Car & Bike DIY Vehicle Maintenance - Who else is into it?

superczar

superczar

Skilled
After spending upwards of 20K+ on basic scheduled maintenance for my X1, I asked myself why am I paying through my nose for basic regular maintenance tasks, not to mention the amount of time that goes into scheduling a visit and getting stuff done
The final straw came when I was quoted 27K for front brake pad replacements which is when I decided to explore other avenues..
Decided to order an air filter , AC cabin filter (due for replacement soon), brake pads/sensor (about to get due) and a diesel filter from a OE parts supplier (they typically tend to charge a fraction of stealership costs)
Just wrapped up replacing the air and cabin filters (took about 2 hours) and planning to replace the brake pads and diesel filter over the weekend
In case you interested in the difference of costs:
- the 27K quote I got from the stealership translated into 5K in genuine OE parts for the brake service
- Air and cabin filter replacement cost me <4K vs the 11K part +labor that I had been paying

Thought of opening a thread to try figure out others who are into this and to share tips/online supplier info etc
 
I used to fix my bike myself back in India. Things like cleaning air filters, changing break pads etc... I used to get stuck whenever I needed speciality tools like fork oil seal punching ring etc...

The thing is, if you managed to download service manuals of the vehicle. for example, Pulsar or Yamaha r15 it would be an eye opener. because you will find that the service guys dont follow procedures described in those manuals and most of the times they damage the parts.

A simple example is break line bleeding or a simple thing like changing a tyre. Once when I was getting my tyre changed at Yamaha service center as the mag wheel got bent, the guys were jumping on the tyre with the break disk at the bottom. They had the tyre changing station at that time, but their excuse was that it was not working. It would have bent the break disk rotor if I didnt shout at them. Thats the quality of service personnel we find in India. I dont even want to talk about engine repairs where they are oblivious about torque strengths for different bolts.

DIY FTW.

Anyways, I want to talk a little on break pads for motorbikes. the genuine yamaha break pads cost somewhere around 800 a set I think. then we found out that KBX or some (kalyani) brand which sold the same quality break pads for 130bucks. later figured out that they were the same guys who are the OEM for Yamaha. The point is, "Genuine" hologram and stuff is such a rip off if you properly research the brand names.
 
I agree with you, Dealerships take a lot of money. even for my Mahindra XUV my last service cost me 24K, I don't actually do it myself because of safety concerns plus you need all the tools like jack stands & stuff. I get it serviced from outside at a fraction of a cost. Usually a simple service (Oil change + filter change + Break Cleaning) would cost around 6k in at the service center, but i can get it done outside for less than 4K.

I believe like in my XUV your X1 also probably have a service due reminder alert in your dash & that wont go away unless you take it to you dealer.
 
aasimenator said:
Usually a simple service (Oil change + filter change + Break Cleaning) would cost around 6k in at the service center, but i can get it done outside for less than 4K.
I believe like in my XUV your X1 also probably have a service due reminder alert in your dash & that wont go away unless you take it to you dealer.
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CBS (condition based service) indicators can be reset via a OBD II scanner
In fact even if you don't intend to service the car yourself, you still should get a OBD II scanner
When it comes to dealership service premium, The Indian and Jap/Korean brands are quite decent actually
Unfortunately the European brands tend to fleece you the worst
 
superczar said:
CBS (condition based service) indicators can be reset via a OBD II scanner
In fact even if you don't intend to service the car yourself, you still should get a OBD II scanner
When it comes to dealership service premium, The Indian and Jap/Korean brands are quite decent actually
Unfortunately the European brands tend to fleece you the worst
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Oh I do have ODB II scanner :) i use it with my phone using Torque App. but i didn't knew i could reset the service due indicator i will try that today.

Usually you can find how to DIY it yourself for your X1 on youtube, as its an international brand, for my XUV its difficult, even Mahindra themselves have posted some DIY stuff for their Vehicles.
 
i moved to DIY way because our lazy ass indian service providers used to induce more problems. they are careless and don't do their job properly.
 
