Doing the right thing - money vs. mechanic

So I have a little conundrum. It's really not that big of a deal in the long run, but it's giving me fits for some reason. Long story short, my clutch went out in my MR2 and I can't seem to decide whether or not to pay my mechanic to fix it for me.

For the first time in years, I was willing to have someone else work on the car. I think the throw out bearing disintegrated on the way home from work and I was able to nurse it to my favorite shop. Problem is, it's a lot more expensive than I thought (as always) and I am physically able to do it myself, not to mention I have a friend who is willing to help. Basically, I'm having serious pains parting with $700 in labor ($1100 total) for a car that's basically worth 2 grand, on an engine I'm not sure I want to keep in the next few years. On top of that, I have a loaner car for a couple of weeks. Seems like an easy decision, right?

Well, the owner of the shop has been pretty good to me and my wife. I've known him for years, he gives me plenty of advice knowing that I'll probably be a cheapskate and fix it myself, and has "fixed" simple things essentially for free multiple times. I kinda feel like I should throw him a bone every now and then, but this is one big-ass bone (for me at least).

I think I've answered my own question, but I've been wrong before. What say you GRM?

Clutches are one of those things that I don't mind shelling out to have my local trusted shop do. They do it right, and I don't have to be stuck underneath my car all weekend cursing my cheapness. I'd let him do it and spend your newly found free time wisely, perhaps on another project.

The time and money quandary.
It is easier to make more money (or store up money) but it is very hard in a busy schedule to make more time (or store up more time)

[whiney voice]yeeeeah, but if I do it myself I can afford a nice shiny new lightweight flywheel[/whiney voice]

I hear ya though - leaning towards just paying the man.

What makes this somewhat easier is that the wifey WANTS me to pay someone else and has no problem shelling out the money. Whattya think that says about her opinion of my mechanical ability? Maybe it's all the cursing she hears from the garage.

It's kind of a personal thing. I've started taking things to a mechanic, sometimes. When I had the Celica in to get it's LSD, I paid them to do the oil pan gasket... for the third time. Somehow that just eluded me. It cost too much, but I didn't think twice about it. And I'll be damned if it doesn't leak now.

Matt B wrote: What makes this somewhat easier is that the wifey WANTS me to pay someone else and has no problem shelling out the money.

My wife suggests I take it to a mechanic from time to time. It's more that she doesn't want me MIA for a couple of days leaving her to do everything around the house and with the kids.

I have done both. Sometimes both ways make me unhappy. The grass is always greener. We cannot judge the rustiness of the car, the time you actually have your skill, your toolset. Either way, the difference is pretty small in the grand scheme of things. Pick one and chalk it up to learning.

I have brought my car in twice, outside of A/C charging and tires. Both times have worked out OK, but both times I diagnosed the issue and left a note on the steering wheel explaining to the actual mechanic what I wanted fixed, explaining that they are to call me if there are any concerns, etc...

One time was a warranty claim, the other was a ECU flash.

I'm pissed at myself regardless of which one I choose. If I trust it with a shop, 10 times out of 9, I say "I could've berkeleyed that up myself!" If I do it myself, it takes forever, I spit and cuss, and maybe learn by berkeleying up, but feel good that I figured it out and fixed it myself.

I guess I am blessed, maybe it really is a curse, that I can fix anything outside of mounting tires, coil-on struts, and vacuuming/recovering AC in my driveway.

I am no help at all...

I've also started taking things to a shop now that I've turned 41, make a living wage and have two kids.

Sometimes paying somebody so I can go fishing or run around like an idiot with my kids is worth the $500 I'd have saved, because some memories are priceless. The weekends are only for working if you have to work.

I've done both. To me it depends on if I have transportation while the vehicle is down. That way I can deal with the other problems that come up and take my time.

If it's the wife's DD it usually goes to the shop because it needs to be done on a schedule. If it's anything else, I do it when I get around to it. Sometimes that is the next weekend, sometimes the next month. That's the good thing about extra cars.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: My wife suggests I take it to a mechanic from time to time. It's more that she doesn't want me MIA for a couple of days leaving her to do everything around the house and with the kids.

Joking aside, this is a little closer to the truth. We might not have kids, but there's plenty on the schedule if you know what I mean.

poopshovel wrote: I'm pissed at myself regardless of which one I choose. If I trust it with a shop, 10 times out of 9, I say "I could've berkeleyed that up myself!" If I do it myself, it takes forever, I spit and cuss, and maybe learn by berkeleying up, but feel good that I figured it out and fixed it myself.

Good lord that sounds familiar. Couldn't have put it better myself.

Ranger50 - thanks a lot your rat bastard

As far as extra cars - that's one of the things that is on top of the list. Over the years I've become a little tired of stressing out over fixing my daily over the course of a single weekend. Rusty fasteners and age-rotten rubber have conspired against my overly ambitious plans for too long. I happen to have a family loaner for the moment, but if I'm honest with myself it's ancillary to the main issue.

