Do you do your own maintenance?

[Cabriolet]

other than really one really weird issue i was having, i do all my own work, including building my own engines, upholstering my own seats and everything else bolted on to the chassis of an e30.

[DrJosh]

I used to do everything myself. Now I just do what I want and have the Indy do the rest. Oil changes and such get old

[UlrichFennec]

I need to find myself a buddy out here in Colorado to help me work on my car and show me the ins and outs. It'd sure as hell make things a lot easier on me.

[estoguy]

I've done about 90% of my own maintenance. I had the brakes and starter done when I first got my E30 because it was the middle of December and I had nowhere to do the work inside. Had my muffler replaced at a shop and my rear calipers/brakes replaced and bled.

I have performed the following services, sometimes with help.
- Oil Changes – switched to synthetic a few months in, now doing them about every 12-15K km.
- Valve Clearance checks every 30,000 km (Have done this five times, and no need for adjustments yet)
- Bi-annual tire swaps
- Replacing Spark plugs (Have done this 3 times)
- Timing belt, water pump, crank seal at 265,000 km with help from by buddy
- Front wheel bearings
- Brake servicing
- All rear bushings – Subframe, trailing arm, drop links and rear strut bearings. At the same time, replaced rear inner brake lines, and 3 differential seals (the output seals and the input seal) – with help from my buddy.
- Removed rusted out resonator and had my buddy weld in a replacement elbow
- The second timing belt under my ownership - did this one solo
- Removed steering rack to replace the lower steering linkage

[UlrichFennec]

this forum is pretty much built upon the DIY attitude, Im sure the poll will reflect this.

Makes sense, but some people might be in a particular situation not making it easy or might be limited to what they can do, like me. I hope this doesn't make me sound like a shitty owner for not working on it all myself.

[5Toes]

this forum is pretty much built upon the DIY attitude, Im sure the poll will reflect this.

[AndrewBird]

When I was 15 I got my first car, a 1970 MGB-GT. Took it to a local shop run by an old guy who specialized in British cars. I needed the side draft Weber DCOE tuned. After sitting in his shop for almost a week, he gave it back to me after doing nothing because he couldn't figure it out. I took it home and read a lot and taught myself how to do it. Haven't taken any of my cars to a shop since, other than for an alignment or tire mounting/balancing.

[UlrichFennec]

I was curious how many people go to the dealer, an independent shop or do things themselves.

Right now, I do a mix of both. I do some basic maintenance like spark plugs, hoses, bulbs, checking fluids and topping off and airing up my tires. Sometimes I go to my specialist shop to get things done that I can't do myself since I don't have many tools, like my timing belt, valve adjustments and other routine maintenance. At the moment, I don't have a floor jack, or wheel chocks, jackstands, etc. I just have a bunch of wrenches, sockets and a couple ratchets, screwdrivers etc. I gotta save up after all the preventative maintenance I've had done and the slow and steady restoration ahead.