Odd Conundrum

[Aberdale]

I grew up without much money for most of my life. I was always working on vehicles, mostly because all I could afford was used, and I couldn't afford to have someone else work on them. I've always dreamed of having a nice shop someday. Unfortunately, the lack of funds kept that from happening for quite some time.

I have saved and invested well, and about 5 years ago I built my dream shop. There's rarely a day that goes by that I'm not working on something in the shop. But I've found that now that I have more money, I would almost prefer to pay someone else to work on stuff than do it myself.

Has anyone else run into this?

'dale

 

[koditten]

Its called the dollar vs hassle rule. Everybody has a different threashold.

 

[Zeke]

There's a difference between necessity and recreation. You may have entered the recreation part of your life. Doesn't mean you won't be in the shop. Kinda like the race car owner who takes his tow vehicle to someone else.

 

[brycez28]

Same here. For a little while I started taking my vehicles to the shop to get oil changes (rather sent my wife). But now I refuse to have shops do my oil changes because they over tighten the drain plugs and filters, and then it takes me twice as long to do the oil change because they didn't do it right.

Kinda like in high school, spending $15 or $20 was a lot of money. Now that I have a real job don't think twice about spending that and $300 is a lot of money.

 

[chops101]

Depends on what it is. I just bought a (new to me) house and have spent bookoo hours fixing the past "professionals" screw ups and shoddy work.

 

[Ron Fletcher]

Me too. Plus it is hard to get these "ol bones" to do the things I used to do.

 

[darwyn]

Depends on what it is. I just bought a (new to me) house and have spent bookoo hours fixing the past "professionals" screw ups and shoddy work.

That's the rub. Around here the competent professionals are booked solid. So are the incompetent ones for that matter ...

 

[RalphInCA]

At this point, I'll do most jobs that are "above the axles". Below the axles get farmed to somebody else.

At least until I can get a lift, which probably won't happen soon.

 

[kansei]

I still try to do everything I can myself, but will call a pro in when I am absolutely certain I am in over my head, or just do not have the time to tend to it myself. That said, I find I have a similar issue with the cars. I won't think anything of spending hours and hours fiddling in the shop on one of the projects, getting next to nothing accomplished, just wasting time. That said, though, I'll damn near go kicking and screaming if I need to fix something on the DD. Case in point- the exterior driver door handle broke again recently. I reached in through the driver side rear door to open the front for about five months before I decided I had better fix it before the snow fell. Had a replacement handle the entire time. I have done the job before and knew it would take all of about 20 minutes, but because I HAD to do it, and didn't WANT to, it flopped around on the outisde of the car until the impending weather made me do it. Pathetic, really.

Neal.

 

[KPSquared]

I'm only 34 and I live like that. My time is worth money to some degree. On my daily drivers I can't be bothered to do some of the repairs/maintenance because it's not fun and takes time.

On my toys (my 7.3 F350, and my 1992 Explorer) I'll wrench on them all day long just because it's fun.

Once I get my lift in, I'll probably do more to my daily drivers just because the hassle will be significantly reduced.

 

[GarageWarrior]

I used to DIY everything I could. Cars, houses, electronics, upholstery, roofing, plumbing, electrical - you name it. Spent way too much time and money learning specialized trades and collecting obscure workshop ****. Ended up with too many tools and not a lot of friends. Did some reflecting when I had to move and realized that tools don't make you happy and you only live once. Spent a year selling it off garage stuff, and still have way too go, but it's getting better.

I'm now finding that I'm much better off making money at my day job doing things that I went to school for, and spend off-work hours with friends and family, play sports, exercise and enjoy life. Instead of getting frustrated with busy work on cars and around the house I prefer to hire the pros.

And how much money do we really save? Today I hired a guy with a hot-water extractor to clean carpets in a place I need to sell. Renting a crappy Rug-doctor would run 40$ plus tax and figure another $15-20 on cleaners. For $80 total a guy come in with a much better equipment and did the job in quarter of time I'd likely have to spend. And I have nice clean carpets with zero hassle.

Finding good people to do good work for you is the key.

