There are many benefits of owning an automotive repair manual, especially if the manually happens to be specifically targeted at the make, model, and year of vehicle that you happen to own. There are many benefits to be had by those who are willing to take the time to learn how to read such a repair manual and take even a handful of common repair and/or maintenance tasks upon themselves. Here are but a few of the key benefits of owning an automotive repair manual:
• Save money – Auto mechanics are well known for their ability to overcharge customers for repairs that could generally be handled with minimal difficulty and without expensive tools. In fact, most cars can be repaired with common tools that can be used for a wide variety of tasks around the house or office. Some of the nicest toolkits cost less than a couple of hours of labor at most garages. Learning how to fix cars is a great way to save money in the long run, and learning how to fix a problem on one car can help you understand how to evaluate and possibly fix similar problems on other cars in the future.
• Never be taken advantage of again – Knowing just how complex a repair task really is can help you determine which mechanics are offering realistic prices. Most quality automotive repair manuals will give an estimate on how long a particular repair should take. Even if this information is lacking, a little reading and a modicum of common sense should allow an owner of such a manual to determine if it really does sound reasonable that a mechanic is attempting to bill 10 hours at over $100 per hour to replace a faulty fuel pump. In some cases, a fuel pump can be replaced in less than an hour, but in other cases 10 hours might be reasonable. Unless you understand the process, you will never be able to determine whether you are being taken advantage of.
• Know when to say when before investing a lot of time on a project – Knowing which repairs are easy to handle and which ones require professional help is also an important skill. Without an automotive repair manual on hand, it is entirely possible that a task that once seemed to be very simple could turn out to be very time consuming and complex. The expression about knowing enough to be dangerous certainly applies to those who lack automotive repair manuals that can quickly demonstrate in a very visual manner just how complex a potential task will be.
• Learn a new and valuable skill – Basic understanding of mechanical principles is not necessarily required for understanding most automotive repair manuals. In fact, most automotive repair manuals include very detailed diagrams that should give even the least mechanically inclined reader a reasonable grasp on how any component functions under ideal circumstances. This understanding can actually be applied to many different situations, as can the instructions on fixing basic mechanical problems.
• Solve problems when nobody is around to help – When a vehicle breaks down at the worst possible time, such as on that remote mountain pass that sees approximately 3 travelers a day and happens to have no cell phone reception, it pays to know how to get a vehicle working again. This means that it would be a wise idea to keep the automotive repair manual and a toolkit inside the vehicle at all times, just in case.
• Recycle and reuse – By learning how to handle even basic repairs without help, it is often a good idea to visit the local salvage yards. This not only helps save money, but it also helps the environment as there are often numerous vehicles that have the same part or parts needed to make a repair. Why buy new or refurbished when it is possible to reuse older components that are otherwise destined for a non-environmentally sound future?