While I always encourage people, especially women, to learn more about car care and repair, actually doing repairs yourself may cost you more in the long run.
My husband, an ASE Certified Master Technician, has had several cars come into his shop in the past few weeks that were victims of DIY car care. The customer tried to save money by doing the repair himself, or by having his “buddy” do it. In most cases, the DIY repairs were not done correctly, or the incorrect parts were installed, resulting in additional problems. The customer ended up paying more than double to undo the DIY work and repair the problem correctly than he would have paid if the work had been done by a qualified technician in the first place.
So, the next time you think, “Hey, maybe I’ll save some money by doing this myself”, be sure you (and your “buddies”) really know what you are doing, or it could cost a lot more money down the line.