Do you work on your car yourself or pay others to do work for you?

[Neiltdi]

Just asking cause since ive been driving (3 years) ive had a few cars mainly old vw's and always done the work on them myself and when i got my mk5 as it was the most expensive car ive ever owned i said i would take it to garages/specialists.
Today i rang jkm and asked how much it would be to fit some lowering springs and they said £200 with v.a.t so with the springs thats £400 which to me is alot as i only earn £240 a week.
Do you think its better to give it a go or pay someone else to do it ? I like to think im mechanically minded (done engine conversions on my mk1 golf etc)

I suppose the point of this thread is to just see how many people actually work on there cars themselves or pay others to do it for them?

Neil

[Baz300]

I do work on the car myself but servicing will get done elsewhere just so that I have some history.

Jobs like the Cambelt I put the car to the garage

There are lots of guides on here or on American forums for doing most of the jobs to the mk5

I do grudge paying £50+ per hour for a garage to do work but when I do get work done I normally stay at the garage so that I know exaxtly how long they have spent on my car

[Neiltdi]

Servicing is fair enough as everyone when buying a car is looking for good service history and vw arent too overally priced.

My car got a cambelt done (by previos owner at vw garage) and the timing is out -7degrees which isnt good so thinking of doing it myself.

To be honest on my wages after rent/food etc i cant afford to pay out for agarage to do the work so think its quite good if ypu can do the work yourself but i suppose if you have loads of money/no time you may aswell get someone to do it for you

[RedRobin]

.
Contrary to what many folks think, I don't have loads of money nowadays. I'm useless at car mechanics and so will always pay others who have the expertise to work on my car. I don't have the tools nor the space anyway to do my own work. Frankly, doing my own work on the car doesn't interest me.

[jhtrophy]

If you can fit springs why pay £200? Servicing should be done at garage unless you planning on keeping untill it's worth few grand then service history will make no differance, annoys me having to pay for everything at dealer for warranty, mad money for an hours job.

[sub39h]

small things like changing spark plugs, fitting a CAI etc i'll do on my own

servicing is left to my Audi dealer, for resale value (tho i have no intention of selling my car before it dies anymore) and because they give good will contributions for out of warranty claims with a full service history. it needn't be expensive - if i provide my own oil they charge me less than £100 for a minor service 

aftermarket stuff was previously done by Midland VW. whilst i think they're a great bunch, i have now gone with vRSAlex and his firm AKS Tuning. you can't beat a specialist who owns a car with the same chassis and engine as yours and he is an absolute perfectionist in everything he does.

[stealthwolf]

I can change a wheel, change coilpacks etc. But anything more involved and I'd rather get a pro to do it.

[MAT ED30]

Do most my own stuff and all of jhtrophys stuff too  I like getting my hands dirty so will happily take the engine or gearbox out of a car without much drama. I do enjoy it

[MC71]

If you have the ability/knowledge to change the springs yourself, go for it. 

I am as mechanically minded as a turnip so have to rely on the professionals to do their thing. I still dont understand why the VW main dealer charge me £108 per hour for labour but there you go, I'm a captive audience I suppose. I always factor in the cost of labour, beit main dealer, indy or another forum member offering their services, when I go for a mod.

 

I can change a wheel, change coilpacks etc. But anything more involved and I'd rather get a pro to do it.

I've never changed a coilpack or even a spark plug! No hope for me. 

[Neiltdi]

Seems like a good variety , nothing better than doing something tricky on your car and rewarding yourself after.
Sometimes i wish ihad the money to pay someone to do work for me.

[Neiltdi]

If you have the ability/knowledge to change the springs yourself, go for it. 

I am as mechanically minded as a turnip so have to rely on the professionals to do their thing. I still dont understand why the VW main dealer charge me £108 per hour for labour but there you go, I'm a captive audience I suppose. I always factor in the cost of labour, beit main dealer, indy or another forum member offering their services, when I go for a mod.

 

I can change a wheel, change coilpacks etc. But anything more involved and I'd rather get a pro to do it.

I've never changed a coilpack or even a spark plug! No hope for me. 

[/quote

I think im gonna go for it , ive only ever changed suspension on mk1/2 golfs and mk4 6n polos but im sure it cant be too hard i have all the tools for the job too so no problem with getting half way through the job and not having the tool to finish it.

Thi k of the mo ey you guys could save if you give it a go yourself im sure the tools will pay for themselves

[MC71]

^^^^ to true. 

I have all the tools, very shiney and all in their correct places in my tool chest, looks the part in my garage I can tell you (just never used them for anything mechanical). 

[JMP]

I also leave the servicing to the vw dealer so there is a proper history for the car as it will affect the resale value of the car. But I have done all the performance modifications myself (springs, s3 ic, turbo outlet kit, intake, engine mounts, precat removal, subwoofer, headunit, amps, door speakers etc) in my carage. My GTI is basicly my spare time hobby, I love working on the car in my carage!

[stealthwolf]

I've never changed a coilpack or even a spark plug! No hope for me. 

The coilpacks are really easy - if I can do it, so can anyone. Followed a guide on here and used zip ties to pull them up.

[Deako]

I can do most jobs on a car including engine swaps given time space and tools available. It depends on all of those.

Just ordered some coilovers for the wife's lupo. So will be fitting those myself.