Recently, the people over at Honeywell wanted to know how many people were doing their own automotive repairs as compared to last year, so they conducted a survey to find out – and the results surprised them.  They found that this year, over half of those who took the survey were doing their own car repairs, which confirmed their initial suspicions – that the economy was having a major impact on vehicle habits of Americans.

According to survey results, within the last 12 months, 51 percent of those who own a car in the States have been rolling up their sleeves and learning how to do their own automotive maintenance and repairs, and an overwhelming majority of those people – 89 percent – said that in the last few years, they would have generally brought in the pro’s to do the maintenance and automotive projects that they’re now taking on themselves. 

In the current economy, I’m not surprised at their results.  It simply stands to reason that more people are looking for ways to cut costs and save money wherever and whenever they can, and routine vehicle maintenance, like changing an air filter or changing the oil, really isn’t that hard to do, so why pay someone else to do it when we don’t have to or if we can – or can learn – to do it ourselves?

According to the survey, they also found that 61 percent of vehicle owners are now changing their own antifreeze, 54 percent are changing their own oil filters, and 32 percent said they’ve even changed their own spark plugs!

I think this is great news – it just goes to show that when the going gets tough, the tough get resourceful!

I vividly recall the very first time I helped install a windshield on an old 1970 Chevy truck.  It was the very first time I had ever installed a windshield of any sort, and it was an experience I’ll never forget.  A full front windshield is very heavy. One false move, one slip of the foot, or an ounce of distraction can cause you to lose your grip instantly, which of course, means losing an entire sheet of glass to the pavement.  Luckily, nothing like that happened, but getting the windshield on the frame exactly right was a huge undertaking – especially in the winter, working in an unheated garage.  I couldn’t wear gloves to do it because I needed to be able to feel the edges of the frame, so by the time we finished up, my hands were so cold that it seemed like hours before they warmed up.  Looking back, this wasn’t one of my least favorite repairs; instead, it was one of my favorites because I learned how to do something new. 

I know there are Cars for Girls readers who have been doing their own car repairs and/or regular vehicle maintenance for a long time, while there are still many who are just learning the ropes, so I have to ask:

What is your favorite – or least favorite – car repair or maintenance task you’ve done so far?

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