As much as I would like to get this stuff done by third-party mechanics, the companies can and have in the past cancelled warranty claims if you don't get the car serviced at their outlets. Getting it done outside or by yourself is definitely very cheap and I do it for my out of warranty cars.
 
rdst_1 said:
Getting it done outside or by yourself is definitely very cheap and I do it for my out of warranty cars.
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warranty in India is a complete joke. even when you get your vehicle serviced at the service center.
 
I do simpler DIY on my bike like chain maintenance , oil change, air filter change and break/clutch cable adjustment. For more complicated ones, I take to the service center. I will be starting the similar things with my car in the near future. Also lack of service manuals for Indian bikes/cars is a big hindrance for me. I don't want to follow wrong procedures even if results justify these.
 
rdst_1 said:
As much as I would like to get this stuff done by third-party mechanics, the companies can and have in the past cancelled warranty claims if you don't get the car serviced at their outlets. Getting it done outside or by yourself is definitely very cheap and I do it for my out of warranty cars.
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Its a common misconception:
I double checked with the BMW warranty in-charge at the dealership
Warranty will be not honored only in cases where the service outside can be linked to the failure of the part
e.g. If I change the brake pads myself and if the disc rotor gets warped after 2 months, the warranty on the rotor may not be honored (technically that too only if the replacement disc can be qualified as the cause)
However if the fuel pump goes kaput, the part would be replaced under warranty

His advice : If you want to DIY - Get everything but the oil changes done by yourself
Reason he specifically kept oil changes in scope was to minimize the risk of a drive train part losing warranty on account of a failure being traced to spurious/non recommended oil

booo said:
warranty in India is a complete joke. even when you get your vehicle serviced at the service center.
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Any specific reason you say that?
I don't think any manufacturer in India shies away from honoring warranty claims
Majority of the rants you see online about warranty being denied are on account of user error
Don't expect any manufacturer in India or outside to honor say an ECU failure after you got a after market stereo or Amplifier fitted by a local mechanic who did a full ghetto job of cutting and splicing wires from the vehicle harnesses
 
superczar said:
... brake pads/sensor (about to get due) and a diesel filter from a OE parts supplier (they typically tend to charge a fraction of stealership costs)
Just wrapped up replacing the air and cabin filters (took about 2 hours) and planning to replace the brake pads and diesel filter over the weekend
In case you interested in the difference of costs:
- the 27K quote I got from the stealership translated into 5K in genuine OE parts for the brake service
- Air and cabin filter replacement cost me <4K vs the 11K part +labor that I had been paying

....
Click to expand...

that's really cool!! especially on marquee brand like BMW you save a lot in labor cost and parts[+] cost!!

just a question though.. how do you plan on carrying out the brake pad and oil filter change!? at home garage or you are gonna rent a lift at a friendly neighbourhood garage ? if not garage , can you use the regular jack to do this stuff?

EDIT: just re-read.. probably no oil filter change? and also if you can post some pics of DIY job it definitely would serve as inspiration to lazy bums like me ! especially of the cabin air filter change. :p :)
 
Can't take pics now as the job is done
The air filter change is very straightforward, unclip the locks from the air filter box, open the Torx screws that connect the Mass airflow sensor to the box.
Disconnect MAF
unlock and lift air filter cover and replace
Reattach everything and you are done

One silly thing I did was that I forgot to reconnect the MAF wire and got a check engine light after ignition
Reconnected the wire and cleared the ECU error and all done

Cabin filter took much longer as the filter is behind the dash - The filter change itself was a 5 minute job but sliding the dash out took time

Regarding the fuel filter and brake pad, I was planning to do it myself but a colleague recommended an independent workshop that specializes in German cars

The place is barely 2 kms from my house and the labor rate he quoted was quite low 1250/-) so planning to save some time and getting it done there tomorrow
Doing this with a regular jack and wrench would have taken the better part of a precious holiday
 
booo said:
warranty in India is a complete joke. even when you get your vehicle serviced at the service center.
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I haven't had a bad experience yet. My Maruti A-star has developed some problems after 40k kms and they are changing parts and calling engineers to sort out the issue without creating any hassles.
 
You should trust the authorized service centre for high end cars. Most oem parts are inferior. Each will contribute some compromise. Collectively the car will not be a pleasure to drive. Many times the rejections are sold in the open market by even original manufacturer. Many high quality looking parts are being imported from Korea. But the underlying material may not be good.

