Where do you Draw the line?

[VolvoMan]

Where do you draw the line between buying the tool so you can do it yourself and having someone who already has the tool do it?

For me, it's where I cannot ever afford the tool, but can afford to have it done. For instance I happily paid $$$$$ to have a well drilled, because it would cost over $250,000 to buy a rig that I'd only use the once (hopefully).

At the moment, I can finally afford to by a tire machine and ballancer but don't have anywhere to put one yet, so I happily pay the $10 a tire to have them fitted for now. I have however recently acquired a 2 wheel alignment rig for nothing , I'm going to try to convert it to 4 wheel, as I believe I can do this with a couple of laser pointers and some sheet metal. (plus a bunch of trial and error.)

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

To me it's when either way will cost about the same. Because then if I do it I end up with the tool(s)!

 

[skeletonizer]

To me it's when either way will cost about the same. Because then if I do it I end up with the tool(s)!

^^this^^

 

[A1an]

It really comes down to whether or not I feel I have the ability to perform the task with the tool and if that tool will come in handy down the road. Obviously there would be a money cap on that. A few hundred more than a professional to do the job is no prob, but if we are talking thousands then I will just hire someone.

 

[James E]

I also factor in how many times I'll ever use it. It used to be that I would buy a tool no matter what unless it was over a couple-hundred bucks. Now, my garage is packed full of useless **** and I now factor in how often I will use it and the size of the tool.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

It really comes down to whether or not I feel I have the ability to perform the task with the tool and if that tool will come in handy down the road. Obviously there would be a money cap on that. A few hundred more than a professional to do the job is no prob, but if we are talking thousands then I will just hire someone.

I also factor in how many times I'll ever use it. It used to be that I would buy a tool no matter what unless it was over a couple-hundred bucks. Now, my garage is packed full of useless **** and I now factor in how often I will use it and the size of the tool.

I agree with these lines of thinking.

- my capability
- cost of tool or machine
- frequency of use
- size of tool/machine storage

Some jobs are better left to the pros, even for the "hassle" factor, both long and short term.

 

[A1an]

I also forgot to include the necessity of the job. I'm more inclined to buy my own tool and try something new if I have some time to fiddle with it. I am more inclined to call a pro for emergency repairs that may be well within my skill set but where I lack the tools/parts.

Example: Last weekend I was removing an old water softener from my garage that is no longer used. Building inspector said it was non operational and bypassed. Given this information I decided to attack the water lines with a reciprocating saw to expedite the removal process. Ended up the main water supply was still routed through the softener's bypass and not bypassed at another valve as indicated by our inspector. After the unexpected shower I shut the water off and did some investigating. Probably could have solved the problem myself but it would have taken multiple trips to get the parts/tools I lacked and likely a lot of frustration/stress trying to get it done as quickly as possible. Plus with a kid in the house we can't be without water for long. Sucked up my pride and shelled $200 to a professional for a proper bypass.

 

[MrSnicks]

For me it's always a battle of time versus money. Sometimes I have extra money and can pay someone to do something and sometimes I have extra time and can do it myself. Sometimes my due out date on something is such that I know I'll never have time to do it and need someone else to do it.

Just recently I needed a trac bar and tie rod replaced and then an alignment done. I don't have an alignment machine and I don't have pickle forks and didn't have the time to do it myself so i bought the parts and had the shop replace the parts and then do the alignment.

I may be getting myself some pickle forks in the future but will still have the shop do alignments.

Patrick

 

[BrokewrenchLS1]

Two primary things I think about: price and reusability. How much does it cost, and how likely am I to use it for more jobs/more vehicles than the specific one at hand that requires me to buy the tool.

Good example is a front bearing puller/installation kit for Mk3 VW Jettas. My brother has one, and the front bearing was completely and utterly shot. I priced getting the tools to do it properly, then called a local VW shop and checked the price of having them change the bearing. I could have paid them to change 10 bearings and would still have been below the cost of the tools I needed alone, and the chance of using those tools on anything else was inordinately low.

Case that was just the reverse, the parent's 2004 Grand Cherokee needed a full front axle overhaul - ball joints, tie rod ends, CV shafts, all of it. Didn't have the right tools to (properly) remove the tie rod ends, nor did I have a ball joint press. Combined cost of the tools to do it was about $250. Bought all the tools - even though I don't personally have any vehicles that require a ball joint press right now, there's a high chance I'll be working on more 4x4 vehicles in the future, and the tools were relatively inexpensive.

 

[JimVonBaden]

To me it's when either way will cost about the same. Because then if I do it I end up with the tool(s)!

