Now I know all of us here aspire to baller builds, but for some of us that is just not a reality! I recently watched a documentary about the people of cuba during the trade embargos... Alot of people like old American cars and wanted/needed to keep them on the road... Since the werent able to buy from dealerships and legitimate sources, they were forced to make do... Some were baking new pads on their brake shoes, using engines and parts totally not designed for their car...

Of course there's DIY, the next biggest thing I can think of is buying whole cars instead of parts... Theres gotta be more... What do you guys do to save money on your rides!

 

If you can't afford it, don't touch it. There's nothing I hate more than seeing ghetto generic builds and cheap parts.

 

A couple ideas to get it started... Again, I mentioned earlier buying whole cars instead of parts... Buy a car with the parts you want... You wont pay much more for a car with a z6 than you will for the engine.. You want a b18, buy the car with it... Theres plenty of this that goes on and I find it to be cost effective...

Another thing is to learn to properly test parts instead of blindly replacing them... I'm a big fan of OEM parts and I feel that many of the older cars can be done with all OEM upgrades... Brakes, suspension, turning, engines...

 

Yeah. Plenty of rednecks down here with car carcases littered in the front yard from doing the exact same thing. I aspire to that. Not.

Want to save money? Do it right the first time and if you can't afford it then don't do anything. Car ownership isn't cheap.

 

Anyone out there with real ideas on how to save money? Its real easy for these guys to get up here and knock other people, but when the shoes on the other foot, how will it be for them?? When they can't afford their spoon-fed spoon gear?? Any REAL ideas on how to save money within the hobby?

 

I don't put a whole lot of money into my car. Call me a redneck if you want, but around here we call ourselves "Hoosiers." I have had to jerry rig a couple of things together as my mommy and daddy don't buy my parts and tools for me. I don't think I would go as far as to make my own brake pads...But I will tell you that I have, in a pinch, done some things to my car I wouldn't even dream of trying on someone else's car. Including: driving 25 miles on 2 cylinders, using cheap old sockets as washers for bolts that are the right thread pitch but too long, I have used gum to seal up a short, coat-hanger to hold on my exhaust. You name it, I have probably given it a shot on my car. I think that function over form is a true display of one's technical abilities. Anyone can change something out, but when you actually understand what that part is doing enough to make do with what you have.. That is real talent.

 

My mommy and daddy don't buy parts or tools for me, it's called I work 4 jobs and patiently wait for quality purchases or deals. And yes I have bills, last month was over $2,000. It's really not that hard to afford quality parts, people just spend money in stupid ways then settle for junk. Don't go out to eat every night, don't buy fast food... even the dollar menu adds up quick when you go every day for lunch, smoking cigarettes gets you no where, do you really need an expensive energy drink or alcoholic beverage or can you do with water, tea, or gatorade? Conserve on gas, hold off on going to just 1 store one day then another the next, try to get them all done on the same drive. Seriously just little **** to cut back goes a long way. I don't call it being cheap, I call it being smart.

 

Mcgyvering in a pinch is one thing that many people have to do. Buying used parts can definitely get you more bang for your buck... Fabrication in the hands of the talented is definitely a money saver... What do you guys do to save money????

 

You keep talking about hack jobs. I don't do jack jobs.

 

You ever get convicted of a felony? You been to jail 6 times? You suffer from mental illness? Let me tell you...I will be in debt for a REALLY long time even living on bread and water. Some of us don't have as much luck.

 

Does anybody else think that this thread is out of control???? LOL... I ask what you guys do to save money in car work... You dont have to be a redneck, I'm not talking about **** parts, Doing a innovative fix during an emergency isn't even what I'm talking about, really... Don't see where anybody mentioned a hack job? This thread should be simple... If you haven't any ways you try to save money on your cars, then don't bother... If you do have ideas however that is the point of this thread...

 

Craigslist
be patient and wait for good deals to pop up...
I often see lightly modded civics go for under $1k that need minor work. The owner gets fed up of throwing money at mis-diagnosed repairs and eventually gives up...
Next thing you know, you have a 97 civic with a completely new cooling system and all it needs is a $60 headgasket...
Sell off the ricer parts, return to stock, do some basic maintenance, and resell the car for a profit.
Repeat and you will have a few grand saved up before you know it...
Many parts you can get away with buying used. Save yourself a ton of money

 

So the thread is out of control? You post that you watched people in Cuba hack together **** that , in some cases, would be deemed downright dangerous, BUT you aren't talking about hack job?

