I drive a 1995 Ford Explorer that’s doing ok, but showing it’s age. It needs a lot of maintenance now that it’s over 100 years old. I discovered I can do more repairs on my truck (and probably yours too) than what many mechanics at auto shops told me I could, thanks to sheer desire to save money and www.alldatadiy.com.

www.alldatadiy.com offers an online repair manual for just about every car on the road in exchange for a $26.95 annual fee. It’s just as good as any of those huge, old Chilton repair manuals and easier to navigate. And regardless of what mechanics tell you, you can probably fix more stuff on your auto than you think if you’re one of those timid types.

I had to replace a couple of little light bulbs on my instrument panel; I couldn’t see how much gas was in the tank at night and that’s not good. Most shops told me it would be about $300 for 3 hours labor and a few bucks for the bulb(s). I did it myself and saved a lot. It took me 4 hours, and quite a lot of crawling around under my dash. I had to take most of the dashboard apart. But I saved $300. I just had to pay about $10 for two little bulbs and that was it.

I had an interior door handle that a kid had broken off from pulling on it too hard. I can’t even guess how much that would have cost to fix at the shop; probably a lot. I had to take the door panel off but was amazed at how easy it was. It took me about 2 hours and the handle cost about $20.

I replaced a window switch. The switch cost me about $36, as I had to order it online. Since I already knew how to take the door apart, it took me about an hour.

My next project is to put new cool looking instrument gauges in. I don’t need to, I just can and why not make the thing look nicer?

Learn to do crap yourself, whether it’s an auto repair or home repair. You’ll save money and feel better about your already big ego, just like me!

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