 

[ddawg16]

I'm in the same phase myself.....

A lot of it comes down to 'have to' vs 'want to'.

I pick and choose my battles.

For changing oil? NO ONE touches my vehicles. It takes so little time and gives me a chance to check things over.

I'm actually to the point where I'm about ready to farm out the regular yard work. A guy who lives in the neighborhood (speaks no English...but is legal) has a really good green thumb...I actually enjoyed watching him yesterday weeding the front flower beds...

If paying him $50 or so a month means I can get rid of my lawn mower and free up some garage space.....hey....more room for wood working tools....

A lot of you have the right idea....if your time is worth $$$.....but it only cost you $ or $$ to pay someone else to do it....then it means your saving $ or $$

 

[Cdn2usa]

For me it is not that can't afford having someone else do the work, it's hard describe. I need to do it, to feel like I accomplished something that day or week. I am about to turn 60, just brought a Hobby Farm, I just love all the work it takes to keep it up. She got her horses (actually we, I love them too), now I get my garage. I can have someone build it and have it done fairly quickly. But not on your life, I am going to build every inch (except the pouring and leveling of the floor).

Just my .02

 

[Streetbu]

There are many times I don't want to fix something but have to either because I can't afford to pay someone or because they won't do it right anyways. A wise man once told me, figure out how much something will cost, will you be further ahead to work a little longer and pay someone to do it or should you just do it yourself?

 

[Gasgt1]

It is a trade off.
I used to do everything, now I am a bit more selective and still cannot get done everything on my list

Greg

 

[James E]

I first learned how to work on cars from my Dad (that's why I curse so much when I fix stuff). He did it out of necessity. The day he paid off his student loans he never worked on his own car again.

He took no enjoyment from working on stuff and saw it as a cross he had to bear because he was poor. When he thought he had enough money to pay someone else to do it, that's what he did.

The cost/benefit of DIY is something I struggle with all the time. For alot of jobs around the house, I feel somewhat emasculated if I pay someone else to do it, but it won't get done if I don't.

For all of my cars under warranty, I will pay someone to work on them. Even oil changes and easy stuff. I don't really work on anything myself except for my Mustang and my old pickup because they're just fun.

 

[HoosierMark]

Interesting topic. For years I scrimped, saved and invested and now am in great shape financially. It is nice to be able to pick and choose what you want to work on. I always set when I was at a certain point I would spend some money on me and my wants (not needs) Now that I can, I do not have the desire I had years ago. It is just nice knowing that I could write the check for this or that. But I wish I could let go and enjoy my success more. My wife and kids want me too but it just does not mean that much. I guess as we get older, we pick and choose what makes us happy and find out real quick it is a lot more then money. Freedom to do what you want that is the real factor!

 

[k1rodeoboater]

If I feel confident that I can do it I usually do it myself, however if I don't have the time to mess with it, it gets farmed out to a professional. I could have easily done the clutch job on my car, but I was in the middle of getting ready to move cross country so I didn't have the time.

 

[Falcon67]

I first learned how to work on cars from my Dad (that's why I curse so much when I fix stuff). He did it out of necessity. The day he paid off his student loans he never worked on his own car again.

He took no enjoyment from working on stuff and saw it as a cross he had to bear because he was poor. When he thought he had enough money to pay someone else to do it, that's what he did.

The cost/benefit of DIY is something I struggle with all the time. For alot of jobs around the house, I feel somewhat emasculated if I pay someone else to do it, but it won't get done if I don't.

For all of my cars under warranty, I will pay someone to work on them. Even oil changes and easy stuff. I don't really work on anything myself except for my Mustang and my old pickup because they're just fun.

A good summary with some adjustments. I beat on my Falcon, and at $2.50/hr I had to learn to fix it too so I could get to work on Monday. We're not that well off, but the daily drivers go to the dealer because DIY on most fixes are just not cost effective. I'd have them do the plugs on the F150 if the upside cost wasn't so high, so there is exceptions. If I had more free $, I'd build hot rods and farm out mundane things like install the above ground pool, plant trees, doll up the master bath and re-roof the house.