There is no way to save money on your car except to not drive it. Cars are depreciating property items that require maintenance. When it breaks you have to fix it. If you do it properly then it costs money. Do it improperly and it costs more money to make it right. Do it correctly and you don't WASTE money-you don't SAVE money. Maintenance cost money. GAS costs money. You can buy a good used part in some cases but that would be about the closest thing I would classify as saving money. Anything else is a hack job. Buying cheap substandard parts to save money is just being cheap. Doing proper testing and troubleshooting SHOULD be common sense so in effect you're talking about educating yourself when it comes to your car. Which goes back to what people have said; Do it right the first time. You're talking about not WASTING money.

You want to not WASTE money? How many cheap ricers out there work on cars without benefit of proper manuals? Get one. How many do half-assed swaps because they have no clue as to what they are doing-making it up as they go? Plan better. How many threads with wiring issues are out there because punk BROKE kids just hacked wiring harnesses to hell? Get a manual. How many times have I seen people post and not listen to a damn word anyone tells them because they just want someone to agree with them, and they are wrong. Stop being hard-headed. How many times have people tried to Frankenstein parts together that will never work because they were trying to be cheap-then they have to go back and buy the CORRECT parts? Stop being cheap. I can go on.

Here's one. (Massive run-on sentence alert) How many dumb people are so quick to buy a Honda, because they think they'll be F&F, and grab up the first CHEAP broke down, hacked up, rusted out, blown suspension, falling apart, smoking, knocking, bogging, squealing POS they can find, costing them more to fix it back to a working state than it would have by just buying a decent car in the first place and THEN hooking it up? You're not Paul Walker and Chinese made knock-offs from Ebay aren't your friend.

Saving money? I don't understand the purpose of the entire question.
How not to waste money? Respect your ride. Do **** right the first time.

 

Look dude, we agree on alot of things here. But you seem to take everything to an extreme.. Such a judgemental attitude (or so it seems in text).. You tell everyone to get educated.. Thats what I was asking everyone to do in this thread is to share tidbits of information that would help someone looking to learn how to save money... IF you know so much, then why don't you share the knowledge (that you seem to consider common sense) like I asked everyone to do in the first place? So to get this thread back on track and away from the bullshit negativity previewed above (if anyONE could stand to read through this trainwreck of a thread to begin with) Grumblemarcs singular positive point in all of this is don't try to save money by skimping out.. Do it right the first time.... Anyone Else have any ideas???

 

P.s. grumblemarc, I just wanted to say that the old saying that necessity is the mother of all invention applies very much to that thing I talked about with cuba... Just because they don't buy all this corporate american name brand crap, doesn't make the stuff that they do shoddy or unsafe....

 

CHEAP, RELIABLE, FAST... Pick 2 the other is what it is not. If you want to save money cancel your internet and buy a bike (not a motorcycle either). Building or modifying cars is not cheap. Yes you can buy ebay stuff that may last a few months but when it breaks you are worse off then you were before. You are out the money and part. Saving and doing it right the first time is the best way to save money

 

Thank you.

 

Switch to Geico

 

I agree with that, but I'm asking what you DO to save money... Even if you consider it common knowledge... Do you test your spark plug wires rather than buying a new set everytime you turn around? Do you clean and reuse certain things? The number one answer from the beginning of this thread is to make sure not to skimp the first time to save money in the long run... So in that same vein, I will start first and hopefully we can leave this stalemate topic behind.... The message has been clear!!!!

Okay, one thing I try to do to save money is to buy all maintenence items as soon as I get the car... If the timing belt needs done (which it usually does), I proceed to change the water pump, all seals, full tune up, pulley belts, fuel filter,etc.. If theres something that needs done, I try to do my repairs in stages to take care of any nearby problems before they get bad (kind of a do it all at once and get it over and done with).. Always do things in pairs such as wheel bearings and tie rod ends, etc... I tend to use honda genuine parts on most things, and I am a supporter of learning how to test everything rather than blindly replacing them.... I also try to do lubricate everything possible when I first get the car to cut down on wear and tear to the items... Anyone else have anything that they do to save money???? SO they number one thing promoted in the thread is to do it right the first time to save money in the long run...I've always agreed with that, but lets get the ball rolling for other people who maybe don't know yet...

