car breakdowns - have a go at fixing it yourself and save ££££££££!

angel00079

arcon5 wrote: »

If doing repairs yourself add to your tool kit a set of irwin bolt grips and angle grinder for those trickier jobs. Also don't go too cheap on sockets and extension bars - otherwise you'll see them split and snap under strain.

Any recommendations for sockets sets. We are looking to get a new set. The cheapo one broke on us. You really do get what you pay for. I would rather pay a bit more money now but really do not know anything about brands. I don't want just to pay for a name.

Bolt grips look like a must. Spent an hour last time trying to get off a rusted bolt. Luckily we were at my dad's who had an angle grinder.

The mechanic we use is good and is always honest. He would rather give us a high quote and it be lower rather than dropping an unexpected bill on us. We have started to try more things ourselves. The more you do, the more confident you get. To be honest though it is good to do repairs with my dad who knows what he is doing. I agreed it takes longer than a professional but you do have the time to put that bit extra in.

I would say that remember things will probably take longer than you think. We decided to do the MOT repairs the weekend before the retest on Monday. Looking back, changing both front springs, boots and exhaust was a bit much.

colino

I don't work for them, in fact I worked a long time ago for their big rival, but you really can't go far wrong buying one of Halfords Advance(d?) socket sets when they are on special offer.

Inner_Zone

Get the Halfords one as in this link. Currently £99.99 but does vary from £90 to £200 at times.

angel00079

Thanks, I check Halfords as I have heard good things about their sets.

fishpond

TrickyWicky wrote: »

Yeah I'll chime in here and recommend DIY. I got a car that is a tad tricky to get sorted at any mechie so I had to start doing this stuff myself. I don't like doing it but I do feel better when I get something fixed myself.

Unfortunately you must learn where to stop when it comes to collecting tools as you really can go too far.

I wish you had told me and my dad that 45 years ago:rotfl:

Stooby2

Halfords Pro or Advanced sets are good. Draper make good tools - I'm still using the socket set I was given for my 17th birthday! (30 years ago).

I would seriously recommend getting a battery impact driver, something like this -

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heavy-duty-19-2v-Cordless-1-2-Impact-Wrench-w-2-Battery-Charger-220-240V-/251127561295?_trksid=p3284.m263&_trkparms=algo%3DSIC%26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%26otn%3D21%26pmod%3D140904170194%26ps%3D54

I've you got a seized nut/bolt these will more often than not get it out long before you resort to grips. You need the black impact sockets to go with it.

And I agree heartily with the OP - I've saved a fortune over the years fixing my own cars and doing my own servicing.

mattyprice4004

Oooooh, I like these threads!

I knew nothing about cars, but when I got a job at Currys on their awful wages I learnt how to do most things myself.

I've now done (to my cars, and cars I bought to sell)

- 4 clutch changes
- 1 head gasket (impressive considering I've had 8 Rovers )
- Endless brake changes due to trackdays etc
- Several exhaust swaps
- A few sensors here and there
- What feels like 1,000 full services!
- Suspension refresh on 2 cars

It's a damn good way to save cash as long as it's done properly.