How Important is it to have a repair manual by your side? Compare it to looking at a dozen ingredients for a specialty dish without the recipe. If you've done a job before of course the second time around is a breeze. You know a few shortcuts and cut the time of completion in half. Mechanic information is like gold, it will save you a ton of headaches, time & money...However the first time is a mystery, you have to visualize the job before starting and use experience plus common sense as your guide.
I'd like to share with you a "case in point". This weekend I had to change the front park brake cable on my wife's 2000 Grand Am. Much to my surprise I found out that both seats, the console and complete floor mat had to be removed to access the park brake cable.
Six years ago I purchased the GM Factory Repair Manual for $150.00 U.S. at the time I thought t
hat was a rather hefty price since the Canadian dollar was down and the total was well over 2 hundred bucks.I've used this manual several times and have paid myself back that original fee ten times over!
I hate guessing and wasting time as most people will confess "time is money" [your own personal time is worth more than you think]
That's why I strongly recommend buying a quality repair manual for any vehicle you own if you're willing to fix it yourself. 90% of the repairs you can do yourself with basic tools, some aptitude and
a little patience.
The GM dealer in my town is charging over one hundred dollars/hr so it pays to get the right
mechanic information and take a crack at it and save some money!!So do yourself a favor and run down to the library or do some online surfing and grab the proper repair manual for your vehicle. The high quality versions are worth the extra expense, they'll supply wiring diagrams, body and trim, engine rebuilding steps and specs. etc. If you're keeping your vehicle for the long term go to the back of the owners manual [in most cases] the details will be there for ordering the factory manual.
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