| I constantly hear people grumbling about how their | | | | posted. Most people on the forums are very helpful |
| check engine light just will not leave them alone. Every | | | | and will respond with the info your looking for. |
| time it pops on another 80-100 dollars pops out of their | | | | Make sure you have all your tools and go to work. If |
| wallet to pay a garage or dealership to diagnose and | | | | you don't have all the necessary tools I would |
| find the new never ending problem with their car. Then | | | | recommend buying them. They will be a one time |
| on top of that the fees for labor and parts. | | | | purchase and you will always have them for future |
| My first car was a used Jetta 1.8T. Oh it was a sweet | | | | projects. Most times buying the parts and tools will still |
| car, pure black, tinted windows, recaro seats. I loved it | | | | only cost half of a quoted repair cost from a mechanic |
| for about a month till the dreaded check engine light | | | | or dealership. I managed to replace all four brakes and |
| came on. So to the dealership I went. After $300 and | | | | rotors. Including tools and better quality pads and rotors |
| a nice five hour wait I had my car back. My lesson had | | | | my final expense was less than half of what a big |
| been learned, to replace that $80 part I paid an | | | | brake repair shop (I won't say their name) quoted me |
| additional 220 dollars for their service, which I could of | | | | and their quote only replaced two rotors and included |
| done myself with just a little research. | | | | low quality brake pads. |
| You do not need to be a mechanic or even have a | | | | Once you get started you'll realize that it's not as hard |
| vast knowledge of cars, all you need is a little internet | | | | as you thought and once you do a few repairs you'll |
| research and the ability to turn a wrench. The majority | | | | feel confident in your work. Most of these repairs only |
| of reasons that your check engine light comes on are | | | | take about 30 minutes to a hour when your a beginner |
| just regular maintenance and repair. | | | | and it can be a quite rewarding feeling knowing you |
| Next time your engine light comes on drive down to | | | | saved money and did it yourself. |
| any large chain for auto parts, Advanced Auto, | | | | Now to get rid of that unwanted light. Dealerships and |
| Autozone, Checkers. Most of these chains will plug | | | | garages want you to believe only they have the |
| their diagnostics computer into your car, check the | | | | power to turn that light off! Well it is pretty simple |
| code and tell you the part that is needed for the repair, | | | | actually. When you are done with your repairs |
| and they will do all of this for free! They also let you | | | | disconnect the negative terminal on your car battery |
| rent the tools at a very low cost or for free. | | | | for 10 seconds or so and that will reset the light. You're |
| Step one has been taken care of, you now know | | | | Done! |
| what is wrong with your car. Step two, hop on-line and | | | | I have saved thousands in the last five years just from |
| find a DIY on how to fix it. You can find car enthusiast | | | | research and learning to do repairs myself. From audio |
| forums all over the internet for about any make and | | | | installs to brakes you can learn how to do them online. |
| model of car. With a quick search you should be able | | | | So save yourself some time and cash and get a little |
| to find "DIY" posts with pictures and videos. If you | | | | dirty with some DIY's. |
| have more questions about the repair, just email the | | | | |