Plus, if you can do the work yourself it often becomes more than worth it. A mechanic's time is expensive—yours probably is not. If you have alternative transpo

Plus, if you can do the work yourself it often becomes more than worth it. A mechanic's time is expensive—yours probably is not. If you have alternative transport to get to work or fetch parts and can work on it in the evenings, stuff can be done very cheaply. For example, paying a mechanic to repair an air conditioner (replace compressor, condenser, drier, and associated parts, with a flush out and refrigerant recharge) is prohibitively expensive. I was quoted $2000 plus labour to do this work last month by a reputable mechanic. I did it myself for about $600 with parts from rockauto.com and very basic tools (socket set).