I really could replace my 1966 Ford Mustang’s exhaust by myself. All the parts are available, and I’d just use a bunch of clamps to squeeze it all together; it really would be no big deal. And yet, here I sit at a muffler shop in Van Nuys, California about to be out $800. That’s a lot of scratch! And it hurts! I’m not sure I like this feeling, and I’m a little worried it could become the new normal.
As has been made clear in a number of my previous articles: My life has become a bit more complicated than it was before in Michigan, where I was a single man with only one job: make content to feed blogs. Delicious, juicy, click-inducing blogs. As a result of that life’s simplicity, I had lots of time, which meant I could wrench. Non-stop.
Nowadays I have more responsibilities as EIC of The Autopian, plus I have a more complex personal life. So time is hard to come by, which means I can’t wrench as much as I used to.
There are some jobs that I will not pay for. Brake work? For get it; I’m doing that myself. Engine work? I got that; I’m not going to spend thousands to have someone else do work that I may not have faith in. I know that, if I do the job myself, it’ll be done properly.
There are some jobs, though, that require a specialist. Brazing up a bad radiator? I’ll have an expert handle that. Paint? Yup, an expert. Aligning my car? I could use a tape measure, but why not just have an expert with laser machines do that? Exhaust?
Well, exhaust I could just do myself. Check out the hole in this thing:
As this exhaust shop here in Van Nuys points out: This thing needs a whole new exhaust. The pipe is as thin as paper. And, what’s more, I hate the location of that muffler; it’s right up against the fuel hose.
I could get a whole new exhaust, though, for only $330! And I’d just put it all together and clamp it with some U-Bolts. It’d take some time (which I don’t have), but it’s really not that hard of a job.
But I don’t have time. My brother (the spiritual owner of this Mustang) is flying in on Thursday, and I want him to enjoy his car for the first time (yes, he’s never driven it). So this shop is going to do an entire new exhaust — a big one 2.5-inch one with a Flowmaster 42441 repackaged ahead of the axle — for $800. A bit dear, yes, and I kinda regret not having haggled, but hey, it’s where we’re at.
As someone who typically does his own work on his cars — including exhaust work – I feel really weird. As a certified cheap bastard, I hate spending money, but I need to remind myself: I do almost all other work myself. I’ll be swapping the master cylinder myself later today. That’s saving probably at least $150. I tune my own carbs, I do my own electrical — I can pay someone to do my exhaust every now and then, right?
Why do I feel so bad about this?
[looks into wallet]
Oh yeah, that’s why.
One of the most important questions to ask yourself in a situation like this is, “What is my time worth?”
I have to paint the 3 exterior doors on my house. They have layers upon layers of old paint and haven’t been repainted in years, save for some small patchwork painting I did after a “temporary” number of repairs to fix some superficial rot and damage to one of the doors due to its being directly exposed to the weather. I hate stripping old paint and repainting and even though I could do it, it would be a messy, annoying job and I just don’t want to deal with it. Luckily, I know a good, local painter who will do the job for a reasonable fee and it’s just a no-brainer. I have no problem doing minor plumbing and electrical work and stuff like that around the house, but for this kind of painting, I’m hiring that guy and will be happy to do so.
Depends. I’ll do stuff that does not require getting under the car or putting it on stands, if I feel competent. I use an extractor for oil changes. Otherwise it’s off to the shop.
The Chinesium water pump (prior owner, not me) in my E53 M54 X5 blew up in rural TN on Tuesday, luckily right at a gas station, and I had all my tools with me. This is a repair I could have easily done, WITH THE PARTS. There was nothing around this gas station. Nothing. I had it towed to the nearest town where I spent three days doom-scrolling at a cheap motel while the one shop that agreed to do it waited for the parts. The 4th of July holiday did not help with that delay. He did a great job and it was a lot cheaper than I feared. No issues driving back home.
Sure, I could have overnighted the parts to the gas station and slept in the car, but eff that.
So sometimes you don’t really have a choice.
I do almost all my own work.
I outsource EVERY exhaust repair. It’s not worth it. They have all the best toys to deal with rusted crusty garbage.
As you get older and more established, you are going to find that your time is often well worth shop rates.
Unless it’s a Golden Eagle.
Welcome to adulting. Not to mention that the mechanic who worked on the car now has bragging rights.
I think you feel bad because you didn’t take this opportunity to put true duals on it.
Yes, we know you are an engineer. But consider some of the rest of us. I feel really proud that I could do LED headlights and real hood clamps on my Jeep. Most everything else is done my my local mechanic because if I do it, it will take three times as long and I’ll screw it up at least twice and it will end up costing more!
Can relate. Just came home day before yesterday with kid #2 while in the middle of an absolutely MASSIVE home repair project. Two (just sold the third last week) special interest cars needing attention, and my long/low floor jack is holding up part of the second floor of the house. Haven’t taken the plunge yet on shop labor, but absolutely can relate.
It’s OK to pay someone to do the work you have no time or will you do. It doesn’t make you any less of an enthusiast.
It does make you less of a cheap bastard but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing!
I just want to see and hear the results
So I guess this is the content you mentioned?
My mum has 2009 five-door Volkswagen Polo, and the power door lock mechanism in one door malfunctioned. Being mechanically inclined, I had planned to replace it with new one myself so I ordered the part and perused the YouTube videos for instructions. I kept deferring the work for days, then weeks, then months.
I contacted the independent repair centre about the labour for replacing the door lock: only €20. So, I took the car and door lock replacement to the centre and have the mechanic do it himself.
You will forgot the costs when your cruising with the top down listening to that burble.
I thought I had the time and inclination to fix the hole where the battery sits in my ’67 VW squareback. I removed the interior around the start of Covid, purchased needed parts with the government $, got a better paying job, bought more parts. Found a place to sandblast the whole car, found a shop where I could get training on bodywork and painting, and then things stalled. Nearby fires kept us on high alert, so no spark-generating action here in the California foothills. Getting our go-bags all set. Setting up the camper as our go-vehicle. Then the realization that I don’t have the time anymore. So soon, we will tap into some funds and I’ll be shopping around for a body shop to do the work. Disassembly and re-assembly I want to do and will find the time to do it. I don’t have time to learn bodywork and painting anymore.
Yet another self-indulgent story about hand-wringing over nothing. To me these stories always seem to be make-work, or maybe to fill a content quota.
It’s pretty simple: Got the time and inclination to do it yourself? Or need to save money? Go to town. Else pay someone to do the work for you.
Agree. The man with two i3s is complaining about having more money than time. I wish I had this problem.
100%. And with the YouTube-esque top shot? Good grief. It’s called being an adult, and being fortunate enough to make choices.
I guess my issue is with so-called cheap bastards but in DT’s case I feel like that’s either a shtick or a crutch, or maybe both, but it gets goddamn old.
Sorry not sorry for the rant.
David, it’s OK. Sometimes the best option, when taking everything into account, is hiring out the work.
I was looking at a possible project car online, and had to ask myself if I would realistically get it done in two years. The answer was no, so I let it pass.
A wise friend of mine says that we can have money or time, but not both. I don’t think that’s an absolute, but it is pretty accurate.