Why Fixing Your Car Yourself Costs You Money

We all know how auto repair is not cheap. That's why it's very tempting to fix your car yourself. There are YouTube videos and forums all over the Internet claiming to give you "correct" information on how to fix your car all by yourself. Even if you have the correct information, you probably don't have the expensive, special tools that a lot of cars require to fix it correctly.

Fixing your car yourself is a lot like playing a slot machine. If you're lucky you'll get three cherries and save a ton of money. But, usually what happens is you get three lemons and that slot machine reaches out and grabs your wallet for much more than you would've paid a qualified mechanic to fix your car in the first place. It's a lot easier knowing what to do, then what not to do. That's why we won't always be able to help you if you've completed a job and still have problems. We don't know what you've done and what you forgot to do. We also don't know what parts you forgot to include or bolts you forgot to tighten.

Fixing your car yourself is like playing a slot machine.

We had a potential customer call this week with a 2006 Mazda 3 who had changed his own timing chain. He was now getting multiple engine codes coming from his ECM. Because of the complex nature of this engine AND the special tools required AND one time use parts that must be replaced when doing this repair, we told this customer we could not help him. Unfortunately, now this person is in quite a pickle because (as he admitted to us) not even the dealer will work on this vehicle.

2006 Mazda 3

If you do decide to fix your own vehicle, please make sure you are able to successfully complete it. Changing your own battery or a fan belt is one thing, but attempting a major repair without the special tools or more importantly the knowledge to do it can costs you way more than you could be saving.

Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future. Proverbs 19:20

Happy Friday!

Better Mileage Through Synthetics

I have wanted to post about this for a while but haven't gotten around to doing so. As you I am a big believer in using synthetic fluids in vehicles. One of the benefits that I had mentioned was improved gas mileage. As evidence I offer up my 96 Jeep Cherokee with 370,XXX miles on it. 

When I acquired the vehicle last summer it has standard fluids in it. The dealership I purchased it from had changed the oil but had put in non synthetic oil. I had done some tune up work on it like changing out plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, rotor, air filter, coolant, and fuel filter but hand't gotten around to changing out any of the fluids before going pheasant hunting. When I left I topped off the tank and filled it up again after going 186 miles and put in 9.3 gallons. On the way back I put 185 miles on it and put in again 9.3 gallons. Shortly there after I manged to get around to changing the gear oil in the transmission and differentials as well as fluid in the transfer case. The engine oil is still the non synthetic fill from the dealership. This time when going deer hunting in colder weather I drove 187 and 183 miles between fill-ups and this time only put in 8.3 gallons each time. 

Those 2 gallons of gas alone come close to covering the difference in the cost between standard and synthetic fluids that I put in. With the other driving that has been done the cost of those fluids have now been easily recouped. Granted this is just anecdotal evidence but does help to support the claim of better mileage by using synthetic fluids.

When it is time to change the engine oil I should see more of an increase in mileage but I don't know how much.  Now before I change the engine oil to synthetic I will be changing the oil pan gasket and valve cover gasket as they are old and are a bit on the leaky side so that should eliminate any of the associated problems people claim are caused by synthetics.

Minimize the cost per mile driven

With fuel prices rising again, oil is back near $100 a barrel, you will probably want to minimize your cost of driving. Some helpful hints are common ones, but others are some lesser know things. One thing I have discovered in my years of working with cars and being around the car culture is that there are similarities between vehicles that get really good mileage and high performance vehicles.


1. Proper tire pressure
Keep your tires properly inflated. This will help decrease the rolling resistance (friction between your tires and the road) increasing fuel mileage. The higher tire pressure you have the lower rolling resistance between them and the road. While it may sound good to just crank the pressure way up this isn't a good thing either as it will affect the ride quality, tire wear, and safety.


2. Clean your car out
Not only will your friends want to ride in your car you can cut your fuel consumption. Granted in most cases this won't amount to much if any but if you carry around a bunch of junk (10's to hundreds of pounds) there might be a noticeable difference.


3. Keep your vehicle tuned
By keeping your vehicle properly maintained you can keep it running as efficiently as possible. See my previous posting on a vehicle maintenance schedule. Not only will this schedule keep your car running for a long time it will keep it running optimally.


4. Fuel saving tires
Fuel saving tires can help reduce your fuel consumption as they offer lower rolling resistance between your tires and the road.


