How much did you save by working on your car this year?
#1
Pole Position
Thread Starter
How much did you save by working on your car this year?
I saw a couple of threads recently on what people are paying for basic services, etc, and I began to think...what did I save by doing these things myself? Now if you make $300,000 plus a year...$150 dollars an hour or so....then yeah, who cares? But let's say you're more in line with the average income, whatever is considered "average" nowadays...$100,000...$120,000...80,000? I don't know? Then it might be interesting to see what you've saved being a DIYer. For me this is what I've saved over the last year.
An oil change-- I figure a dealer will charge you $100.
Mobil 1 at Walmart and a $6 dollar Toyota filter will run you $50 total.
Five oil changes for me-- $300 in savings
Transmission fluid change-- Dealer price $200
Four quarts of WS transmission fluid was $28
One drain and fill-- $172 in savings
Spark plugs and air filters change-- I'm not sure what a dealer would charge for this...I'm going to say $500 with the filter change and air flow sensor cleaning.
Spark plugs $80
Air filters $24 for two
Air flow sensor cleaner $8
$388 in savings
Control arms-- Dealer prices vary, but $4000 seems "reasonable"
Aftermarket control arms $600
$3,400 in total savings
Wheel bearing-- I've seen dealer prices as high as $1,000 dollars for this, I'll realistically price it at $800
OE Koyo wheel bearing $$225
$575 in total savings
Coolant drain and fill-- Dealers will run specials on this to get you in the door for $150
Toyota Super long life coolant x2 $48
$102 in total savings
That's all I've got after a year and 30,000 miles of driving, for a total savings of $4,937.
Time wasted? Five hours for the control arms and wheel bearing...two hours for the oil changes...one hour for the spark plugs, air cleaners, etc...tranny service one hour...coolant one hour...
10 hours of my time, that's $488.70 an hour. Certainly worth it for myself, and it was actually kind of fun...got to "know" the car a little bit.
An oil change-- I figure a dealer will charge you $100.
Mobil 1 at Walmart and a $6 dollar Toyota filter will run you $50 total.
Five oil changes for me-- $300 in savings
Transmission fluid change-- Dealer price $200
Four quarts of WS transmission fluid was $28
One drain and fill-- $172 in savings
Spark plugs and air filters change-- I'm not sure what a dealer would charge for this...I'm going to say $500 with the filter change and air flow sensor cleaning.
Spark plugs $80
Air filters $24 for two
Air flow sensor cleaner $8
$388 in savings
Control arms-- Dealer prices vary, but $4000 seems "reasonable"
Aftermarket control arms $600
$3,400 in total savings
Wheel bearing-- I've seen dealer prices as high as $1,000 dollars for this, I'll realistically price it at $800
OE Koyo wheel bearing $$225
$575 in total savings
Coolant drain and fill-- Dealers will run specials on this to get you in the door for $150
Toyota Super long life coolant x2 $48
$102 in total savings
That's all I've got after a year and 30,000 miles of driving, for a total savings of $4,937.
Time wasted? Five hours for the control arms and wheel bearing...two hours for the oil changes...one hour for the spark plugs, air cleaners, etc...tranny service one hour...coolant one hour...
10 hours of my time, that's $488.70 an hour. Certainly worth it for myself, and it was actually kind of fun...got to "know" the car a little bit.
Last edited by Doublebase; 07-29-16 at 06:06 AM.
#2
Let's see, I spent $115 with shipping for my control arm bushings but now I spent around $525 for brake parts. I figure I'll get to a descent figure just because of the control arm cost, lol.
#3
Instructor
#4
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Let me guess, rock auto? I was set to order my control arms from them but then the shipping charges were totaled and I said, well there goes my savings. So I ended up getting everything on Amazon...free shipping. eBay also had free shipping on 90% of the stuff I looked at.
#5
Let me guess, rock auto? I was set to order my control arms from them but then the shipping charges were totaled and I said, well there goes my savings. So I ended up getting everything on Amazon...free shipping. eBay also had free shipping on 90% of the stuff I looked at.
#6
Lexus Fanatic
Let me guess, rock auto? I was set to order my control arms from them but then the shipping charges were totaled and I said, well there goes my savings. So I ended up getting everything on Amazon...free shipping. eBay also had free shipping on 90% of the stuff I looked at.
