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SOME PEOPLE CAN LOOK at a blank page and imagine a new creation—perhaps a new business or a new house. I can’t.
What I seem to be pretty good at is taking something that’s broken and coming up with creative solutions for fixing it. It’s like a game or a puzzle. The goal: Bring this broken object back to life as cheaply as possible.
When, say, a washing machine or a dishwasher breaks, the repair person will look up the manufacturer and order the necessary replacement part. The repair person will install the part, and charge you for labor, plus a marked-up price for the part. Most folks are accustomed to this, and view the expense as the cost of doing business. I see it differently.
The manufacturer’s parts are designed to fit the original product, but that fit comes at a premium price. Suppose a part breaks on your Ford SUV or pickup truck. Yes, you could go to a Ford dealership. But what most people don’t understand is the dealership makes its largest profit not on the sale of a vehicle, but from servicing it. When something needs repairing, the dealership only installs original equipment manufacturer (OEM) parts and it charges high hourly labor rates.
Folks who go this route soon start complaining about how expensive it is to keep their vehicle running, so they elect to buy a new one. That means not only a new auto loan, but also an incentive to get the new vehicle serviced at the dealership, so they don’t void the warranty. It’s a nice racket for the dealer.
Instead of OEM parts, there are aftermarket parts sold at places like Advance Auto Parts, AutoZone, NAPA and O’Reilly. Typically, they’re much cheaper than OEM parts and, in most cases, the aftermarket part will fit your vehicle, though not always, so some adjustments may be necessary.
What if replacement parts are no longer sold? That’s where creativity comes in. You have to see what the part looks like and go hunting for an alternative. That’s why I find myself wandering the aisles of hardware and auto parts stores, looking at the items displayed and trying to match them with what I need. It’s time consuming, but rewarding when it works out.
Knowing how my brain works, my wife will throw down a challenge, handing me something and saying, “Fix it.” That’s what I did with an old seed spreader that she handed me.
It’s also the way I rebuilt my 1983 Honda FT500 Ascot motorcycle. The bike had sat in the garage for 34 years because my wife hates motorcycles and wouldn’t let me ride it. Upon retirement, I promised to get it running again and then sell it, so she gave me the green light to begin the restoration.
The motorcycle was only manufactured for two years. As you’d expect with “planned obsolescence,” replacement parts are no longer sold by Honda, which would obviously prefer that folks bought a new motorcycle instead.
I discovered the brakes on the Ascot had seized up, so I had to break them loose. This meant fixing the two brake calipers and two master cylinders. I purchased replacement components for each, but couldn’t properly fix one of the master cylinders. After much trial and error, I found a satisfactory alternative, but I then needed to build a replacement brake line, which I did.
I sold the motorcycle to a guy living in New Hampshire who used to own the exact same bike, but had sold it and regretted the decision ever since. This meant one less thing in my garage, plus I felt good that the motorcycle gets to live another day with someone who’ll enjoy it.
My projects don’t always end so well. Many times, I start to fix something but end up buying a new one instead. Still, I get satisfaction from trying.
I agree Dave, I came from a little ol farm in Montana and watched Dad make it all work.
I just today replaced the air conditioner pump belt tensioner on my ‘not from this millennium’ car. I got some skinned hands, but got it done.
Saving things from the junk heap is quite rewarding!
You’re far ahead if you can do your own vehicle maintenance. Because labor is the biggest expense, you can buy the best parts and still come out ahead and save hundred if not thousand’s of dollars in the process. Being retired gives me the time to do an extra good job.
I replaced both head gaskets on my 96 Chevy Lumina van last year. I burned up all of Aug and half of Sept but now my engine now has more power, runs smooth and quiet and doesn’t leak oil and coolant all over the place anymore. I have all the GM shop manuals for my van and found and bought the factory recommended digital angle head bolt torque gage on ebay. Having a shop do the work would have cost thousands. If you just can’t find a part then your only recourse is a salvage yard.
There’s a nation wide salvage part system you can search for parts at car-part.com. You can compare prices and quality. Then checkout online reviews for the yard off the site and if good, give the yard a call and they’ll ship the part right to your door.
This brought back memories as I tend to be a fix it guy. Usually, it’s worked out. But many years ago my 1973 Celica’s oil sensing plug stopped working. Bought a replacement for about $15. Unfortunately when I attempted to remove it, it broke off. Cost me a pretty penny to have the car towed to the garage and drilled out.
Your article also reminded me of a home repair radio ad I heard years ago: “We repair what your husband fixed”.
Buyer beware with non-OEM auto parts, particularly for critical engine repair and other major components. A lot of junk out there.
I’m normally a fix-it kind of guy, but we recently had a cylinder go bad on my 2002 Honda Accord and I got a couple recommendations to junk the car because it would probably cost at least $3000 to fix it.
I sold it to a guy down the street and her just sent me a video of the car running again. He spent $1500 plus a few days of work and is back in business.
I probably should have done that myself since replacing the car will cost much more than that.
Don’t forget junk yards. When I had a Starlet, which no one likely remembers because they only made them for one year, parts were impossible to find. We had to raid junk yards for parts. By the way, never buy a model that is new and may be discontinued after one year.
When I started making good money, it was a better use of my time to pay someone else to service my car than to do it myself. Then I could spend my time making good money.
David: As I read your article I was reminded, once again, that God gives all of us different gifts. NONE of my gifts have ever involved the use of hand tools. Smile.
On the other hand, I have the gift of being able to speak boldly, in front of people, which according to some research is a fear of many people that is feared even more greatly than death. For me, it is pure enjoyment.
I have also been blessed with the ability to learn and understand complicated financial concepts and to be able to translate them in a manner that inspired students to become better financial advisors. Over 15 years as an academic, I helped train 1000’s of financial advisors and I like to think those advisors are among the best available today.
My admiration for people who have your skills has no bounds, just as is my admiration for people who excel in higher math. God decided that he needed me to help people in ways where those skills wouldn’t be needed, and I have always bowed to His wisdom.
I remember years ago I was hiring a gardener to take care of our yard. My husband (a lawyer) had been attempting to do it himself. The guy looked around our yard and said, politely, “Your husband—I think he’s good with his mind, yes?” I hired him and he did a good job for us until we sold that house and moved!
That wonderful gardener understands people very well. He would be great to do business with.
David, I think you have, in some part, the mind of an engineer. There is joy in figuring out how things work, and fixing things is the cherry on top. I’m pretty sure my interest in personal finance and taxes comes from the same genes. Yesterday I found out that old electrical service in my 1930s era garage was bypassed and a new service installed. An outlet and light on the back wall look operational, but are dead. I was counting on that outlet for the new workbench I put in. So now I have an electrical project. The big issue is my garage is one of 4 in a block. I don’t have a master shutoff – it must be one of my neighbor’s garages. So I now have another puzzle to solve. I know some electricians work “live”, but that’s where I draw the line.
Knowing how my brain works and how my DIY genes are completely lacking, my wife will say “don’t touch it,” for which I am grateful.
I have our two cars serviced at the dealers. Despite the fact they are more expensive, it is convenient, I tend to trust them more than a local garage, I can service when I want it most of the time, I can get a loaner if needed and they keep a detailed record of all service and repairs which has come in handy when traveling.
I admire people who can do repairs and DIY, but I find it beyond control frustrating. We recently bought a file cabinet via Amazon. Needless to say it came in pieces. The understanding before I hit the Buy Now button was our son would put it together – oh happy day.