MyE28.com

How much $$$ have you saved by doing your own work, repairs?

It's great being able to save money, have fun, feel like blowing up your car when something doesn't fit or you can't quite reach it or you put it back together wrong and have to take it apart again! Did I mention have fun!
And just going to sleep with the satisfaction of having done it yourself and waking up the next morning barely able to move. !@#$

This is just a guess but at an conservative hourly rate of $75 I would say I have saved $5,000 on labor and another $2 - $3,000 in parts mark up. Plus the fact that I get some alone time away from the wife and kids = PRICELESS!
:p

In your hourly rate savings of $5000 is that based on the # of hours it took you or the # of hours it would have taken the dealer

!@#$ !@#$ !@#$

~0

Rich

Ha, I was debating saying that it takes me probably twice as long to do some things that it would a competent mechanic. So I kind of put that figure in the middle.

You know that a TIC comment that I just couldn't resist. How's the M535i coming?




[Edit by Rich in Savannah on [TIME]1108692971[/TIME]]

Coming along good. I just R&R'd the clutch master and slave last night. Now I don't have to pull up the clutch pedal with my foot or put it in neutral everytime I stop.

Id guestamate around $1500-1800 saved doing my own work and parts so far- over about 3 months.
Far greater savings in not having some a$$hole mess things up for you. It is far better to mess things up on your own.
Unless you have lucked out or done work to find a good and honest mechanic, those labor costs can skyrocket fast, due to shystyness or incompetence.

Plus I think it really does make you a better problem solver, orginizer, thinker, and overall cooler.

So far, $17, all I've odne is an oil cahnge so far. But, I'm about to re-wire my headlights, and see why my heater is acting up,a dn a few otehr minor things. Then, once I've graduated school this summer, and I know how my financial situation will be once student loan payments start comming in, it's on!!! Can I say 3.5L turbo?

millions.....no, wait, billions...... If I took the time to figure out even close to what I have saved, I would have to sell it to pay the bills, that would pile up while figuring it out, it WOULD take that long

While I'm a pretty slow wrench, using "book time" I still figure that I've saved at least $7500 in labor/parts markup on the car. And that's conservative.

The few jobs I've had done at a shop out of necessity (time, tow, etc), the parts cost me 50% more than I can get through Steve, and the labor costs as much as or more than the parts. So basically, doing the work yourself costs about 1/3 as much as doing it at a shop.

I definitely couldn't afford to run this thing if I were at the mercy of a shop for every repair.

-tammer

Spent about $4k, including $2k on transmission (during the trek to 5er fest 2002),
wheels, ground effects etc. Considering i got the car for $10k, driven it 110k miles, i'd say
it's still been a bargain.

John
'88 535is / 158k