In the past I did everything I was capable of doing. Todays vehicle has made that list much shorter.....

 

man, my newest vehicle is a 96, I was a mechanic for a few years and do everything myself. Primarily b/c I can't afford someone to fix my stuff. Also I do my own oil changes for peace of mind and the pleasure of turning a wrench. Sorry to hear about ur shop troubles man, wish people weren't so crooked.

 

i take pleasure in doing what i can.growing up me and my brother have always been able to learn from my father and teach him a few things too. it brought us closer together. i mostly worked on hondas and acuras everything from electrical, suspension, internal motors, motor swpas, turbo systems, custom body work etc and now my dad and us get to work onour bikes its great !

 

I do all my own stunts... Replaced a timing belt, a water pump, and did a valve adjustment in the last two weeks. Still cleaning the grease from under my nails and watching the knuckle-cuts heal.

 

i dont do it all yet, do what i can and read the bike manual alot. hopefuly in a year or so ill be able to do most of it and just take it to a dealer once in a while for a check over... i let the dealer put a chain on, i didn't want to mess with linking it together, never done it so i wouldnt trust myself haha

the shop i took my bike to (honda shop) has the most spotless organized garage i have ever been in. The mechanics don't mind if you come back and check out the bike while their workin on it either, so i trust them i guess... All the dude's workin back there had bike's they ride everyday. There's a more general bike shop i was gonna go to, but they didn't have an open shop so i didn't take it there.

 

I can do anything myself from changing oil you rebuilding a motor, but it's a time vs cost thing. Example, recently, I changed all my shocks on my Xterra, mechanics and dealership were waaaaaay to expensive for what was really an easy task. Same with Brakes, dealer wanted 230 or so, I did it for around 60 in an afternoon. Comming up is a 4X4 service, all fluids in the front and rear diff', and transfer case, new seals and all. 99$ WOW, can't beat that with a stick. Fluids alone would run me close to 60, and gaskets another 20, so I'm out 20$ for convenience and get to forego such a messy job. Plugs and wires are next, and I'll do that myself, easy quick and way to expensive at the mechanic. Some things I have to take it in for, like an alignment or a transmission flush/filter and all.

 

I do most of it myself, if I can. Just recently changed all 4 shocks that I bought off of ebay for $40. Shop here wanted $280 for parts & labor to do it and it only took me about an hour.

I also had the Check Engiine light come on. Took it to AutoZone and they read the code - FOR FREE! The Throttle Position Sensor needed replaced - $30 for the part. I guaranteee you the dealer woulda been out the behind!

 

i have never taken my car to the mechanic except for tires, walmart oil changes, and inspections. other wise i do it my self. i fix most of my freinds cars as well.

the bike though is a little more difficult


i get the worst sticker shock when i hear about people telling me how much they paid a mechanic to do something and its like wow that only took me an hour or 2 how did that cost 400 dollars.

 

I try to do all my own stuff. The only real problem is that I don't ahve too much experiance (only 2 years of auto shop) so I don't completly know what I'm doing. It also doesn't help that I don't really have a car to work on. However, I got all the theory down. I don't know too many people that know more about cars that I do.

 

I gota tell ya. For years I have bin getting the hacks to work on our vehicles, but lately I have been doing more and more myself.

The bike is so easy and enjoyable to work on combined with the $ savings. It has motivated me to start working on the cages again..............and I'm kinda likin it!

Bikes are good for so many things...lol