 

Rebuild starters instead of replacing them.

 

Anytime I get a part off, I use anti-seize on the threads so the next time it isn't such an issue... Too many broken bolts for me since I don't usually have access to torches and the like... My only weapon is PB blaster... Another thing that I find important when you need to replace things is to think in the long term of what you really want in your project... If you need to replace your rear trailing arm bushings for instance and you hope to have rear discs instead, then go ahead and buy the parts you need for the conversion all at once and make sure that the one you buy doesnt need the bushing replaced for instance.... Its all about planning ahead to what you want in the future and not just toward your immediate needs...

 

One big thing that I do to save money is to anticipate problems and fix them before they leave you stranded... The money you spend on towing and then being without car to even buy parts with is better spent putting toward the repairs in the first place and keeps your transport more reliable... For instance, just recently one of my cars broke down on the way back from the grocery store, and luckily I was able to get back home before the groceries spoiled, but if not it could have been easily another $50 down the drain! If you get staranded out of town, you may have hotel costs and a mechanic you don't know or know whether to trust.. He doesn't expect repeat buisness and is more likely to rip you off the one time he has to get you... Plus I try to find local mechanics that care enough about repeat buisness to keep hourly rate down and know enough that they can get the work done in less hours!

 

Jeeezzz grumblemarc, did you get out of bed on the wrong side this morning, or is it just your namesake grumbling?

I am definatly not a fan of "jimmy-rigging" anything, but for a short term fix, it is one of the best ways to save money, EG; out of town and an exhaust hanger breaks, I can "fix" that with a coat hanger for nothing but some time and a coat hanger, sure as hell not going to pay a small town mechanic his markup on the part or the labour he would charge to "do it right the first time".

My favorite place for OEM parts is my local PicknPull, I will spend a day there on 1/2 price day and pick and pull anything I may need for my car, I have spare ICUs, ICMs, PGM-FI Main Relays, door lock actuators, door lock control units, and a number of other things that may/will go wrong with my 18 year old Integra.
I have even made a buck or two selling some of those parts to people too lazy, [or too busy] to go to PicknPull themselves, Hell I go there so much I will take orders for parts.

All the above is to save money on my car, that said, I also do not "cheap out" on fixing/working on my car, if I can not find what I need at the bone-yard, I will buy it brand new, not necessarily an Acura OEM part but a proven aftermarket part, or OEM replacement part, I mean You sure as hell do not need OEM spark plug leads, you can get better and cheaper ones at most auto parts stores, When I have to get an OEM part, [not available as aftermarket] I will shop around, did you know that Acura charges about $15 more for the exact same PGM-FI Main Relay, [part numbers are diff.] that Honda does.

Some research and shopping around will save you a lot of cash.

An obvious way to save a lot of money is DIY, educate yourself about your car, get a repair manual, even a $20 Haynes manual can help you do a lot of things yourself on your car, learn how to do simple trouble shooting.

Our shop min. is .5hr labour, [$40], not a week goes by that we do not get someone willing to pay me $40 to find out that they have a blown $1 fuse, just because they do not have or know how to use a simple 12V test light.

BTW most if not all of those $40 bills, go into the SPCA donation jar. 94

 

Get a AAA membership.

Free tows, gas, winch service if you get stuck, locksmith service, discounts, jumpstarts, and more for about $75 a year...

Great if you ever break an axle at the track. Pays for itself after 1 use...

 

One thing that I do is take small jobs to mecahnics sometimes so that I can test their honesty and aptitude.. I know it sounds mean in a way, but that way if they bite me on a small thing, then I know not to go there on something bigger... Make sure its not a trial and error mecanic as well... I use Allstate Towing plan, but I'm going to second the towing plan suggestion... When that distributor went out that I mentioned earlier, I had an extra one...I tried to change it out myself but the bolts were too tight... I had it towed for free and took it to a mechanic that I like... He charged me .5 hr labor to test the fuel pressure and change out the distributor... He could have easily charged me an hour or more if he felt like it! Feel it out ahead of time!!!