Why I Ceased Having My Engine Oil Changed by the Dealer

wstar

Ditto. Half the fun of owning this car, to me, is doing the mods myself when at all possible. It really adds to the driving experience in my opinion too. You really get to know the car better when your own two hands turned the bolts on it and you've dug around inside it yourself. When I hear or feel something funny on the road, it's really easy for me to picture what's going on with the car, because I've seen it all up close.

I really recommend anyone who cares about their car(s) to at least learn to do basic maintenance tasks themselves, even if they don't feel particularly skilled, inclined, or full of enough free time to do the other stuff.

As for the whole shop insurance thing: there are lots of shops around here like that. Mostly it's the franchise chain places that are the worst about trying to ban all customers from the garage area. But if you dig around, you'll find independent shops that are fine with you being in the garage the whole time under the lift with them, pointing out what you know about the car and what you need done. Just don't hover over the dude's shoulder while he's working, people hate that Explain the situation, agree on the work to be done, and then hang back and observe from a little more distance.

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Journal thread / Car setup details