Do you do small repairs to your car yourself or do you always go to the mechanic to handle anything about the car? I'm a bit insecure over this kind of stuff so I always check with other people whether it's something easy to solve or not. Just last week I was about to go to the shop because my passenger door was getting completely stuck, turns out all I needed to do was get some oil on the hinges, cost me a lot less than the mechanic would
It really depends for me. If it's something really small, then I will sometimes do it myself. On the other hand, even though I'm capable of doing some things, I would simply PREFER someone else to do it and it's worth my money to have them do it. For example, I know how to change my oil....but it is so much more convenient for an auto shop to do it. That's more of a maintenance thing than a repair, but you get the idea. I might fix a cracked mirror or light...but if the whole thing needs replaced, I might have the shop do it instead.
I'm confident enough in myself to handle smaller repairs. I'll replace pulleys, gaskets, and the serpentine belt. I prefer to do my own oil changes and other fluid changes. However, I won't mess with the electrical system in my car or the intricate parts of the motor or transmission. I'm not a certified mechanic, so the larger projects get taken care of by my actual mechanic. That way, if they make any mistakes, then it's on them and not me.
I usually don't do repairs in my car unless it's something really basic, I mean, if it's something like changing a tire or something at that level I do it myself, but if it's something more complex I'll go to the mechanic because I am afraid I will do worse. Sometimes if we are trying to repair something we just might do worse and that is not convenient at all.
I don't do any repairs other than changing the oil. However, I could always save quite a bit of money if I did. Anyway, though, a lot of simple repairs don't cost a lot of money. For instance, a trip to JiffyLube isn't a big deal, normally - and they won't screw it up.
It depends on the scope of repair. When it is big and covered by insurance, we bring the car to the dealer’s shop to avail of quality service and genuine parts. But for small dents, we bring the car to the small car shop that charges way much cheaper than the dealer’s shop. The only repair I do on our car is in using the scratch remover wax. I would apply it once a day for 2 days and if the scratch is removed then fine but if not then I have to bring the car to the small repair shop for a painting job.
