Thread: And that's why I do it myself...

I am a huge believer in DIY not only for the money savings but also the feeling of pride when fixing or building something brings.I only pay someone as a absolute last resort or a project is outside my skill level.

Call me old fashioned but i think being able to take care of your own car or fix things around the house is a vital life skill and part of what it means to be a bloke.I know so many guys that just pick up a phone and call someone as soon as something ****s itself instead of having a go at fixing it,and i am talking about simple things like tap washers,head light bulbs,replacing door knobs but these blokes can understand a iphone and get upset at twitterbook when it's not working.

I am very lucky i have a brilliant Land rover mechanic up here and he is the only bloke i will let near my Rovers.My GT-P is a bit bloody technical for me and as a result when things go wrong of a computer nature i call for help.
Do i think all mechanics are dodgy?hell no,i just would rather do things myself

This is why filled in service manuals mean diddly squat.

you buy a car by its condition, the manuals are BS.

My biggest gripe is work done by auto elecs.
Apart from my latest Every car Ive ever bought has been second hand, and every single ****ing one of them has had botched electrical work done on them, ****ing automotive electricians should be ashamed off themselves.

I usually spend a week fixing up their **** ups.

I sound ****ed, I spent $85,000 on a new 4x4 Iveco and I'm not 'allowed' to work on it, to keep my 3 year, 200,000km warranty its supposed to be done 'professionally' . I had a bulbar fitted when it was brand New , The bar contains headlights and indicators, The Headlights were not working immediately after bulbar fitted, had that fixed by the agent, and yesterday the indicator stopped working , I found corrosion and 'black wire' in the connector plug (after only 20,000km) traced the fault to where the 'auto - ****ing- electrician " spliced the indicator lead into the loom with scotch locks and using different sized conductors too.

Asseholes, be buggered letting anyone else work on it. Less chance of having a warranty claim if I do my own work anyway.

Originally Posted by PAT303

Funny people mention Barbagallo's,my L322 and TDCi were both serviced by them,I had both serviced by the better quality independants and the indy's work was crap and Barbagallo's has been excellent.The D2 I repaired in Newman involved repairing most of the previous ''trademans'' work. Pat

Agree, it's a mixed bag. Have heard both opposing views over here. Prefer to go to a particular LR trained bloke half-way up to Geralton, - If I can nail him down long enough !!! Blighter is always flat out... Told if you offer him a British Blend tea he might even visit you...

BBGs willingly and promptly replaced my Classic's fuel tank last year, (LRs warranty expense) but when I got it back... they said nothing about the totally perished breather hose.... in plain view...and obviously leaking ! Very poor on their part. So, like everyone else, parts of their workmanship/service can be first-rate, but they can 'overlook' or ignore stuff just like everyone else.

Personally, I'd support the notion of DIY as far as one's confidence level lets you. there is a vital 'blokey' element in fixing something...

We all hear these stories, worst thing is when a dealership puts a first year apprentice on a job that should be done by a tradesman. But worse yet is when dealerships cut corners in order to make sure they maximise profit. Things like bullbars & driving lights installed at the dealership, but rather than have an auto electrician wire it up they will leave it to a mechanic or3rd year etc to dodgy it up, and refuse the warranty because the job wasn't done properly and could not possibly have been done by us......

Well a much calmer follow up to the initial post.. a recoil kit has been procured at great expense. Funnily enough, the only place that has it was the tool shop closest to me! If anyone wants to borrow it in future, pm me! I have an extra 9 coils left in the kit . A bottle of plonk would be appreciated.

Of course, its still out of action, awaiting bits..what was that I was saying about doing it myself?????