DIY Automotive - Adventures In The Garage |
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Steven Magill
February 17, 2013
Not everyone is gifted to be a handyman. Skilled works are made for certain personalities and automotive repairs demand no less of such personal qualities. Still that does not mean only handymen have the right to have fun in the automotive field. Just as you don't to be a singer to sing, you also don't have to be an auto mechanic tinker with cars especially if it's your own.
The DIY tradition is not exclusive. In fact inclusivity and openness is somehow inherent in its culture. It encourages independence, daringness, and disciplined adventurism just as it puts primacy on self-pursued excellence in whatever field one chooses to have an adventure to. This is quite true with automotive DIY pursuits. Yet while adventure is encouraged, it does not mean that it does not adhere to certain standards and some rules.
One such rules and standards is the car manual. It is a must for every car hobbyist to thoroughly review and understand the manual of his car. A manual is a car owner's first guide to thoroughly knowing his car. It is also his first and most basic tool into whatever DIY adventures he may experience with his car.
Cars can actually communicate to its handlers. That is why a professional mechanic and a good car hobbyist have one thing in common. They know how to listen. Every sound that cars make can be a message by itself. Every squeak and the pitches and frequencies of the sounds you hear when it is running can be a very good source of signs on its real condition.
If your car has already been in an accident that required car bumper repair, it means it has already sustained substantial impact. If you notice it making a somewhat different sound after being repaired, let it be examined right away by a trained professional. Obviously you haven't identified any problem with it since you have decided to hit the road with it.
Assemble an emergency tool set and make it a permanent companion of your car. It should be an essential feature on your automotive arrangement as it can aid you in your maintenance and repair needs from garage to everywhere. Consider it like your automotive first aid kit.
Just because DIY is about taking risks, it does not mean you will make careless irresponsible risks. Attempting repairs without taking real effort into learning about the mechanisms and systems relative to a particular issue is irresponsible. One must have a good sense of understanding about an issue before taking a step to resolve it.
No matter how good at DIY automotive you are, you must still compliment it with the professional guidance of a real car technician. Let us take for example car bumper repairs - while it is doable in your garage, very few actually have to tools to restore it to its original form, or close to it. Automotive technicians in automotive shops will be able to that. Most car owners don't have the luxury of experimenting DIY attempts on a car they use for work daily. Perhaps, you don't too.
Basic things like changing fluids, pumping or replacing tires, and other routine maintenance procedures may not qualify as DIY activities in the strictest sense but they can define how responsible you can be as an independent hobbyist technician. If you can't be responsible for your car in its basic needs, how can you be when comes to its more technical maintenance and repair demands. Automotive DIY is an adventure in a sense that they inspire you to know more about the craft and excel further at your own volition. Moreover, it excites you to challenge yourself further to learn more, experience more, know better and be better.