As for how much I've saved DIY'ing, its ridiculously substantial. When I replaced my water pump, I saved at least 600 dollars. When I replaced my rad (I broke it by accident...not the cars fault), I saved another 5-600 dollars. Replacing my spark plugs saved me at least 300.
The only DIY I refuse to do is the transmission fluid and the brake fluid flush. My dealer only charges 150 for the trans and 79 for the brakes.For those prices, they can have it. Just not worth the mess and time. Those services would only save me a few bucks. I did do the rear diff fluid myself because it's dirt simple and only takes 10 minutes or so to do.
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#8
Pole Position
Thread Starter
When I gathered all my parts in the parts bin on Rock Auto there were quite a few parts in there, so maybe that's why the shipping was so high on my order. I ended up buying everything on Amazon, it was free shipping...and I've used eBay quite a few times as well.
#9
Pole Position
Thread Starter
Yeah...that's why I'm always scratching my head when I hear of "Rock Auto" or similar vendors being recommended. I buy 99% of my stuff on Ebay and have done so for all my cars for the last 15 years or so. Seldom is shipping extra, and I've never been screwed with anything I've purchased.
As for how much I've saved DIY'ing, its ridiculously substantial. When I replaced my water pump, I saved at least 600 dollars. When I replaced my rad (I broke it by accident...not the cars fault), I saved another 5-600 dollars. Replacing my spark plugs saved me at least 300.
The only DIY I refuse to do is the transmission fluid and the brake fluid flush. My dealer only charges 150 for the trans and 79 for the brakes.For those prices, they can have it. Just not worth the mess and time. Those services would only save me a few bucks. I did do the rear diff fluid myself because it's dirt simple and only takes 10 minutes or so to do.
As for how much I've saved DIY'ing, its ridiculously substantial. When I replaced my water pump, I saved at least 600 dollars. When I replaced my rad (I broke it by accident...not the cars fault), I saved another 5-600 dollars. Replacing my spark plugs saved me at least 300.
The only DIY I refuse to do is the transmission fluid and the brake fluid flush. My dealer only charges 150 for the trans and 79 for the brakes.For those prices, they can have it. Just not worth the mess and time. Those services would only save me a few bucks. I did do the rear diff fluid myself because it's dirt simple and only takes 10 minutes or so to do.
I have a few accounts locally, but it's hard to beat the online stuff.
Last edited by Doublebase; 08-02-16 at 01:08 PM.
#11
Lexus Fanatic
Ahhh yes...and Alaska. Often same for Canada, but fortunately for me, I can cross the border in a matter of 15 minutes or so and pick up my stuff at a shipper receiver in Sumas WA and they only charge me 3 bucks to do so.
#12
Lexus Champion
iTrader: (1)
That's great you can do that. Depending on the currency exchange you can choose where and how much to save too. Does Canada have something like an Amazon? I like them because even though I'm in Hawaii they've managed to secure a pretty damn good rate where they can use 2 day UPS just to send me a $20 box of paper towels! I thought that was crazy. And this month's subscriptions came in not 1 but 3 boxes!
#13
Lexus Fanatic
That's great you can do that. Depending on the currency exchange you can choose where and how much to save too. Does Canada have something like an Amazon? I like them because even though I'm in Hawaii they've managed to secure a pretty damn good rate where they can use 2 day UPS just to send me a $20 box of paper towels! I thought that was crazy. And this month's subscriptions came in not 1 but 3 boxes!
#14
Lexus Test Driver
Hmm...let me see..I have:
-Repaired the notorious leaky water pump, fluid flush, lower rad hose and belt
-Brakes: Rotors and pads all around
-Rear Diff fluid change
-Low-Beam swap out
I should stop there, this car has been an nightmare to own!
-Repaired the notorious leaky water pump, fluid flush, lower rad hose and belt
-Brakes: Rotors and pads all around
-Rear Diff fluid change
-Low-Beam swap out
I should stop there, this car has been an nightmare to own!
#15
Lexus Fanatic
WHHHAAAT!!????/ No replacement of the battery in your remote!!?? Clearly you've had better reliability than the rest of us......