For many avid car owners, their vehicles will eventually turn into a passion project. This is because enthusiasts will want to learn everything about their car. They want to know how to replace certain parts, they might invest time into replacing components with aftermarket options, or they might even tune their vehicle so it runs according to their preferences.
There are lots of reasons to turn your car into a passion project, and Stu Simonsen gives you some ideas here, but it can reach a point where you might as well just send it to a mechanic instead of doing it yourself. So how do you know if it’s worth investing time or just sending it to a professional?
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Repairing your own vehicle isn’t as difficult as you might think
There are countless car maintenance and repair tasks that you can carry out yourself without needing a mechanic or professional. However, these are still going to take a bit of time to learn and you’ll need to practice on your own vehicle.
Not everyone likes the prospect of experimenting on their own car, but if you’re confident in your ability, then it’s usually not an issue and allows you to step out of your comfort zone. Whatever the case is, you shouldn’t just assume that repairing your vehicle is impossible unless you have a degree. It’s definitely something you can learn at your own pace assuming you’re willing to invest the time.
However, buying spare parts and tools can be expensive
Sadly, buying the parts and tools can easily add up. Sure, they’re going to be cheaper than whatever your mechanic quotes (most of the time) but they’re still going to be expensive regardless. Whether it’s Duramax head studs or wheels from a specific brand, you can expect to pay a pretty penny for vehicle spares.
For tools, price is usually an indication of quality. As such, investing in a quality set of tools is usually in your best interests.
Luckily, it can get cheaper over time
Thankfully, tools and parts are a long-term investment that will eventually pay off. Instead of having to replace a cheap set of tools every few years, you can just get a great set and keep it virtually forever.
Repairing your car starts out expensive because there’s an initial investment, but as you start working on projects and fixing things, you’ll get faster and you’ll be able to do it with fewer mistakes.
And you can restore a vehicle that you really love
One of the advantages of turning a car into a passion project is being able to do things like repair an older BMW that you pulled from a junkyard. If you absolutely love cars, then learning how to repair things is a fantastic introduction to restoring vehicles.
Of course, this takes a lot of time, money, and specialized tools to take a project from scrap to a working vehicle. However, if you even have the slightest amount of interest in restoring vehicles, then this is a great point to get started.