re: Diy guys, help settle an argument

You win

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The other says that brake pads and rotors are worth the extra money to have done professionally


It takes a C clamp, some wrenches and a YouTube video if you don't know how.

ETA: and an S hook.


It's definitely not worth the extra money if you have any mechanical skill at all

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My wife fricked around and bought a BMW convertible during a mid-life crisis....it was either that or have an affair and to be honest the jury is out as to which one was the better decision...but here we are. The first time it needed brakes, about 20K because its a fricking BMW so why wouldn't it need brakes at 20K miles, the dealer wanted $3600 to do all 4 wheels. I did it for less than $300 and about 2 hours, half of that was finding the tools because some a-hole never puts anything back where it is supposed to be in my shop. My wife and son say I am the only one who does anything in there but they are mean that way. I would gladly pay $500 for that job but it would mean leaving the car for at least a day and the person doing it is no more qualified than I am....certainly no reason to pay thousands more for it. I don't know how people afford to pay dealers to do anything and any shop other than a dealer is a crap shoot....

You're saving on labor. if the labor is easy and a moron can do it, do it yourself.

A moron can change brake pads and rotors, it's not that deep or that "important". You're not trusting a mechanic with your life by letting them do it.

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Guess I can say it now before I'm out. I was pay for oil change because it is dirty and can be aggravating. Plus the price is not that much different from a scheduled oil change with a coupon. He was, his time is worth more than the 2+ hours oil change with a discount from a shop. He doesn't mind a 5 minute oil change that costs 4 times more than diy.

Just changing Brake pads diy is actually cheaper than a diy oil change most of the time, but changing pads can can cost 3 or 4 times more in a shop.

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Oil change places hire miscreants who are unemployable elsewhere and too stupid to qualify for welfare. 2 times in the last 2 years, but within 3 months of each other, 2 different drive through oil change places stripped out the drain plug on my niece's and my wife's car. Both instances required me to spend an entire day and $300 plus dollars removing the oil pans and replacing them. My niece almost let her car run completely out of oil because of it....had it not started skipping it would have blown up. Never again will I pay some moron to change my oil as long as I am capable of doing it myself.

Some things are best left to the guys who do it for a living.

Brakes are one of those things.

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Bringing the old oil back to the shop to recycle is the worst part. I usually bring it to Walmart but it seems like it’s a different process to drop off each time.

I do oil and brakes on my cars. Saves some money and gives me something to work on and an excuse to drink a few beers in the shop.

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I buy oil in gallon jugs, or actually about 4.5 liter jugs cause why in the hell would they sale it by the gallon in the US,....but I digress. I drain it into a pan, refill the oil pan with new oil and pour the used oil in the jug. Put the cap back on, hide it behind the shrubs, and when it is time to do it again I carry the old oil with me when I buy the new oil and give it back to them. I assume they recycle it. Sometimes they ask that I pour it in the vat of used motor oil in the back but usually they just take the jug and I assume they pour it in the vat. If I had an old mangy dog (what happened to mange???) I would save some of it for treating him but I haven't had a mangey dog in years....

dunno... i just replaced the purge valve solenoid in my Atlas, was quoted the part alone was $500, b/c "no one makes the part after market", and the place i brought it to doesn't work on VWs so they said i'd have to bring it to the dealership (where the part was $500)...

ordered the part from a simple google search for around $50, and spent all of 5 minutes replacing the part myself... and i'm no mechanic, by a long stretch...

now, if its not the solenoid, and the evap charcoal canister is the problem, that i would bring it in for, b/c that's a LOT more work that i don't feel confident i could handle...

I will be 60 in a few months and over those 60 years I have owned just about any kind of motorized conveyance one can think of and a pile of houses. I can count on one hand the times I have ever paid anyone to do anything to any of it. I would gladly do so, the problem is no one who does any of that sort of thing is any more qualified or knowledgeable than I am. We had a roofing contractor replace a roof about 15 years ago because they claimed it was hail damaged and our insurance agreed....otherwise that roof would still be on that house and raintight. We just had a contractor do a roof on our house after Helene because I am in the middle of developing a piece of property and did not have time to do it. We had a contractor replace a window about 7 years ago because the neighbor slung a rock through it with his lawnmower and he paid to replace it. I paid a mechanic to replace the steering column on my old Blazer about 30 years ago and because I did not know how. It lasted about 3 days and almost killed my wife so I re-did it. I paid a mechanic to replace the heads on an old Ram truck I used to have because he did it for less than I could buy the heads for. Other than that I can't remember ever paying anyone to do anything to our cars, boats, campers, houses....none of it. Not because I am some kind of genius or poor but because there is no one who does any of that sort of thing more qualified than me to do it. They may be more efficient but whats time to a hog?