Many on this forum just don't have the time and/or inclination to do their own work however, for those who are reluctant to get started, I always remember the preface in my college calculus book: "What one fool can do, so can another".

 

Just be thankful that you don't own a Ferrari. My buddy Dave recently paid $13k for a major interval service on his 355 Spyder.

 

oh well, i'm over it...at least now the car will be happy and that'll make me happy

 

+1--it's just not that hard.

 

As one guy said to me ...what part of "Porsche" did you think was the INexpensive part?

 

philosophy to live by!!

 

HAHAHA!!! Agreed!!!!

 

Having just finshed changing my own spark plugs with a buddy with a garage lift, I can say that I would charge triple that for the plugs alone.... Having said that, nothing is more satisfying than turning your own wrenches, bloody knuckles and all..

 

That's so very true, lying on the ground under a set of jack stands can make even easy jobs a pain in the butt.

 

I wish there were opportunities to learn how to do the wrenching. As not all of us have access to nicely equipped garages it would be neat to now-and-again have some cooperative wrenching weekends hosted by various members. I would like to learn how to do my own oil changes, change belts, etc. I will need new rotors soon and I wish I could take care of the rotors, pads and fluid myself.

 

From my experience FD RX7 aftermarket prices were higher than Porsche parts. Well, you could drop in a Mazda Reman motor for 2.5k. Other than that it's extremely expensive.

 

Yup. Not only do I agree with you 100%, but coincidentally I also am due for new rotors/pads etc. Would be nice to do it myself, but with no knowledge and even less garage space, that's not gonna happen

 

That's easier than an oil change.

 

The first jobs I ever did on my cars were on the street of the Lower East Side of Manhattan. That was before I could even afford a parking space. I did my first cold air intake on the street Then later on I got a parking spot in a dusty lot under the Williamsburg Bridge. I've changed the suspension of a couple of VWs in that lot, lying in the dust (or mud if it rained). I only owned a pair of ramps back then, and jack stands. The rest of my tools I just carried in an old back pack. Then later on it was in my driveway, before I built a garage at my house. Now if I wanted to bring my tools with me I'd probably need a trailer. But you start simple with a Craftsman (or what have you) set, a breaker bar, and go from there...

The way I learned was by reading shop manuals (Haynes, anyone?) and later the forums. I started with the small stuff and went from there to the point where I can take out the engine and tranny out of our cars in less than 4 hours (first time took me 8, I know some people who can do it in 2).

Doing the brakes for instance is a piece of cake. But you will need the appropriate tools and a bleeder. The procedure has been explained many times on these forums. If you really want to give it a shot, do some reading, print out the relevant information and just go for it! In this day and age even if you screw up or hit a wall just post on the forum and you'll have the answer within minutes.

I'm not saying this to sound smug, but it's really not as difficult as it sounds. And the feeling of accomplishment afterward is very special.

 

+1! That job was ridiculous especially laying on the floor.