I agree, up to a point. If, in the end, I have expended a lot of time and energy, and have a tool I will likely never need, I let the pro do it, so long as the price isn't too far off.

Jim

 

[rsanter]

Simple math
If the purchase of the tool is less than the cost to have it done
Or
If the purchase of the tool is less than the cost to have it done and then sell the tool if it will never get used again
Or
If the cost of the tool is less than the cost of having it done plus it will get used again

Bob

 

[carhunter]

I value my time pretty highly and its always a tradeoff of whether I can pay for something to be done, or do it myself and maybe learn something new along the way.

House AC unit failed last year...after a little google research it turned out to be a $16 capacitor that we fixed in an hour. Saved several hundred $

Needed to have some land clearing done for my driveway extension and none of the excavators would return my call. Option 1, rent or buy a bobcat - too expensive. Option 2 - buy a TLB, still a little high...ended up lucking into an old Davis loader for my MF35 tractor and we're cutting the roadway slowly.

Its fun to do and I save a lot of money, but its also a lot of personal time.

 

[willyk57]

For me the debate comes up most often between buying and renting larger power tools and specialty tools. If I can afford to buy the tool in the first place, it then becomes a question of whether I will use the tool enough times in the future to bring the rental cost close to the perches price.

The recent debate was over a milwaukee right angle drill. It would have been around $250 to buy and $20 a day to rent. I have other large drills and there have only been a few times when I needed to get into the a tight space. The rental won out this time.

Best,
willyk57

 

[IONH]

I love accumulating more tools and stuff. For example, bought a cement mixer 4 years ago to put in a granite mailbox post and never used it again. But it's there if I do ever need it. That does tread the line though on "too big" versus "frequency of use" versus "time to mix that relatively small amount of cement by hand".

My time is super valuable like others have mentioned. I did my own garage roof and it came out great. Had a licensed contractor do my house after some hail damage (free from insurance company) and they did a crappy job, should have done it myself. Time and height kept me away from that one though.

I've got a dynamic tire spin balancer and it takes up way too much space as I've only used it maybe three times in the last year or more I've owned it. I won't get rid of it though as it's there when I do need it. Just need to do a better storage solution for the hood so it's out of the way.

 

[anodyne33]

I also forgot to include the necessity of the job. I'm more inclined to buy my own tool and try something new if I have some time to fiddle with it. I am more inclined to call a pro for emergency repairs that may be well within my skill set but where I lack the tools/parts.

^this

The Jeeps are beaters, there are few things I won't try myself on them. The daily driver Mazda however, that's another story.

 

[Toymeister]

For me space factors into the equasion. I used to consider how often I would use the tool then I soon found I was using the tool to help out 'friends'. It may sound selfish but once I pared out the users I had far less 'friends' and thus the need for less tools.

 

[JimVonBaden]

For me space factors into the equasion. I used to consider how often I would use the tool then I soon found I was using the tool to help out 'friends'. It may sound selfish but once I pared out the users I had far less 'friends' and thus the need for less tools.

Am there now, with three bikes in my garage that do not belong to me., and a seeming never ending streem of people needing tires changed or service done. I do not charge for service for liability reasons, and have a hard time saying no.

Jim

 

[Steevo]

I also factor in how many times I'll ever use it. It used to be that I would buy a tool no matter what unless it was over a couple-hundred bucks. Now, my garage is packed full of useless **** and I now factor in how often I will use it and the size of the tool.

^^^ This
If I will use it often, and it will not waste space I could use for something I would use more often, then I'll use the cost of tool vs. cost of having it done formula to determine whether to buy it.
I'll never own a smog machine, or a radiator flushing machine or a Macpherson strut compressor, because I need them so rarely.
I have a mill and a lathe, and a welder, and torches and lots of hand tools and precision tools and pullers and such because I use them often.
I have a commercial grade tile saw, because I have done at least six major jobs with it, including a full master bath remodel with travertine and marble, a retaining wall with cut stone caps, a couple of floor jobs and a tile shower.
Any one of those jobs would have cost me more in labor than the saw cost me.
I would like a tire machine, but then I'd need a spin balancer, and the combination would eat up too much floor space for me.

 

[bgarrett]

Where do you draw the line between buying the tool so you can do it yourself and having someone who already has the tool do it? When I have lost faith in the 'professionals' because so many have screwed up in the past. Plus I get the tool for 'free'.

