It’s hardly a “disposable car” thing. My 2011 Fiesta specifies 10k oil changes, 30k air filter changes, replace the coolant and inspect the belt at 100k, and replace the belt at 150k. There’s a 10k “service” which is pretty much “make sure nothing’s leaking, worn, or about to fall off”. Most Fords built in the last 5-10 years are similar.
There’s been major improvements in service life and reliability even in the 13 years since your Corolla was new.
For comparison, the 2011 Corolla seems to be pretty similar according to my google-fu. 5k oil changes, 15k make sure it’s not about to fall apart, 30k air filter, 100k replace coolant, 120k replace spark plugs.
Personally, I’d be happy to change my own oil, but I’d have to buy a jack and stands. That alone eats up most of the money I’d save over the life of the car. And if I just do the oil changes at the dealer, they’ll also do the manufacturer specified inspections where they can spot problems I’d miss. I will change the air filter myself, since that’s a 5 minute job with a screwdriver.
Different strokes for different folks, I guess. I’ve never felt an oil change was so complex that I had to relearn it each time, despite doing it only twice a year. I already have a large collection of tools, although I suppose that goes along with a broader “handyman” philosophy: my car isn’t the only thing I work on.
I will agree that some jobs are so miserable they’re worth paying other folks to do. Example, I know how to replace an exhaust system, and have done it myself a few times - but about 15 years ago I decided I would never do another one again. I can’t justify having impact wrenches or oxyacetylene as part of my tool collection; without those tools the job is a good bit harder (and even with them, it’s a messy pain in the ass), so exhaust replacement is a job I leave for the pros. (this position has been made easier by the fact that the exhaust on my current car has not needed replacing in the nine years I’ve owned it. :D)
A lot of that stuff I know how to do, a lot of it I don’t. Only last year did I learn how to change a tire (I’m a 33 year old guy) - I got a flat at about 11 pm on a Sunday night. I grabbed the tools out of the trunk and basically figured it out based on having seen people do it on the side of the road and in movies and stuff. It wasn’t hard.
I’m 100% with you on this one. I’ve gone as far as pretty much pulling and repairing motors when I’ve had to, but these days, it’s just a lot more stress than its worth (not that I involve myself with anything of that depth, anymore). Nowadays, the most technical thing I’ll do is a brake replacement and most other wear-items.
For the most part, it’s just easier to pay a professional for some jobs, as I spare myself the time and any headaches. At the very least, though, having the knowledge means you’re less likely to have someone pull a fast one on you.
Reminds me of the time I checked my husband’s oil. ‘‘Hon,’’ I said, ‘‘It’s pitch black.’’
‘‘Isn’t oil supposed to be black?’’
:smack:
As for me, I’m confident I could change a tire, I know how to check my fluid levels but I’m not sure I could change my own oil (with my car manual I probably could… I know the valve is under the front of the car somewhere.) If one of my dash lights came on, I would take it in for repairs right away instead of pulling over and checking fluid levels, because I don’t really understand why that matters (and anyway, suppose I was low on something… it’s not like I carry that stuff with me or would even know how to replace it.)
I would have no idea how to correct a battery problem unless it was just dead, obviously that takes a jump and I’ve done those before. Ya’ll are talking about disconnected cables and I wouldn’t even know what that would look like much less how to fix it. I admit I have a fear of touching things under the hood. I’m mechanically adventurous for small household projects, but I don’t want to break the car.
I’m not a total slouch, I once helped replace my own brake lines and while I couldn’t repeat the performance solo, I at least have some insight into how brakes work.
I learned what little I do know from my family, the do-it-yourself amateur mechanic crowd. I’m guessing - and this is just a guess - those of us with working class backgrounds are more likely to know a little something about cars, because our families would rather fix the problem with a trip to the auto parts store and a few hours of labor than pay someone else an obscene amount of money to do it.
As for me, I’m more of the ‘‘pay someone else to deal with it’’ type.
If one of those warning lights is your oil pressure or temperature guage, you’ll have ruined the engine by the time you take it in for repairs.
For the unknowing out there:
If your oil pressure light comes on (even for a moment, besides when your actually starting the car) or your temperature is spiking STOP RIGHT NOW. RIGHT. NOW. Not a few miles down the road…not when you get home.. NOW. Then call someone who really knows about cars and ask them what to do.
Unless your being chased by zombies and its a choice of death or thousands and thousands of dollars for a new engine.
Heh, in theory I should be replacing the timing belt on my 1996 Tercel… for the third time (yes, that would mean belt #4 would get installed). The cost of replacing the belt would be approximately 4 times what I could get for scrap metal from the car (they don’t really pay for rust!). The car is otherwise unsellable since it wouldn’t pass inspections a new owner would be required to pass. We’ve opted to take our chances, since I’m likely to replace the car within the next 6-12 months anyways. We are keeping up with all other maintenance. Damn car won’t die… 320 000km and going strong.
As for basic maintenance…it’s a lot easier to learn how to do these things if you have the space to do so, like a driveway or garage. I’m not going to practice swapping tires or doing oil changes on a city street, so in essence, I’m not really going to learn how. I can change a tire in theory, and my husband knows how since he’s had to do it on his car… I know it’s not so complicated that I wouldn’t be able to figure it out if I had to do it.
We don’t swap out our own winter and summer tires because we only have the one set of rims, and even when my husband gets winter tires for his new car with rims on them, we still won’t do it ourselves because we don’t store the tires at home. We pay a tire centre $35 to store tires for 6 month, and we get a discount on the installation (compared to their regular price). We just don’t have the storage space to keep 8 tires in the apartment… there’s a reason our tent lives in the trunk of my car!
I know how to check and top up oil, though it’s not something I’ve had to do for my own car (believe it or not, the Tercel doesn’t burn oil). I’m sure I could change a headlight if I had to, but the one time I had it done I just had a mechanic do it while they were doing other work on the car.
Despite being a mechanical engineer, it comes down to a) lack of interest in cars (I like airplanes) and b) the ability to pay someone else to do it. The savings aren’t worth the trouble, IMHO.
More modern than 1998; many cars these days have 100k auto transmission fluid change intervals, and 100k coolant change intervals, and oil changes in the 6k-10k range.
Modern day platinum (and other exotic metal) tipped spark plugs wear at an extremely slow rate compared to the older standard plugs, and need replacing maybe every 100k.
Maintenance has gone way down relative to even cars of 10-15 years ago, especially if you’re not on the severe service interval.
And, FWIW, I do everything but mess with suspension components or transmission/engine internals- I can and have changed brake pads and shoes, alternators, water pumps, master cylinders, radiators, spark plugs, ignition switches, lock cylinders, u-joints, etc…
My current vehicle (2005 Dodge Dakota) just doesn’t seem to need much love relative to my previous vehicles.
In many more- recent model cars, there is a pattern that the STOP RIGHT NOW warning lights (e.g. the little oil can) glow in red, the “head for the shop” lights (e.g. “check engine”) in yellow.
But yes, temp and oil indicators are the two biggies and any driver should at least know where and what they are and that you must pull over immediately.