Again, thanks for the responses. Sometimes it helps to know there's a little commiseration out there. Thankfully, I'm gainfully employed and can afford the price to play for once. Between that, the happiness of SWMBO, and providing business to a friend it seems like an easier decision. It just took me a day to get there.

It's a simple opportunity cost-benefit analysis. What are you gaining by doing it yourself? What are you losing by doing it yourself? How much is your time worth?

I love wrenching on my cars -- but I always run an analysis to figure out what would have ended up paying myself per hour. For example, if it is a $300 labour charge for a six hour job, but it takes me 12 to 18 hours to do it because I am an amateur and I don't have all the tools, has my time really been worth 16 to 25 dollars per hour? And what has to be put off to do it?

Clutch is one of the few jobs I let a pro handle.

Unless the engine/trans is already out of the car.

Cost-benefit analysis here:

No money = No shop repairs
No shop repairs = Doing it myself
Doing it myself = Experience
Experience = Dealership job
Dealership job = No money

Damn it is a vicious cycle....

I'm discovering all kinds of joint & back problems as I age (50 in April), and its getting to the point where working on something major just hurts so damn bad that I'm starting to take it to the shop for the bigger stuff. And if the guy's been good to you over the years, it wouldn't hurt to throw him a bone.

I'm in my 60's now and don't have/probably, never have had the wrenching skills of most that post on here ( and no garage .... outside in the gravel ) ... if I really think I can do it myself ( figure it out and not berkeley it up ) then I'll usually do it at home

if it's something I've never done and I'm not really sure how to go about it I take it somewhere .. right now there's a place in my little town that, if I pay him as though he's doing the job, he'll let we "work" alongside him ... therefore learning so maybe I can do it myself next time

Timely thread as I have been wrenching on and off all day on my M3 trying to get the new suspension swapped in and the seats and harnesses installed. I've hit frustration point on the seat/harness install - I've got all the trick special brackets that are supposed to avoid drilling for anchor bolts but there's one that just isn't going to give the right harness angles so I'll have to drill anyway, meaning pulling the underbody bracing and heat shielding to do it. I'm definitely losing money on a simple cost vs what I could make working analysis but I usually enjoy doing the work so I'll suck it up and get it done.

If it were the daily it'd be in the shop.

Like the O.P., I recently had to make the decision on whether to put (amazingly enough, the same) $1,100 into a car that once fixed would probably only be worth $1,500-$1,800. And, also like the O.P. I had taken my car to a garage where the folks running it had saved my a$$ a few times as far as catching something that needed to be fixed before it became catastropic(sp?) or just plain killed the car. They have also steered me to other folks that provide services, and at decent prices, that they themselves don't/didn't offer...like getting the exhaust system on my car welded back together.

I "threw them a BIG bone", tho after the initial good feelings wore off I started to think of where that money could have spent on a newer car. In my case, I have the time, but not always the expertise to do some of the wrenching on my car.

My Prelude's in the shop right now for a clutch-job a job I can't handle. The wrench is a great guy who is a full-time fireman that runs a damn good shop as a side-business.

He also confirmed something I suspected and got the go ahead to fix that, too. He's an ex dealer tech and former Honda racer to make it all the better. As of now, he's making me seriously thinking of having him tackle some Civic-issues I don't want to handle.

When you trust a wrench's ability more than yours and he provides a fair price, too, sometimes you just gotta make the better choice.

Depends on the job . . . The V is going to the shop for the clutch/flywheel job. Stuff like shocks, motor/trans/diff mounts will be done in the driveway/garage.

Yeah, this is one of those jobs I don't look forward to doing. I've done the entire suspension, motor mounts, all the hydraulics, brakes, timing belt, water pump, plus a dozen smaller projects in my 10ft wide carport. However, dropping the entire engine or even just the tranny makes me feel tired just thinking about it. When it isn't my daily and I don't have to stress out on the schedule I'll probably see it differently. One day over the rainbow I'll have a garage with three walls, a door, room for more than one car, and an engine stand dammit.

As far as cost vs. benefit - I don't bring home $75/hr, but I earn enough that the time it takes me I'll probably break about even. That is to say, it'll probably eat a whole weekend. I'm new-ish at work, so it probably wouldn't hurt for me to put some extra hours in there, not to mention my side business.

I kind of am stuck. I have no money to spare being unemployed and it being very very hard to find a job. Im forced to do the repairs myslef if its free stuff or I happen to have stuff I can use to fix whatevers wrong on hand. Otherwise it waits or the car gets sold. Had to sell my 93 240SX DD when the clutch went out. Had no where to do the job and no money anyway so sold it. I do love to work on them though, dont get me wrong, but having no money to spend sucks when it costs so much to play with them, let alone keep the things running.