Just Jack Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Tip #2: Do as much of your own car maintenance as you are comfortable handling. At minimum, stuff like wiper blade, air filter, etc. are easy and cheap if you buy them yourself. Of course he also installs wind shield wipers for me for free if I provide them... And has replaced a headlight for free too, if I provide the bulb. So I always go to him. Too lazy to change the wipers/bulbs yourself Fez? I take my work van to Valvoline since that's where we have an account. $35 for a pair of wiper blades, $25 for an airfilter. No thanks, I'll drive 2 miles down the street to Pep Boys and get them myself for about half that cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arkady Renko Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 I avoid soda at restaurants. Overpriced and I feel better if I drink water with my meal. I use the best online saving accounts and move my money to the ones with the best rates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Too lazy to change the wipers/bulbs yourself Fez? If someone was going to do it for free for you, wouldn't you take them up on it? I order the parts on Amazon, leave it in the backseat and when I bring the car in, ask him to please change them. Takes him 2 seconds and builds up good will so he knows I won't go elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 If someone was going to do it for free for you, wouldn't you take them up on it? I order the parts on Amazon, leave it in the backseat and when I bring the car in, ask him to please change them. Takes him 2 seconds and builds up good will so he knows I won't go elsewhere. So you wait for them to be shipped, wait till you bring the car in. For me, knowing how little time it takes to replace them, I'd rather buy locally and do it myself. Ehhh... to each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ofiba Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 If someone was going to do it for free for you, wouldn't you take them up on it? I order the parts on Amazon, leave it in the backseat and when I bring the car in, ask him to please change them. Takes him 2 seconds and builds up good will so he knows I won't go elsewhere. Wouldn't you be better off if he thought there was a chance you'd go elsewhere? You don't want him to think he's got your business no matter what. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 So you wait for them to be shipped, wait till you bring the car in. For me, knowing how little time it takes to replace them, I'd rather buy locally and do it myself. Ehhh... to each their own. Windshield wipers don't just stop working one day, there's a lot of notice. And headlights go out maybe once in the lifetime of a vehicle, so yeah... No big deal to me. Besides, you're spending more buying them locally, that's not very frugal. Wouldn't you be better off if he thought there was a chance you'd go elsewhere? You don't want him to think he's got your business no matter what. He has my business because he's trustworthy and reasonable (ie: not charging money to replace things that take him 2 minutes). Our first experience with him was calling about something that Goodyear screwed up - he explained the ins and outs of what they screwed up so that we had the ammo to go yell at them - and we weren't even customers yet! Plus, there's something to be said for trusting that your mechanic isn't ripping you off on something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 So you wait for them to be shipped, wait till you bring the car in. For me, knowing how little time it takes to replace them, I'd rather buy locally and do it myself. Ehhh... to each their own. Exactly... And I am a control freak... I am sure his mechanic does a great job... For me, it still wouldn't be up to snuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Exactly... And I am a control freak... I am sure his mechanic does a great job... For me, it still wouldn't be up to snuff! There's a wrong way to put in a headlight or windshield wiper...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Windshield wipers don't just stop working one day, there's a lot of notice. And headlights go out maybe once in the lifetime of a vehicle, so yeah... No big deal to me. Besides, you're spending more buying them locally, that's not very frugal. Mine did, twice. On different vehicles. One the entire arm came off, so that required a trip to the dealer (still under warranty) to show them it wasn't just the wiper that they said I could replace myself. Not surprised they are no longer in business. The other was a few months ago. The wiper came off during a rain storm, so I had no choice to buy one then and put it on since it was the drivers side wiper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Mine did, twice. On different vehicles. One the entire arm came off, so that required a trip to the dealer (still under warranty) to show them it wasn't just the wiper that they said I could replace myself. Not surprised they are no longer in business. The other was a few months ago. The wiper came off during a rain storm, so I had no choice to buy one then and put it on since it was the drivers side wiper. Your wiper just fell off...? Maybe that's an advantage to going to my mechanic - his have never fallen off. But yes, if one of those situations happened to me, I would obviously take care of it myself (unless it happened to be oil change time... In which case maybe I let the mechanic do it afterall ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Want to save thousands of dollars? Build your own computer. It's easy, and far cheaper than buying a pre-assembled one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corp000085 Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 Want to save thousands of dollars? Build your own computer. It's easy, and far cheaper than buying a pre-assembled one. Plus the time saved. People ask me all the time how come computers from big box stores are sooooo cheap. I tell them that they are subsidized by preinstalled software which requires a great deal of time to remove. I literally could build a $1000 computer in half the time that I could uninstall the "free" stuff from a $200 computer. But people are stupid. They'll still buy the junk computers and expect them to run like my expensive mac. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ieatcrayonz Posted July 17, 2010 Share Posted July 17, 2010 I am all for saving money but it has to be worth it. A few years ago I decided to try saving money by having my Fleer jets housed at a regular hangar instead of having their own mansion and service staff. Sure it saved me $325k per year per plane for a total of about $65,000,008 or thereabouts but I have to say that the planes were just not quite the same after that. When I was making trips I'd always be worried that there might be some dust from the hangar on the fuselage. All that time I spent worrying cost me as much as the savings. Bottom line: not worth it. One thing that works is buying gifts in bulk. I have about 35 Christmases worth of Werther's Originals in storage for Ginny. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 There's a wrong way to put in a headlight or windshield wiper...? Yes. Cracking the damn thing or parts around it and not telling you about it! I am going to baby it if I do the job myself... Time is not a factor... And if I bust a tab or something off... I am going to fix it the right way... Maybe your mechanic is on the up and up... But most will just put 3 screws in if they bust the fourth AND NEVER TELL YOU. It is human nature to not want to eat your mistakes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fezmid Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Yes. Cracking the damn thing or parts around it and not telling you about it! I am going to baby it if I do the job myself... Time is not a factor... And if I bust a tab or something off... I am going to fix it the right way... Maybe your mechanic is on the up and up... But most will just put 3 screws in if they bust the fourth AND NEVER TELL YOU. It is human nature to not want to eat your mistakes. Naw, I trust my mechanic implicitly. I brought my car in at around 80k miles and asked him to check the brakes since I had never had them replaced. He told me they had about 20-30% and that I didn't need to replace them. I brought the car back 4 months later, same thing. 4 months later, same thing. About 2 years after the initial 80k service, he told me it was finally time to have the front brakes done. He could've easily said that they needed to be done before that - but he didn't. There's been other things he's done to make us trust him as well. Plus, with my last maintenance, he asked if I liked maple syrup. I looked confused, and said yes... And he gave me a big jar of it from his family farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ExiledInIllinois Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Naw, I trust my mechanic implicitly. I brought my car in at around 80k miles and asked him to check the brakes since I had never had them replaced. He told me they had about 20-30% and that I didn't need to replace them. I brought the car back 4 months later, same thing. 4 months later, same thing. About 2 years after the initial 80k service, he told me it was finally time to have the front brakes done. He could've easily said that they needed to be done before that - but he didn't. There's been other things he's done to make us trust him as well. Plus, with my last maintenance, he asked if I liked maple syrup. I looked confused, and said yes... And he gave me a big jar of it from his family farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanners Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Naw, I trust my mechanic implicitly. I brought my car in at around 80k miles and asked him to check the brakes since I had never had them replaced. He told me they had about 20-30% and that I didn't need to replace them. I brought the car back 4 months later, same thing. 4 months later, same thing. About 2 years after the initial 80k service, he told me it was finally time to have the front brakes done. He could've easily said that they needed to be done before that - but he didn't. There's been other things he's done to make us trust him as well. Plus, with my last maintenance, he asked if I liked maple syrup. I looked confused, and said yes... And he gave me a big jar of it from his family farm. Damn! That is the coolest mechanic...... EVER! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booster4324 Posted July 18, 2010 Share Posted July 18, 2010 Naw, I trust my mechanic implicitly. I brought my car in at around 80k miles and asked him to check the brakes since I had never had them replaced. He told me they had about 20-30% and that I didn't need to replace them. I brought the car back 4 months later, same thing. 4 months later, same thing. About 2 years after the initial 80k service, he told me it was finally time to have the front brakes done. He could've easily said that they needed to be done before that - but he didn't. There's been other things he's done to make us trust him as well. Plus, with my last maintenance, he asked if I liked maple syrup. I looked confused, and said yes... And he gave me a big jar of it from his family farm. Good mechanic. My old mechanic was almost as cool (no syrup) as he would show me how to fix minor issues myself and not charge me a dime. He would fix it, but show me how it was done. Smart man as it built goodwill and also kept me out of his hair if the problem arose again. I took all my business to him until I moved too far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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