[boxchain]

I do most of my own maintenance. I have to admit, I'm not as thorough as a good mechanic.

Agree 10000% about the oil change ripoff places, they've overfilled, underfilled, told me that my K&N needed to be replaced, etc. I only used them when I didn't have time to DIY, but now I think it's better for the car to go an extra 500-1000 miles on the old oil rather than to take it to those hacks.

I have, in the past, tried repairs that I've later regretted, so I've learned to take it to a mechanic in those cases. I have botched one engine swap (hint: don't try to install the engine solo), and a head (stripped plug threads, tried to vac all the bits out, but I missed apparently).