On Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 12:38:22 PM UTC-4, Steve W. wrote:
Drago Giambattista Esposito wrote:
I'm taking a night class on auto maintenance in adult school.
There is no grade and no tests. Just learning. And fun.

The teacher asked today, the first class, for us to bring next week a list
of the 10 things that people can do at home to repair their car, starting
with number 1 being an oil change and number 10 being an engine
replacement.

Can I run by you my first list?

1. Oil & filter Change
10. Engine replacement

2. Air & cabin air filter replacement
3. Flush & replace all fluids
4. Belt & tensioner replacement
5. Alternator & battery replacement
6. Brakes & struts overhauled
7. Cooling system overhaul
8. Starter replacement
9. Clutch replacement and/or automatic filter replacement

How does that list look as a first pass?

On a vehicle made prior to 2000 most of these can be done by a DIYer.
However on newer vehicles there are quite a few that you need special
tools and a good bi-directional scan tool to do. Most DIY folks won't
have those.

For instance - Batteries on many newer vehicles need to have the new
battery information entered into the vehicles data so the charging
system will work.

I know BMW is doing this. Are others out to scam their buyers too?
That's all I can see it doing. They are forcing you back to the dealer
to buy a battery for $350 instead of $100 at the auto parts store.





Got an electronic parking brake? You may need a scan tool to retract the
calipers to be able to change the pads.

This is especially true on Euro vehicles as they keep adding more
electronics.

Even something as simple as changing the spark plugs can cause headaches
if you need to remove the intake manifold or deal with things like the
plugs in a Ford Triton engine.

The first thing in any of these is going to be finding the correct
service information.

--
Steve W.