DIY servicing - where do we start

puddy

We need to get car savvy as we are paying a lot for things that are fairly cheap except for the labour costs, ie oil changes, changing discs and pads etc etc

Are there courses that the general public can access to be more car aware, I mean I dont even know how to change a wheel, are there manuals, advice etc.


Do you do your own servicing and if so how did you know what to do?

I dont expect to know how to do EVERYTHING but if we could do the majority and then just go to a garage for the odd bit and bob then that would save us money

bengalknights

There are quite a lot of colleges that run NVQ level 2 courses in car mechanics usually an evening a week.

GolfBravo

To get a general idea try youtube first.

property.advert

You also need to be safe !

Whilst changing a wheel is easy, if you are truly worried about costs, perhaps you should forget about trying to save money in an area where you have no competence and instead refocus on trying to generate more income from an area where you already have expertise.

Essentially if you can generate £1000 extra, then even paying the garage £750 would leave you £250 ahead and you've no broken nails.

CompBunny

Watching this thread with interest... I'd love to learn some car DIY, especially with our old nova being the ideal car to start on if you have an idea of where to start!

Broken nails? Pfft, my nails are shameful anyway

ETA: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/948067 is an interesting thread, oil and filter changes looks a good place to start to me

pink_princess

property.advert wrote: »

You also need to be safe !

Whilst changing a wheel is easy, if you are truly worried about costs, perhaps you should forget about trying to save money in an area where you have no competence and instead refocus on trying to generate more income from an area where you already have expertise.

Essentially if you can generate £1000 extra, then even paying the garage £750 would leave you £250 ahead and you've no broken nails.

I thanked that post until I got the broken nail comment!

s_b

pink_princess wrote: »

I thanked that post until I got the broken nail comment!

its worth a thanks i think
he may have been blunt but his post was spot on

pink_princess

s_b wrote: »

its worth a thanks i think
he may have been blunt but his post was spot on

True, that is why I wanted to thank it. That comment came across sexist though.

To me anyway.

jase1

pink_princess wrote: »

True, that is why I wanted to thank it. That comment came across sexist though.

To me anyway.

I think you're being sexist for assuming that only women have long nails....

pink_princess

jase1 wrote: »

I think you're being sexist for assuming that only women have long nails....

:rotfl: I never thought of that

swift1_2

I too am in the same sort of boat, not knowing a thing about car servicing/maintenance, have often thought about doing some sort of course. But due to various problems with cars have started building up knowledge.

I used to pay hundreds of pounds for a service - till I found out it was just a glorified oil and filter change! Now, I just get an oil and filter change done, let the MOT pick-up anything that is wrong with the car. (Changing other parts according to the service manual.)

I'm currently watching wheeler dealers on tv, you pick up some great knowledge on there - Edd China is just incredible - how does he know so much!

property.advert has got a very good point, instead of spending hours/days researching and trying to get the cheapest deal on things, could spend the same time bringing in much more income which would more than cover the extra cost of the item/service. But its getting your head round to doing things this way.

Basic knowledge like care maintenance, diy, plumbing should be taught in our secondary schools which is something that everybody uses, which is darn sight more useful than <insert your own useless subject>