Can I Save Money by Fixing My Vehicle at Home?
Bob says, “We can fix that wheel bearing next Saturday.” Which could potentially save you $600! Sounds good right? Who doesn’t like to save money? I know I do. The bigger question is, will you actually save money doing the repair yourself? Let’s start our story from the beginning and see how it plays out.
You drive a 2010 Ford Edge, silver in color. It is your only car, and you use it every day. It makes a humming noise that gets louder the faster you go. You brought it to your local shop, and they told you that you have a front wheel bearing that has failed and needs replacement. They quote you about $650 to get it replaced. You freak out a little bit! $650 can’t be right! You look on-line and find the wheel bearing for about $25 plus shipping. Your buddy, Bob, says he knows how to fix it, and he can help you next Saturday. Great! You’re saving bank and Bob likes to be paid with beer. The only problem is you’re supposed to work next Saturday. So, you call in a favor to a worker and he picks up your shift. Of course, that’s going to cost you another case of beer, but that’s OK because you’re still saving money. Next Saturday rolls around and you guys get started. Of course it’s cold day, about 30° F and the wind is blowing. You have to fix it in the driveway because your garage is full. You dig around in your car and finally find the jack. Then it takes a bit to find the right spot to jack the car up and get it in the air. Rats, you forgot to loosen the lug nuts first. You lower the car back down, loosen the lug nuts, and jack the car back up. Once you get the tire off, you and Bob get a look. Bob is not so confident now because it doesn’t look like the other wheel bearings that he has done in the past. Bob needs run home to get the correct tools because he didn’t have the right ones with. It takes a while to find the right socket to remove the axle nut. Then, after fighting with the axle nut for 20 minutes, you guys get it broke loose. Once the big nut is off, Bob starts whacking the wheel bearing with a big hammer. No luck, it doesn’t budge. Not even a little bit. Bob keeps taking more of the car apart trying to figure out how to get the wheel bearing out. Eventually, you guys figure out that it takes a special press tool to get the bearing out and nobody you know has one. So, Bob takes the whole spindle off the car so you can take it to a shop somewhere. Bob heads home at this point and you are stuck without a vehicle. All the local shops are closed by the time you guys finally get it apart. You bum a ride to work on Monday, hauling the big, dirty spindle assembly with you. After a bunch of calls you find someone with a press to take the old bearing out and put the new bearing in. You have to wait until Tuesday before they’re avalable. At lunch you beg for someone to give you a ride to the shop to get the old bearing removed and the new one installed. You end up leaving it at the shop. It takes two more days to get it done and costs you $100 because of how long it takes. You’re running out of favors for rides because nobody wants to haul you or your dirty car parts around. You make it through the week without a vehicle, but Bob is not able to help you this weekend. So, another week of bumming rides goes by because you can’t afford to miss anymore work. Bob shows up bright and early at 11 AM, because it’s now snowing, 15° F, and blowing again. Bob really doesn’t want to be there and you had to bribe him with more beer and $200 just to show up. 5 cold miserable hours later you get your car back together. Excited, you take it for a test drive. With a sickening feel down in your stomach, you relize that yes, the noise is better, but not gone, and now the car pulls to the drivers side if you let go of the steering wheel. You make an appointment at the shop to see what happened. They tell you your vehicle needs an alignment, because of how much of the vehicle was taken apart, and the wheel bearing you just installed is making noise!
Let’s recap. Option 1, pay the $650 you were originally quoted at the shop. It get’s done in one day and you get a 3 year parts a labor warranty on the repair. All is well and you continue on with you life. Option 2, you say no to the repair and pay the $60 inspection charge. You order your wheel bearing online for $35 shipped. Bob costs you two cases of beer at $20 each and $200 for working on your car outside when it’s miserably cold. The press job costs you another $100, your owe your co-worker a $20 case of beer for covering for you, and you cashed in all your favors bumbing rides for two weeks. $60+35+20+20+200+100+20 = $435 Now you need an alignment at $140 and the wheel bearing needs to be done again because you installed a low cost, low quality wheel bearing trying to save money.
Does this story seem far fetched to you? The sad truth is that we have seen this exact scenario more than a few times over the years. Sometimes, Bob never comes back to finish the job and the vehicle gets towed in fully disassembled. Which costs much more than if we just did the job in the beginning. In the right circumstances you can save money by completing repairs at home but is it really worth it? It costs you time and peace of mind. Your time is valuable and limited in quantity. You can’t replace it when it is gone. Having a quality and honest automotive maintenance and repair facility, like Sanderson Auto Repair, inspect and maintain your vehicle is a wise investment! Top that off with an industry leading 3 year, 36,000 mile warranty is just icing on the cake. Let the professionals take care of your vehicle so you can spend your time doing things you enjoy with people you love.
Aaron Bjorklund