I have never been one to partake in home automotive repair. The engines seem complicated to me and a bit scary to be truthful, there are so many moving parts that fingers may get caught up in. My brother in law however, is a mechanic. He can listen to the engine of a car and know immediately what may be wrong with it, no need for this man to take a look at small engine repair manuals,nor large engines ones either. Although I’ve never seen him work on a bike, so motorcycle manuals may come in handy for him.
He has saved me a large amount of money over my years of owning a Chevy pick-up with more than two hundred thousand miles on the odometer, and while I do not think I’ll ever master this particular skill, I enjoy watching him work on the engine, and picking up little bits of information has it goes. He has showed me recently how to change the my own oil.
While it is not pleasant to be under the body of a car draining out the old oil, it does serve to save money. It’s all about do it yourself auto repair these days, and aside from saving money, when it is necessary to have a professional work on your car, you will be a bit more educated and less likely to be taken advantage of by crooked mechanic’s shops.
There are great deals out their to be found at places like Jiffy Lube, and sometimes it’s worth it just to pay someone else to take care of that dirty and greasy business, but there is something oddly satisfying about knowing that I can change my own oil. And knowing for certain that I myself added quality oil and filters, just gives me a sense of well being. It is the same feeling I got the first time I changed my own tire. Let’s face it, to take off the lug nuts is no small feet for a girl with arms the size of toothpicks.