How did you learn

[ben]

I see people on here writing about how they do all there own work on their cars etc

This really interests me and i would love to be able to do this myself when i get on the road, so i was just interested how you guys actually learnt how to do everything yourself?

I guess some people may be mechanics or ex-mechanics which makes sense, can you learn how to do all this work without being a mechanic or having training?

Thanks,
Ben

 

[MasterAuron]

Learn by doing.

 

[ben]

fair enough!

 

[herb]

me im no mechanic the limited knowledge i have is my mates diagnosing the problem for me buying a haynes manual and doing the work myself
or finding a guide on the net on how to do what ever then having a go myself
but i do have a fail safe that anything i #!#!#!#! up or cant do my mate the mobile mechanic will be there for me in 30 minuets :amuse:

 

[coupe]

you start with simple stuff and work your way up to the bigger things.

 

[Skelo]

you start with simple stuff and work your way up to the bigger things.

As above really.

I knew nothing about doing stuff to cars, up to a few years ago (i'm 34 now!)

I bought my first rover 4 years ago, joined a rover forum, and got information from the forum.
Has saved me a fortune doing things myself, thanks to the forums i belong to.

You only really learn from doing simple things, such as changing for for example, then move slowly in the difficulty stakes.
You WILL make mistakes, make sure you learn from them.

Make a mistake, then you'll learn how to fix them.

Cheers
Dave

 

[lutonmatt]

i am a trained mechanic and have been for while started at the garage when i was at school then did my nvq level 3 finished that about 6 years ago
but the best way of learning is doing it you can read about it till you know each letter but until you do the job you wont understand it fullly

i was playing with cars before i started at the garage did a headgasket on a mk2 cavaleir for the bloke across the road he did bits but i did most of it and was the first car i drove

 

[turbonutter69]

As said really just jump in and have a go. You will soon pick things up. You will prob find yourself doing things the hard way to start but once you get used to things and get some info you'll soon learn a few tricks.

 

[herb]

another good way of learning is helping mates with more knowledge than you on there cars you may be the lackey but you learn for your car in the future this is how i learned how to lower suspension its easy once youve seen how its done!!!

 

[obi_waynne]

I found I learned a lot from helping others out. My first ever car job was helping my step dad do an engine swap in his Mazda 626. Since then he's showed me how to do the basic service stuff and with a good manual you quickly pick things up.

Half the time its knowing how to remove stuff, there is usually a knack to most things and most cars are similar.

 

[ben]

thanks for the input guys

 

[Wcnwzrd]

for me it was just buying an old junker for $200. It barely ran and wasn't to large of an investment so if i screwed it up major then no biggy. I would suggest going with an older engine first though. Alot of the electronics on new vehicles can be quite finickly and won't let the car run right if they are off by to much. Get yourself some buddies who know a thing or two (or you can always ask on here) and go at it. If you screw up don't fret we all do at some times. Been working on cars for 15 years now and still forget to oil up the filter during an oil change sometimes. Biggest thing, take your time and start simple. Don't go pullling the crankshaft your first day. Start with oil changes and belts/spark plugs and work your way up. Don't go faster than you are comfortable with and you are in for a great experience.