do it yourself and save a fucking pile of money on labour costs. youtube is your friend, this stuff is pretty generic fixes anyways with the exception of the alignment.

With my luck, I'd end up on the highway, upside down and on fire if I do it myself.

it really really isn't rocket surgery or brain science like some people believe it to be. give quazi modo a good sized socket set, some wrenches and the internet and even he could pull all that off in a weekend. there's probably dozens of videos on the stuff and even failing that, there will be forums.

"Rear shocks, rusted and fucked, need to be replaced
Alignment out of whack because of fucked rear shocks, needs to be re-whacked"
Shocks wont effect alignment unless they're struts and they're bent. They definitely definitely effect grip, though.


Out of that list, I'd say the belt and oil change are only things a complete amateur with only basic tools could DIY, and even then it'd be cheaper and easier to go to a shop.

How would you get an oil job and belt change cheaper at a shop than DIY? Any shop anywhere is parts+labor vs parts...

Because if you haven't got any tools, you have to buy them.
Jack and stands alone are over $100 for decent ones that'll lift a car high enough to crawl under it. Oil drain tray. Oil + filter change can be found at a shop for $99. (Australia)
Then it takes you a lot longer to do it the first time than a shop would. You'll probably smash your knuckles or spill oil, you'd then need degreaser and kitty litter...

Yes, the second, third, fourth oil changes you DIY you will end up saving money, but then a mechanic would pick up on stuff wrong with your car that a DIY'r would. Stuff like a split CV boot, which when its just the boot is cheap to replace, but if left alone ends up requiring a new joint if stuff gets in it. Little shit like that.

Or you could teach yourself how to look for those things too. That's how most people learn to work on their own cars.
Wow, I bet your mechanic loves you!

Uhh, yeah. I am a Mechanic.
Customers that service their own car are my favorite, as I get paid incentive for any work found. :D
I used to work on my own cars. I, and all of my friends, thought I knew HEAPS about cars... I worked on all my own cars and many of my friend's. But in the first month of my apprenticeship I doubled my knowledge and was shown just how little people can teach themselves using youtube and books alone. You need experience.
Doing something by watching youtube is a little different than doing something 38 hours a week for 6 years. I'm still learning.
And even mechanics miss things.

Suit yourself. Been working on my own truck for a while now. Haven't found anything I couldn't replace yet.

Doesn't mean I'm going to be rebuilding my own transmission or anything, but easy shit like pumps, sensors, consumables are all well within the realm of DIY...

If you can make boxed macaroni and cheese without burning your house down, you possess every technical and intellectual skill necessary to change the oil on most cars.
I've been working on cars for 20 years, I build my own racing engines and suspensions.
If you're not looking to change any aspect of the car from factory spec, 90% of thje job is following instructions from a factory manual, the remaining 10% is waiting for penetrating oil to do its job.

I work in an industry where I have to press the "unlock" button on the windows for customers, because they didn't read the manual.

Its absolutely possible to change oil by yourself. Anyone can do it. They just have to be willing to read the fucking manual.

My day job is at Best Buy. Trust me, I deal with the dumbest human beings society has to offer on a daily basis.
I'm just trying to point out that I don't think that the OP is one of those.

i feel like it'd be cheaper just to scrap the car and sell it for parts to buy a new one

Thank God it isn't the engine or transmission....yet.

I'll see what I can do once I organize my finances.

Ye Gods, Notorious. Send some of those watchers my way.

*smiles softly* I'm both a friend and an online part-time plaything of Notorious. Granted I don't have as many watchers as he does.. but I love pimping out my artist companions whenever I get a chance to.

Here.. I don't know you "per-se".. but the few things on your gallery are quite lovely.. so consider this a gift of a favor "just because" http://www.furaffinity.net/journal/7606046/

You're awesome, thank you very much! It's hard to get attention as a writer, so any signal boosting is awesome.

Just got yourself one ^.=.^

Aww geez sorry about your car. But congrats on 10,000 watches!

The oil change and the fan belt, you can do yourself without worrying too much. You SHOULD do those yourself because they really don't require any specialized knowledge other than "How to follow simple instructions" and anyone who tells you otherwise believes that you are an idiot who cannot turn a screwdriver, and you don't need them in your life.
The shocks are usually tedious, dirty and require time and space to work in, but not terribly difficult. However, rusted shocks will affect your ride quality in a negative way but will not significantly affect vehiche safety unless you drive in a very spirited fashion.
Air conditioning is terrible to work on, I'd be lying if I told you it's really serviceable. It can be done, but it's always a pain. If you're in a pinch, this one is low on the triage list.

I'm confident tearing down and rebuilding an engine, but I won't touch alignment. Get a shop to do that for you, for sure. That is fairly important as it can affect the wear and failure times of key suspension components, brakes, bearings and tires, and that can lead to dangerous and expensive situations down the line. You should prioritize that.

If you're still open in about a week when I have cash in paypal again...it's amazing how many commission openings and YCH's have come up since I finally emptied my paypal account. It's like you people wait for me to be outta funds.