 

[SARG]

I've got three "shops" and they are all a wreck ..... my missing ingredient is "ambition".

 

[Shadowdog500]

I've been going through the same dilemma. Now that I have my shop I can afford to have someone else work on my stuff. I have found that having extra vehicles takes the time pressure off of fixing the car which for me was the main aggravation. Any car job is fun if you can work at a relaxed pace.

One of the older guys at work recently stopped working on his own stuff because the money he was saving was all going to the chiropractor. He'd rather pay the money he would save to a mechanic and let him deal with the bad back. I messed up my shoulders for a while putting my jeep dashboard in by my self so I know what he is talking about.

Chris

 

[Shadowdog500]

Depends on what it is. I just bought a (new to me) house and have spent bookoo hours fixing the past "professionals" screw ups and shoddy work.

That's the rub. Around here the competent professionals are booked solid. So are the incompetent ones for that matter ...

+1! On what level of professional!

I've seen so many people go lowest bidder, then haggle a that bid down, then they wonder why they get **** work.


When I do pay someone else to do something I usually try to find the top guy who does that kind of work, tell him exactly what I want, and pay him what he asks without haggling. I also make a point to feed the crew while they are on the job, and I stay out of their hair so they can work. I do pop in to say hi the minimum required to ensure their vision of what I wanted was the same as mine. I haven't been disappointed yet, and to be quite honest a few months later I can't even remember what it cost me.

 

[Farmall 1066]

For me, it's having been a mechanic, that makes me not trust other mechanics.
Worked with enough idiots and hacks to know. Also seen some guys with stellar reputations do some pretty shabby work, so I do it all myself.
In 20 years, the only jobs I've had done were a fuel pump in wife's truck, because it died in the town my best friends shop was in, in the middle of winter, and replacing the heater core, because i just didn't want to! I'm not a small guy, about 6'7" and under dash stuff just plain *****.
For me, vehicles are something you work on because you HAVE to. I work on tractors because I WANT to.

 

[noslocars]

I guess I am too proud to pay someone to work on my stuff. I am having a hard time letting my kids mow the lawn because I I like to do it and I am a perfectionist. I will give them the reins on the mower so they will hopefully learn that work is a good thing but I don't see my cars or anything else going to a professional anytime soon.

 

[Crazy68Dart]

There is certainly a breaking point. I'm 35 and am not quite there yet. A lot depends on what you have going on in your life. In my case a career, wife, and kids make it very difficult to keep up with everything. At times I wonder if the stress of trying to do everything myself is worth it.

I would have more work done, if I trusted people doing the work. I've been hosed enough times by sub par work, wasting more money/time correcting things myself, etc. that I am still doing things myself. This includes everything around the house (appliances, yard, equipment maintenance, landscaping, plumbing, painting, etc.) as well as all of the automotive stuff, technology/computer stuff, etc. Also, trying to find time/energy to work on the "fun" stuff like the Dart and other hobbies.

The things that I would like to farm out, I cannot get over the cost. Call me cheap, but 400-600 dollars for things like a brake job, etc. I just can't pay that kind of money knowing the part cost. Not to say I never will. In pinch, with a lot going on, it might happen. Oil changes, still do myself. Been burned by idiots cross threading oil pan plugs leading to replacing oil pans or dicking around with over-sized plugs. The one thing that I do not like doing is exhaust work. I don't currently have a lift, and it ends up being a huge mess and severely aggravating. So, that is one thing I let a shop do for me.

For me, it comes down to some satisfaction. I could drive new cars and replace things when things break instead of repair, etc. but that is just not me. When you look at the throw away society we have become, I feel like people like us are becoming extinct.

That said, if/when I build a garage, it will be contracted out and the thought of it makes me nervous as hell.

 

[NUTTSGT]

When you the time, you don't have the money, when you have the money, you don't have the time.


I'd still rather do something myself. The money I save doing it myself, allows me to buy more stuff in the garage.

 

[Wood'nMetal]

I'm in the same position. After many years as mechanic my body does not like being crammed under car dashes or working on my knees. It much prefers the warmth of woodworking near a warm stove!

