People who would rather fix something by themselves instead of paying someone else to do it have long understood the value of simple DIY. Last week I got my oil changed and tires rotated for a 2017 Subaru Forester. For the last fifteen years, I did my own oil changes, and there’s still a part of me that struggles to pay someone to do that, but we’ll talk about that another time. Last December, it cost more than $1200 for Subaru to reseal my engine, along with a couple of other things. That’s a little outside my natural comfort range of “I’ll give it a try.” I’ll gladly let the professionals handle engine extraction. The technicians did a great job six months ago, and I am interested in all fluids staying where they need to be.

But…we should definitely do as much basic car maintenance as we can tolerate.

Check this out:

Now, let me be crystal clear: I appreciate that the dealership put everything in writing. To me, that’s a Best Practice. And I’m sure not everyone wants to be bothered with the ten-minute hassle of swapping the blades.

Let me illustrate the difference, though.

I know I’m a lowly educator, but $74 is closer to $100 than I’d like it to be, especially when it comes to something that was almost effortless. That’s a solid amount of beer money wasted.

I’m thinking about how many times we exhaustedly say, “Okay—I’m already here; just go ahead and do that as well” once the car is already in the air. Dealerships know this as well. That’s fine, as long as they put everything in writing.

I have about a month before I’m back to work properly. Let’s explore other ways we can do things ourselves and put a little cash back in our pocket.