My friend had trusted local mechanics from Khan market in Delhi. One day his head light was erratic. The mechanic could not pin point the cause. So my friend drove back from the mechanic. But the car caught fire on his way home.
 
Yeah brands like BMW are not getting parts atleast this cheap as op has mentioned, of course they are making money but not at cost of quality for sure. These so called oem talks are bogus.

Got so called oem break pads for my honda city from outside and they scream all the time when I brake after some months , because these oem are hard pads


Guess what they are not oem at all............ It's just seller who is making fool out of people who want to save some money, and we people agree with their talks and repent later.

Truth is you can not get same quality outside for bigger brands, it's their monopoly, and certainly not exactly worth the price but due to unavailable parts it becomes worth the money by default due to monopoly
 
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is there any way to import/acquire spare parts for VAG/BMW/Merc Cars or any portal? even their labor charges are absurd :(
 
Apart from the regular oil and filter changes, I've done brake pad and rotor replacement along with a flush on one of my cars and timing belt replacement on the other. You can save a lot of $$ doing the regular maintenance on your car yourself and it also makes for a fun Saturday afternoon. The only initial investment is in an OBDII scanner, a good set of metric socket heads, a torque wrench, a c-clamp, service manual for your car and an impact wrench if you're feeling fancy. You might also need a breaker/cheater bar if you're working on brake or suspension components. Parts like oil filters, brake pads, rotors and various lubricants are cheap and shouldn't put much of a dent in your budget. Just make sure you dispose off of brake fluids and engine oils responsibly. When you take your car in for wheel alignment, do a quick under body check for leaks and rust. There is no shame in taking your car to the service station once in a while for them to catch things you may have missed.

P.S. - It's very important that you stick to the torque specs in your service manual. Service stations tend to be negligent on this, as you often see tyre shops tightening your lug nuts with impact wrenches. This is one area where you can do a better job than most service stations.
 
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toocool6600 said:
Yeah brands like BMW are not getting parts atleast this cheap as op has mentioned, of course they are making money but not at cost of quality for sure. These so called ****ing oem talks are bogus.
Got so called oem break pads for my honda city from outside and they scream all the time when I brake after some months , because these ****ing oem are hard pads

Guess what they are not oem at all............ It's just seller who is making fool out of people who want to save some money, and we people agree with their talks and repent later.

Truth is you can not get same quality outside for bigger brands, it's their monopoly, and certainly not exactly worth the price but due to unavailable parts it becomes worth the money by default due to monopoly
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I am often amazed by how quickly people unequivocally qualify something as bogus and sweep a generalisation as a universal Truth :)

Let’s go back to your squealing brakes and consider the possibilities of what went wrong

A) The seller sold you a bogus part

OR
B) User did not check the specs and make(s) of the original part and brought whatever the seller sold him (The local market prefers a harder compound which dusts less and lasts longer but at the cost of noise , Most OE suppliers manufacture pads in multiple variants to cater to different requirements)

OR
C) The user got it fitted by a mechanic who did a quick & dirty job without cleaning the rotors/applying anti squeal paste

Let’s see, 2 of the 3 are user errors, 1 of the 3 points to poor research by the user on choosing the right supplier
Yet this gets used as an example to generalise the entire gig

Back to topic:
There is no monopoly - Do you think any manufacturer makes all parts in-house? Barring the engine (that too not always) and a few other components, everything else in a modern car is supplied by third party manufacturers

Most of the sensors in my BMW are by Bosch, friction components are typically by Textar/Jurid , filters by mahle, hell, even the the transmission is from BorgWarner

I have in the past lugged online ordered parts for other cars from the UK , have a colleague who even carried struts from the US , I am just glad that the same is catching on locally as well at only marginally higher prices than outside India

Now tell us this honestly, did you do any basic research on pads (considering you are probably not a mechanic and thus should have done some due diligence on a topic you didn't know about)

Or did you just go to the local market and picked one from whatever shop caught your fancy
I guess your answer is right there

max_demon said:
is there any way to import/acquire spare parts for VAG/BMW/Merc Cars or any portal? even their labor charges are absurd
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There are many intl Sites that do ship to India with reasonable shipping costs

Suggest you do research in your local market first though
 
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