However, my Scottish ancestry makes it hard to pay somebody to do a job I know that I can do. So I ended up working on the cars even though I hate doing it. Sigh...just a few more million dollars a year would help ease the pain I guess.

 

[Cougar]

I think it has more to do with age than money.

 

[danieldd]

I believe it is both age related and money related. When I was younger, I tried to do everything myself - cars, plumbing, electrical, appliances, home improvement, etc. I mostly did it because I couldn't afford to have someone do it and I simply didn't trust others to do it for me.

I remember one time many years ago I needed to have the cutoff valve for the toilet and the wax ring replaced, so I called a plumber. I sat there and watched him do it and within 30 minutes he was done and I was out $80 bucks. I was so mad at myself after realizing it was so simple I could have done it myself. Afterwards, I did all my plumbing repairs. Same with fixing the HVAC - after watching what they were doing, I quickly became my own expert and was satisfied in knowing I was saving my family money and I became the "go to" guy in the neighborhood for all their home improvement issues.

But now, at 59 I'm just plain tired. I sit on my **** all day for 8 hours at my job and then go home and what do I do? I turn on the tube. I've got a friggin BMW V12 engine out of my 850i sitting in my shop that has been there since last summer when I pulled the engine/transmission. You would think I would be out there working on it, wouldn't you. I mean, its got to be more fun that sitting on my *** watching TV - right?

I even bought a lift because I told the wife I was tired of being on my back all the time. You know what I do now? I raise the car up, sit on my stool, look at all the **** that needs fixing under the car, make a mental note of it, lower the car and proceed to go arrange my tools or sweep the shop out.

Hey, there's a movie at Redbox that I haven't rented yet....

I just don't have the energy to attack things like I did earlier. Its like its turned into a chore to do the things I once loved.

Oh, the humanity!

Take for example, I started a pergola 3 years ago. Three years, mind you! Bought all the wood, cut it to size and it sat in my shop for almost three years - tripping over it, having to constantly move it out of my way, etc. Finally, this summer - I finished it and I'm right proud of the way it turned out. But in the interim, I almost either contemplated selling the pergola or just shucking the whole damn thing to the curb because it was in my way.

I wasn't like this 5 years ago. The will to do all those wonderful, aggravating, boring, exciting things has waned over the years. I can afford to pay someone to fix my fence, fix my HVAC, change my oil, take care of my lawn, etc now. Swore to the wife my next car is going to be something I only have to put gas in and wash on the weekends. Wash? I don't even do that anymore - I found a drive in car wash a couple of years ago about a mile from the house. $6 dollars and less than 5 minutes and I'm outta there with a clean vehicle.

Somebody better find me a wheelchair for my 60th birthday....

 

[LAROKE]

Geez, Danieldd. You just described me to a tee. There was a brief flurry of activity in my shop a few weeks ago when the steering box on my '37 daily driver imploded and I realized I owned four vehicles and none of 'em was running. Murphy had abruptly knocked my *** off the couch. I logged the episode - The Doldrums

An excerpt applicable to the subject at hand -

I was left to ponder the steering wheel situation some more. I was sitting there with a cigar wondering if I could drill and tap a couple of holes in the steering wheel hub so my puller might work when my neighbor, Gato, walked in. He asked me if I was working or just thinking about working. Yeah, he knows about my crappy work habits.

Unfortunately, I'm starting to backslide again now that the truck is back on the road.

 

[Bigplum]

Once you've spent that money getting someone else to do it, it's gone forever,
I still regret paying to get my brakes fixed 26 years ago ,when I could have limped it safely home, total waste of money .
I love fixing stuff , get bored watching tv and dream of a decent workshop . Maybe you need a nice project or restoration to get your teeth into .

It also sounds abit (and I'm no psychologist) like mild depression , it can creep up without people really noticing , getting no joy out the things you used to do is a primary symptom

 

[nmcqueen469]

Good topic, and it's interesting to see at which point in our lives we are at when we get into this conundrum.

Myself, I find these moments are beginning to happen more often that they used to right now. About to turn 30, have a growing family, a nice shop, decent amount of tools and know how, and I feel like as the days go on, I have less and less time to mess with our vehicles.

