Pros and Cons of Doing Your Own Car Maintenance

2017 Soul Turbo

Are you wondering if you should do your own car maintenance or is it better to trust it to a skilled mechanic? Depending on the repairs needed, doing your own car maintenance can be easy or difficult. Experience comes in handy when doing your own car maintenance, but you will gain that as you do more of it. Here are the pros and cons of doing your own car maintenance:

Advantages of Doing Your Own Car Maintenance

The biggest advantage to doing your own car maintenance it probably the amount of money you’ll save. Parts and labor will both cost you if you go to a mechanic. If you do the work yourself, you will save money on labor and possibly parts as well if the mechanic marks them up. You can even purchase used parts to do your repairs, which mechanics won’t do.

If you need to buy a tool here and there, it still won’t cost as much as having someone else do the repairs and you’ll have the tools for years to come to use for future repairs. Starting small when doing your own car maintenance will help you to gain confidence and skills.

Types of maintenance that are easy to learn are good ones to begin with. This can include things such as: oil changes, topping up fluids, changing filters and spark plugs, and rotating tires. The tools you can begin with are also basic ones that you’ll be able to use for various projects. These include: wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, and jacks to name a few. Learning the skills associated with car maintenance will also help you if you ever need to change a flat tire or do other small repairs while on the road.

Risks of Doing Your Own Car Maintenance

When you’re new to doing car maintenance, it might take up some of your time. This is normal when you’re first learning, so you’ll want to set aside time, such as a weekend, when you know you’ll be free. It’s important to know what you’re doing before you make any repairs to your car. You need to read about it, watch videos online if possible, and make sure you have the tools and parts necessary.

Failing to do this could result in more damage being done to your car. This could lead to breakdowns, accidents, and more money and time being spent to have all the damage repaired. In some cases, doing your own repairs may void the manufacturer’s warranty or other warranty associated with your car.

Be aware of this before you begin doing your own maintenance. Some maintenance and repairs that you should leave to the professionals include: airbag replacement, snapped coil springs, transmission repair, and brake repair. For safety reasons, it’s better to let someone who knows what they are doing handle these.

Doing your own car maintenance has both pros and cons. You may decide to do regular maintenance such as oil changes yourself while leaving other jobs up to the professionals. Starting small is the way to go when it comes to car maintenance. You can build your skills and confidence to do more.