Stan Gould Loc: La Crosse, Wisconsin

This is why I will drive used cars only.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

When did auto mechanics begin going to medical school?

Equus Loc: Puget Sound

Some years ago I needed to replace the steering wheel on my truck. I went to the dealer and a new one was $450. The parts guy showed me the invoice and it cost Ford $35. Not bad mark up. I went for a used one that cost me $50 and 60 miles round trip.

Properframe Loc: US Virginia

Almost ALL auto parts stores now have free to use OBD readers. Pull up, walk in, take it out to your car and get the code to download to the reader, take it inside and they can show you what it is. They can then cross reference it to various manufacturers parts and sell it to you. Works out for them and yourself. Wifes Honda got the idiot check engine light. Stopped by, Oxygen Sensor. They could tell it was #1 of the 2 O2 sensors. Could buy a $105 one or a $45 one. I bought the $45 one, used the special tool they also provide free of charge ( a socket with a side cutout for the wiring harness), five minutes later I am done. I used AutoZone that day but Advanced Auto Parts does the same.

Day.Old.Pizza Loc: Maple Grove, MN

Maybe they are designed better now, but I seem to remember a car model that you had to lift the engine to create enough room underneath it to remove the oil pan. Maybe it was the spark plugs. Maybe both. My memory is not what it once was. Either way whoever designed that car should be forced to change out those items several times by himself in order to keep his job.

HOHIMER

This all started when the computer was add to the car, which made it near impossible for the average Joe to fix his own car. Today the computer is used to PREVENT you from repairing your own car. This is happening across the board on nearly all devices. Cars, farm equipment, electronics, TV's, phones, wash machines, etc.
The manufacturers are being very clear! They do not want you to be able to repair your own stuff. In some cases they have locked up the supply chain so that you can not even buy a replacement part. You must send it to them to be repaired or buy a new device. And thier price to repair or replace a small part is sometimes more than the price of a new device. Like replacing the screen, battery or a charging port on an I phone.
Independent repair shops have resorted to buying up non-functional devices to scavenge working parts to make repairs. Mfgs. have taken to serializing key parts to a given device Serial Number so that even replacing a bad part with an identical good part may not allow the unit to function.

eshore46

Beware, it most likely a Chinese part, and might not fit just right. China part are famous for looking right ,just not quite as good a "original". Sometimes it's cheaper to go with the "factory " and be worry free.

Properframe Loc: US Virginia

Problem is that these days even the "Factory" part is from China !

HOHIMER

Sometimes you can not even obtain a ‘factory’ part at any price because the Mfg. claims the part is ‘proprietary’ and does not allow the part manufacturer to sell it to anyone but the device brand manufacturer. Like some screens and electronic chips.

Doc Mck Loc: Terrell,Texas

I’m a grass farmer and usually buy 3rd party replacement parts for my tractors and trucks. Saves a bunch. An oil pan can be easy or hard to replace, depending on how accessible it is. A cheap fix would be to clean it up and put a JB Weld patch on the crack. I have a Kawasaki mule that had a hole in the block we patched with JB weld and used it on the ranch another 10 years. Another solution is to take it off and find a welder to fix the crack. The oil pan is a non moving low stress part that simply acts as a reservoir for the oil. Patching it should work. Clean it well. Follow instructions to the letter on the patch. Adhere to the drying time. We have 5 tractors and 5 trucks to maintain. We do all our own service.