There are currently no "toy" vehicles in the stable as there have been for the past 10 years or so, so I know that has a lot to do with it. I just farmed out changing an upper ball joint/UCA on my truck. Could I have done it? Sure. Did I feel like it or want to invest the time on that task, being that it's my daily driver? Nope.

Also, my dad runs a repair shop, so getting a good rate and being able to get in at the drop of the hat definitely aids in my decision making process.

 

[Aberdale]

danieldd, You have described my motivation/ambition perfectly. I've become the greatest procrastinator, unless a job just has to be done to get to work, or to keep the rain out, etc.

Sometimes, I rationalize by thinking there's only a couple working hours left in the day, and I don't feel like getting dirty.

Sometimes, I know I will need materials, a part, or fluid to complete a job, and rather than get it as far as I can, I just wait until I think I have everything.



I've checked Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist. But I haven't found anyone selling ambition. I could use about a 5 gallon can of it right about now . . .

I can say that when I do eventually complete something it feels pretty good!

'dale

 

[danieldd]

……….



I've checked Ebay, Amazon, and Craigslist. But I haven't found anyone selling ambition. I could use about a 5 gallon can of it right about now . . .

 

[cyamaha2007]

I am in the same situation. Ive always enjoyed doing repair work. Now that my day job is becoming much more demanding I just dont have the time. I spent years saving for a nice tractor. Now that I bought one I dont have time to complete projects with it. I just signed a contract to move some dirt around it felt terrible.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Ha ha, I can relate. It's frequently occurred to me that now that I have nearly all of the tools to do most anything myself? I mostly don't want to do any of them! Except the ones I define as entertaining or fun. Weird but true.

 

[santagary]

ditto

 

[scl79]

Totally understand this thread! Just poured the floor in my 32x42 shop in November and had a local concrete guy come to finish it. Could have done it myself, but by the time I would have rented the power trowel and concrete buggy, I was halfway to his fee and he supplied the trowel and enough chute that I didn't need a buggy. Man, he did such a nice job too! Threw him an extra $100 cause I appreciated his work, and I do some flatwork for my business. I take my transmission and some electrical to my local mechanic, cause I don't know !@#@~ about transmissions, but 2 weekends ago my kid and I tore the front end apart on my 2010 Ram to put a 2.5" lift on to raise the snowplow up. Depends on what it is, but if it has to move NOW it gets farmed out.

 

[Thumper68]

Working on stuff that has to be done always *****, the stuff that you want to do is almost always fun.

I have gone through the I'd just rather sit on my *** and stare at the tube of PC too, but then I had a herniated disk and was stuck on my *** (well flat on my back) for 9 months, when I wasn't at work. As soon as I was feeling somewhat better I felt I had a new lease on life and my energy level came way back up, I can spend days in the shop, doing yard work, or playing with the kids.

Life is awesome once you can get out and live it.

A good friend was in the same boat, he had no energy, had to drag himself to work every day and would just sit when he got home. His wife made him go see the doc and turns out as he aged, in his mid 50's, he had low testosterone, he is on supplements now and back to his old self.

 

[aka Larry]

I'm in the same phase myself.....

A lot of it comes down to 'have to' vs 'want to'.

I pick and choose my battles.

For changing oil? NO ONE touches my vehicles. It takes so little time and gives me a chance to check things over.

I'm actually to the point where I'm about ready to farm out the regular yard work. A guy who lives in the neighborhood (speaks no English...but is legal) has a really good green thumb...I actually enjoyed watching him yesterday weeding the front flower beds...

If paying him $50 or so a month means I can get rid of my lawn mower and free up some garage space

^^ Sounds very familar.

I flat-out HATE damn yard work. I haven't mowed a lawn in 30 years because of it.

I like changing the oil in my cars, much moreso now that I have a lift. I like doing upgrades and regular maintenance to the cars, but don't like 'fixing' things that break. Like ddwag said, it's about 'having to' vs. 'wanting to'.

Like others have said, some things that I have hired out have resulted in shoddy workmanship so I should have just done it myself.