06-21-2011, 01:20 PM
I feel I'm very mechanically-minded. With everything else, I fix/repair/maintain everything I possibly can myself. I love learning new things and about the way things work and are put together. If something breaks, I see it as a challenge. Even if I can't fix it, I've learned something in the process.
That said, I have never had any inclination to change my own oil. Sure, I could easily figure it out and do it myself. My concern is twofold. First, no matter how smart I think I am, I'm still a novice. Other than my house (which is much more resilient to botched repairs), my car is the most expensive thing I own. A small mistake could cause huge problems...and it would be my fault. Second, being able to change my own oil does not make me an expert in the innerworkings of the rest of my vehicle. My mechanic inspects any number of other things that I could easily miss or just not know anything about and cause much more expensine repairs down the road.
I say pay a good independent mechanic to do what they're trained to do. The difference in price is well worth it in quality of work and my own peace of mind. Plus, if he screws something up, it's (ideally) on him to make it right (yes, I know that's a whole other can of worms, but if it's my fault, I've got absolutely nuthin').
Keeping all that in mind, Jiffy Lube-type places are the worst of both worlds. A good friend of mine even owns the local JL franchise. I've never asked, but I don't think he eats his own dog food either.
That said, I have never had any inclination to change my own oil. Sure, I could easily figure it out and do it myself. My concern is twofold. First, no matter how smart I think I am, I'm still a novice. Other than my house (which is much more resilient to botched repairs), my car is the most expensive thing I own. A small mistake could cause huge problems...and it would be my fault. Second, being able to change my own oil does not make me an expert in the innerworkings of the rest of my vehicle. My mechanic inspects any number of other things that I could easily miss or just not know anything about and cause much more expensine repairs down the road.
I say pay a good independent mechanic to do what they're trained to do. The difference in price is well worth it in quality of work and my own peace of mind. Plus, if he screws something up, it's (ideally) on him to make it right (yes, I know that's a whole other can of worms, but if it's my fault, I've got absolutely nuthin').
Keeping all that in mind, Jiffy Lube-type places are the worst of both worlds. A good friend of mine even owns the local JL franchise. I've never asked, but I don't think he eats his own dog food either.