 

[dittle fart around]

When I was younger, every project required tools I didn't have. So each new project I added new skills and new tools. Now that I'm older, OK Old, having tools, even if I don't use them that often, means I can do the labor myself.
If you're in business for yourself adding the price of tools needed, to the cost of the job, only makes sense. Obviously you can't justify more expensive items on just one job, just split it up on the next few jobs.
My kids think I can build or repair anything. I would hope I've shown my kids any project they attempt is possible. New skills only come when you challenge yourself.

 

[egnorant]

My problem is that I find a screaming deal on a tool and buy it with no particular purpose arising for a few years.

Right now the only thing that stymies me is automatic transmissions and AC, both auto and home.

My line is WAAAAAY over there!

Bruce

 

[Falcon67]

I just look at the project, the possible long term use and the cost. Some things are just out of budget. Some things I pine for, without regard to long term use (12x36 lathe). Most of the normal stuff - drills, air tools, air nailers, small machines (drill press, metal band saw, etc) and such - have well paid for themselves in labor savings. Some of it is "desire" - if I fell in a money pot, I'd buy every Rottler automotive machine I could find a spot for but might never buy a tire changer LOL.

 

[garfunkle24]

It can also depend on how much money you make. For example, if you make $200 an hour, you're probably better off getting the pros to do just about everything and use the time to make more money yourself.

I used to have a lot more time than money, now it's the other way around.

A lot of people don't put nearly enough value in their own time.

 

[carhunter]

A lot of people's wives don't put nearly enough value in their own time.

Fixed

Of course when I say that, I always get the "but I raise the children" bit. Who can compete with that?

 

[tribbles]

Sometimes if Auto Zone has the tool available as a loaner (like the crank pulley puller for a 3.2L Chrysler motor) I'll use that. Only time I'll have a shop do a job is if I know that the job will be a royal pain in the *** (like dropping a full tank to change a fuel pump).

 

[angzt]

My 2cents:

if you have your own tools, you become more self sufficient! and that means you don't have to pay for / deal with other people's nonsense.

:-]

 

[Kevin C]

For car repairs I factor in travel time and the loss of my car to have a repair done. That and the hassle of having it done wrong. Paying to have my car screwed up really, really pisses me off!

A lot of my tools I bought as a teen. 35 years later most of them are still in the same Craftsman tool box that I bought at 17. My CP impact wrench I bought at 21 still works great. The Napa floor jack needs an overhaul. My Craftsman air 220 volt 3 hp compressor is still running strong.

Pretty much, I can justify most purchases based on another 30 years of use. I'm pretty sure that once I hit 85 or so I'm not going to be fixing my own car. Then again you never know....

 

[pmason0]

Where do you get tires mounted and balanced for $10, it more like $20-25 around here. I would like to get a tire machine and balancer as I race and go through tires in ~2 event weekends, have about 20 used tires in my basement now.

 

[NUTTSGT]

There's jobs that I do and ones that I don't. Tire changing,not worth my money to buy a changer or the space it takes up. Tile saw, if I was remodeling a bathroom, I'd buy one in a heartbeat. Carpet, nope, not buying the stretcher for that either.

I try not to borrow tools either, I'd rather buy them myself. I borrow one and break it and then have to replace it, well that tool purchase could have been for me.

 

[VolvoMan]

Where do you get tires mounted and balanced for $10, it more like $20-25 around here. I would like to get a tire machine and balancer as I race and go through tires in ~2 event weekends, have about 20 used tires in my basement now.

£6 ($10) is pretty much the norm in the UK for Valve, Balance & Fit. Disposal charges are kept low thanks to a Tire burning power station which has been designed for low emisions (really clever system, the fuel's free and they get cash back from the steel banding that's left over)

In the US, I've found local independent tire places to be pretty good pricing if you shop around, and it also helps to be a close friend of the local tattoo artist. Les Schwab on the other hand are frightening prices, guess they've gotta pay for the laundry on those white shirts somehow.

What I don't get though is the cost of alignment in the US. I've never shelled out here for the rig as a lot of tire places do it either free with a set of tires, or for about £15 ($25) but I see the price in the US is $80+ real glad I just got a set of gauges for free.

 

[magnusk750]

Basically it's a question of time versus money versus quality of the job. I've never had any issues with the quality of changing and balancing tires, the equipment is rather expensive and the service can be bought from a nearby pro for a few bucks = I'd never dream of investing in the equipment. On the other hand, I'm putting days of work into changing the floors in my house right now. Not the cover material, the entire floor construction in a 50+ house. I could probably have it made for an affordable sum but, though it's not very complicated I don't rely on the proffessionals here. The equipment isn't expensive and I know I will make it with care myself.