Where I live in the southeast USA, working on cars is a part of the culture so it seems like that this place is more of a Diy (do it yourself) area than other places. Anyway, though, I think DIY, obviously, assuming you know what your doing, could be a big financial advantage. I mean, tons of auto stores, at least in my place, exist where you can buy what you need (parts etc.).
There are also a lot of older cars and especially trucks (pickups) in the southern Unites States , and those vehicles are easier to work on for the DIY person than the newer computerized vehicles are. We personally use a combination for our old stationwagon. if it is something fairly simple, we buy the parts and my husband installs them. If it needs something a bit more complicated, there is a backyard mechanic who lives down the street, and he can fix the car cheaper than taking it to a shop. So, only in the last resort do we take the car to a mechanic shop. We have also ordered parts online. Amazon has what is called “My Garage” (or something similar to that) and you enter the information about your vehicle, and then when you need to order a part, Amazon will only show you parts that fit your exact vehicle. We always check around before ordering parts to see where we can get the best price for that part.
I don't think working on cars would be that difficult. It's just like computers - except more dirty. But, honestly, aside from putting in oil, I haven't messed around with it. But, as I was saying, a lot of it is probably easy. In fact, I'm sure a lot of tips are on YouTube alone.
I have to admit that I have a very low aptitude in cars. That’s why we rely on the dealer’s shop for the maintenance. The service charge is quite expensive but everything is guaranteed by Ford (our first car) and Mitsubishi (our second car). With our old Honda before, we tried getting the service of an independent mechanic which is cheaper. However, after a year or 2, he started duping us with increased prices and invented spare parts. So now we are back to the car dealer’s shop.
