as reqd Negative Creep, skattrd and eddyramrod 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fordperv Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 99% of it I do myself as I don't trust garages to do a proper job, the final 1% I don't do is paint, i get that done by my trusted painter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave21478 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Everything - literally everything.Mechanical stuff...from servicing to engine swaps and rebuilds. Brake pipes, suspension parts, whatever.Bodywork, welding, filler/prep, paint (granted, paint skills arent great, but improving slowly)Do my own tracking, change tyres myself...I dont have a wheel balancer so am experimenting with dynamic balancing using airsoft pellets. I had to admit defeat on the tyres for the old C2 though as they were such a low profile they were a bugger to get off. I managed one with a lot of sweat, but decided to get a garage to do the rest. Why? necessity. I cant afford any garage bills, and the times I have used garages in the past they have often fucked things up or fucked me over. Its all self taught - I started out at 17 with a £14.99 Argos tool kit, a shiny new Haynes manual and a ropey old Mini and progressed from there. John F and mat_the_cat 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coalnotdole Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I do everything myself as I'm far too skint to pay someone else to do it! Plus the ability to DIY is a big reason why I don't own a modern car... Lacquer Peel and forddeliveryboy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angrydicky Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Most of it. Metallic paintwork I farm out (got the Victor in the bodyshop at the moment having a few bits done). Tyres and wheel balancing, because it's hardly worth doing it myself for the price my local place charges. Clutches, cambelts, transmission and suspension jobs I give to a local garage with the parts so I just pay labour. Basically, anything really heavy and/or oily that I really can't be arsed with goes to the garage. I do all my own servicing, welding, most of the painting, and all the running repairs needed to keep these old crocks on the road in the absence of a modern car. Luckythirteen and eddyramrod 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DodgyBastard Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I'm quite lazy so a lot of stuff I could probably do myself get's farmed out to local garages. I should really spend the cash that I would have to spend at the garage on tools instead as at least I would have them for future use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_Q Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 I've always been in the 99% camp, only get tyres fitted by anyone else, but recently I've got less and less time because kids etc. Currently I do everything myself but it takes ages as I can only do the odd hour 2-3 times a week. I can see a time in the fairly near future where my time is more valuable to me than the cost of garage fixings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vulgalour Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 toomuch% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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