5. Decrease drag
Remove external accessories for your vehicle. Just as cleaning out the junk can increase fuel economy so can removing unneeded exterior accessories. Typically this will be things like roof racks, bike racks, hitch accessories. Not only are you decreasing the weight of your vehicle, but you are decreasing the amount of drag caused by the wind hitting these things.


6. Use the correct gas
People seem to think that using premium gas will increase their fuel economy, the truth is if your vehicle is running correctly it won't. The truth is your vehicle was designed to run on gasoline with a specific octane (typically 87, 89, or 91). Granted using a higher octane won't hurt your car, but it does cost more money. By running a lower octane fuel in your car than recommended in you will waste fuel. This is because modern cars can compensate for too low of an octane by dumping more fuel in. This will prevent preignition, but will cause your car to run rich and will shorten the life of O2 sensors and catalytic converters. The truth is gasoline regardless of octane contains the same amount of energy.


7. Use synthetic fluids
Synthetic fluids can help increase your fuel economy. Granted they are more expensive, but they last longer. I cover synthetic oils in detail in this post. In my daily driver I run synthetic oil in the engine, synthetic transmission fluid in the transmission, and synthetic gear oil in the read differential. Most of the benefits of synthetic fluids come from the superior lubrication, decreased friction, and better flow, it takes less energy to move them around.


8. Use lighter oil
You can get better fuel economy by using a lighter oil. In my daily driver I run 0w30 in the cold Minnesota winter and then work up to 10w40 in the summer using either 5w30 or 10w30 in the spring and fall depending on temperature. As temperatures warm you shooed be using heavier oils to protect your engine, but don't use a heavier oil than necessary.


9. Gas coupons
Not all states allow or have gas coupons but I know here in Minnesota several gas station chains have gas coupons. Both Kwik Trip and Holiday station stores have gas coupons in the St. Paul paper for up to 7 cents off a gallon. The Kwik Trip coupons are in the St. Paul paper on the first Wednesday of the month, and the holiday coupons are in the St. Paul paper on the last Wednesday of the month. Additionally you can sometimes find gas coupons online for gas stations like Holiday Station stores have.


10. If your car takes 89 octane some stations sell it at the price of 87 octane
If you are unlucky like me to have a car that takes the mid grade (89 octane) you are kind of stuck paying a higher price per gallon for gas unless you know what gas stations sell the mid grade (89 octane) at the same price as regular (87 octane). This can save between 7 and 12 cents a gallon. I know that the Kwik Trip stores near me do this as do a number of the Holiday gas stations.


11. Use gas that doesn't have ethanol in it
In Minnesota this is basically impossible, yes you can buy non-oxy fuel but it is few and far between, but I believe that some states still sell gas without ethanol. If you are in a state that has a 10% ethanol mandate you loose about 3-4% of your mileage because of the lower energy content of ethanol.


12. Leave some distance between you and the one in front of you
Now it is theoretically possible to get better mileage by following closely behind another one. This is because of decreased drag, but is also dangerous and rarely produces good results. The reason for this is that you are varying your speed more than you normally would. By leaving more space between you and the vehicle in front of you 12. Leave some distance between you and the one in front of you you may not have to overcome more wind resistance, but you will be able to drive at a more constant speed. Also in rush hour traffic you can gradually slow down and speed up when doing this. Quick starts and stops really wreck mileage.


For the most part I practice what I preach and doing these things can lead to significant gains in mileage. My daily driver is an 1997 BMW 540i with a 5 speed automatic transmission, sport package, and has 215,XXX miles on it. This vehicle was claimed by the government to get 18 MPG combined and qualified as a cash for clunkers vehicle, I have never gotten that poor of gas mileage. My rolling average over the last 114,000 miles or so (I got the vehicle with 101,000 miles on it) has been 22.7 MPG according to the on board computer. This is more or less what I see when I fill up but is definitely in the correct range. I drive 32 miles one way (64 round trip) to work each day in rush hour traffic plus all the other little BS trips I make in a week. The best mileage I have ever gotten has been on long trips that are mostly open road. Typically on trips these I get in the 27 to 29 MPG range and have gotten that several times, most recently was last weekend going up to the iron range and back averaging 28.2 MPG round trip on a trip that was just a little over 400 miles. I could probably get better mileage but I do like to drive in a rather um "spirited" fashion especially on freeway entrance and exit ramps.