I sort of agree but it heavily depends as well as to where you are in life. Way back when I used to love doing my own oil changes, adjusting points and carburetors (remember those things?), etc. And when I first got the 2005 XKR back in 2008 I did a couple of DIY tinkering such as fixing the headrests that were not moving, installing the pressure regulator for the convertible top (thanks Gus and Walt), and chenging instrument panel bulbs. But there gets a point where you don't mind paying someone else to service the vehicle and luckily there is a great independent shop nearby. I have one "big" job that needs doing that I have been putting off (upper shock mounts) and two small PITA things that I am tempted to tackle (antenna motor not working due probably to broken cable inside) and trunk button not working (due probably to broken wires in the bonnet to lid harness). There gets a point where, in the scheme of things, it is just easier to pay someone else to "fix" things. I find this is also the case for stuff that needs "fixing" in the house

 

OUCH !

I started my motorcycle mechanic career in the late 1960’s when 60-40 was the standard with the mechanic getting the 60%. I never got less than that all the way thru to the late 2000’s working in a classic car & motorcycle restoration shop. This was working in Maine, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Texas.

Z

 

Sometimes the "expert" work we expect, when we pay for just ain't so expert. No shop, including a Jag dealer, ever properly serviced my transmission oil. One even used an off-brand fluid (Redline) that just wasn't compatible. It took me three "proper" DYI services to finally purge all of it with MERCON. And the tranny ran better than EVER afterward. Nobody cares more about your car than you do. Nobody will put the attention-to-detail into any given task than you will. Yeh - even I had to subject Kitty to a shop a couple of other times for tasks that beyond me, but I watched and was directly involved with the mechanic.

 

^^ Agreed....

 

Has the cost of an oil change gone up much in the 9 years since this thread was started?

 

In my neck of the woods it certainly has....