RE: <MISC> DIY versus Professional Work

["Fadeev, Alex" <Alex.Fadeev@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Ron Buchalski sez
> >Seriously, folks, it's great to be able to DIY, but if 
> >you're a novice to car repairs, you'd be better off
> >taking your car to a professional 
> 
> ummm... so how exactly do you get to the point where you 
> are *not* a novice ?
> Some of us live where (a) there are no BMW clubs around, (b) 
> most repair places don't like you in the shop part because
> of liability and (c) we don't know anybody locally 
> who wrenches their own cars.

...and those who do work on their cars, end up installing short shift kits
into E36 M3's ;-)
	Not that I have escaped the ranks of novices myself, but what I
learned came from either one of two sources: Bentley, or subcontracting a
local dealership mechanic to drop by my house and help me work on my car. 
	The latter is a far more frequent occurrence then most people would
imagine. Those guys own their tools and rarely get paid more then
$25-30/hour (despite the $60-80+/hour labor rates at the dealership). Get to
learn your dealership mechanic (not the service advisor) iff he is good.
Start asking questions, suggest to bring your car to him for a particularly
labor intensive job on a weekend (you source the parts). You get the idea. 
	And then there are jobs you probably would not want to do on your
car even if you could (i.e.: eating dirt while replacing a muffler crawling
all under the car that is barely a foot of the ground - the definitions of
unexciting projects vary).

have fun,
alex
two E30 M20B25's

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