What Car Wrenching Skill Do You Want To Learn How To Do So You Don’t Have To Pay Someone Else?

Things are threatening to get pretty expensive in the car hobby over the next couple of years with import tariffs jumping the price of everything, inflation running rampant, and real wages continuing to remain stagnant. The world is already seriously expensive following the fallout of years of Covid-related market uncertainty and record corporate profits. What’s a car fanatic to do? It seems the revival of DIY in the automotive sphere is going to come roaring back, which will probably kill off the last of the independent shops that weren’t gutted by the 2008 or 2020 financial crises, so you’re going to have to learn these skills sooner or later anyway. So what new automotive skill are you looking forward to learning because you can’t afford it anymore? 

I became a car enthusiast as a broke high-schooler, developed as a broke college kid, and perfected my skills as a broke adult. I initially learned how to do oil changes and brake jobs because I didn’t have any other choice. If I wanted my car to be safe and maintained, I had to do it myself. Later I learned how to build engines, change timing belts, and swap pretty much every part under the sun. I still haven’t got to the level of body repair, though I’ve started learning to weld, and I don’t think I’ll ever have the patience necessary for paint or serious fabrication. I also kind of want to learn how to properly tune an engine with stand-alone fuel management, for reasons that don’t entirely have to make sense.

So, let’s hear it. What new automotive skills are you picking up this spring? What repair are you looking forward to learning how to affect yourself instead of paying a professional to do it? If you’re new to all of this, start small, start slow, and refer to any number of printed manuals or online resources to help you through the process. I’m personally a graduate of YouTube university when it comes to car repairs, I usually jump in with both feet until I’m in way over my head, then consult someone who has done it before to help bail me out. If you have a tight knit community of likeminded enthusiasts in your area, they might be a valuable resource as well. 

Sound off in the comments below with your next new skill, or even a skill you already have but know will be put to good use in the coming years.