A recent survey was made of Auto Repair shops asking what jobs are most likely for you to perform.
The list is pretty interesting and it left out general maintenance such as having your oil changed and looked more at billable hours and jobs for average cars.
Here is the list below and it may be surprising.
Top Ten Auto Repair Jobs
1. Brake Pads Replacement
2. Alternator Replacement
3. Water Pump Replacement
4. Timing Belt Replacement
5. Spark Plugs Replacement
6. Fuel Pump Replacement
7. Brake Rotor Replacement
8. Radiator Replacement
9. Engine Mount Replacement
10. Catalytic Converter Replacement
As you can see Catalytic Converters are the least likely to need servicing however one surprise is #2 Alternator Replacement. Honestly Alternators are pretty substantial and really should not need replacing three times as often as a brake rotor which came in at #7.
This is one reason you really need to understand your vehicle today and what parts will commonly need replacing due to wear and what parts should last the life of your car or maybe only need replacing once in 10 years.
One reason an Alternator might be higher on the list than Spark Plugs could be because when we have electrical problems we may need a professional where a spark plug and wire replacement is something many people can do on their own.
The Water Pump and Timing Belt came in at the same level and they should because whenever you replace one you should replace the other and most cars need a Timing Belt once every 100,000 miles so expect to fork out between $500 and $1,000 for this service at least once in the time you own your car. This is a job that many people can do themselves but it does require the correct tools and often Air Tools are best to remove the Crank Bolt so it is a reasonable thing to expect to have to bring it in for service. Look for Discounts if you can.
Radiators are also another item that should never go bad on your vehicle unless you get in an accident. If your Radiator is leaking you can often get it repaired at a specialist however in this situation when you are stuck on the road you might find yourself with no choice but to go for the repair and hope the shop screwing you does a good enough job to get you home…
Catalytic Converters normally only need one replacement in the life of the car . Normally other items such as the O2 Sensor will go first and there are a number of things that can throw a false error pointing to the converter. On the other hand its nice to see its last in the group.
I suggest that all car owners review this list and price out the costs of doing the work yourself including buying any special tools or manuals you might need and the price a Dealer and a Local Garage might charge.
Keep those prices in mind while you are out on the road and also take the time to understand when a Mechanic says something is bad you also understand it is bad.
The best situation for not getting screwed by bad mechanics is by understanding what is wrong with your car before you bring it in and then asking them to either inspect that item or the car in general.. and then when they come back with a recommendation and its not even close to what you thought the problem was be very skeptical. Pay for the evaluation and find another mechanic if you think they are trying to stick you with a job costing $1,000 that should only require $100 repairs.