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My auto repair advice to a 2001 Ford Focus owner that has had major repair work done yet the car remains troublesome. See what can happen when you sink a lot of money into car repairs. The car question follows.

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2001 Ford Focus
I need automobile advice. I have a 2001 ford focus with 132k miles. The engine blew out in February. I called an auto repair shop, and was told that the engine could be rebuilt for less than $1,000. I took the car there and left it at the shop for him to look at.

The next day I came back to the shop and was told that the repair maybe $1,600 plus $200 to replace the timing belt. I told him I couldn’t afford it and wanted my 01 Ford Focus back; however he told me that the engine was disassembled and it would take time to put back together.

His auto repair advice was to set up a payment plan with him and he would guarantee the car repairs for 90 days. So I agreed to the engine repair. When I came to pick up the car, the total charge was now $2,200!
 
Diy Auto Repair 06/05/2009
 

Diy auto repair has been gaining in popularity throughout the decline of the economy. People are hanging on to their cars longer, and doing what they can to save money by performing their own maintenance and repairs.

Just like everything else the price of a new car has risen sharply over the last few years. Add to this the fact that many people have taken out loans that are now on seven-year payment schedules. All of these things add up to keeping your vehicle longer. This just makes dollars and cents.

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When I first got my drivers license, a car with 100,000 miles was on its way to the junkyard as it was conceived its usable life had passed. Now it is commonplace to see vehicles with over 200,000 miles that are still in service.

In fact, the fleet that I am currently working on has 4 1996 E350 vans with the 7.3 L power stroke diesel. All of these vehicles are close to 300,000 miles if not over. This is with the original engine.

Although the 7.3 L power stroke diesel is very impressive and continues to provide good service at over 300,000 miles they still need lots of maintenance and repair.

We have done our share of water pumps, starter motors and alternators on all of these vehicles. And we have also repaired some major oil leaks including the dreaded rear main seal.
 
 

This post is about auto repair manuals. Where they came from and how they have progressed through the years.

At the end you will learn about the future of this very important automotive information and what you can get your hands on now.

Auto repair manuals are published by independent companies rather than the manufacturers themselves. However they do pay for and get most of their information from the carmakers.

These car repair manuals contain component information, diagnostic steps, repair procedures, and specifications for several makes of automobiles in one book. Information is usually condensed and is in more general form than a manufacturer specific manual.

This condensed format allows for more coverage in less space and therefore is not always as specific or helpful. A telltale sign of one of these overview manuals would be that they would contain several model years of a specific model car in one book. Example: Ford Pinto covered from 1974-1981.

Auto repair manuals on CD

The same information that is available in service manuals is also available on several different electronic formats. In the beginning, this information was offered on CD-ROMs. And next, they were offered on DVDs, which were able to hold more information per disc.

A single DVD disc can hold a quarter of a million pages of text, eliminating the need for a huge library to contain all of the printed manuals. Using electronics to find information is also easier and quicker if they contain a search feature.

It used to be that these discs were updated on a monthly basis and not only contained the most recent service bulletins, but also engineering and field service fixes supplied by that auto manufacturer.

Web based auto repair manuals

The latest wave of this electronic auto repair information is offered in a web-based format. All of the information once contained on compact discs or DVDs is now uploaded on a central server network. This allows subscribers to access the information that is required. It also eliminates the update procedure that was required on the disc format.

The subscriber simply pays a fee and has access to the latest and greatest auto repair information available. I put together a page that shows you how this system works for the do-it-yourself car mechanic. I also provide a video that shows you what it looks like after you log in to one of these web-based auto service manuals.

If you would like to find out more about this website and what else is offered here, please visit the online auto repair homepage.