Top Level Public Wiki: feralcoder shared
I do car, sewing, wood, and other work in my SHOP

Subarus: Suspension Overhaul
Subarus: Control Arms
Subarus: Steering System Overhaul

Subarus: Playa Damage (under construction)
Subarus: DIY Alignment (under construction)
Subarus: Rotor Resurfacing (placeholder)
Subarus: Rebuild Your Own Parts (placeholder)

I like to work on my cars. It's one of the reasons I have a shop. Joy aside, I have lots of practical reasons to work on my cars, money's only one.

"Find a mechanic you trust" isn't a reliable option for everybody for all jobs. Many shops do really shoddy work, I've discovered, in cross-threads, ill-prepped seized threads, uncentered steering racks, etc. One of my cars is scarred all over by lazy work in corrosive conditions under the previous owner. My work takes 10x as long as a professional's, but if we're comparing work with the "average shop worker", my money's on my own.

One remarkable example: I've had 5 Outbacks, and they have all been a bit rougher to steer than other cars. That is, until I did my first DIY Alignment, after which I had the best-steering Outback I had ever driven. I'd taken previous Subies in for alignments, and what seems to happen is mechanics assume rear wheels need zero toe. This was wrong, my Outback needed rear toe-in, and suddenly I had a new car.

Some shops will use OEM parts, but you can't count on it. I've learned that most parts stores are liabilities. Eg, on multiple Outback versions AutoZone sells a sub-spec unit that "fits" many makes and models, and causes Outbacks to overheat. Outbacks are famous for this, but the fault is cheap parts. I have confirmed this fix on multiple of my own cars.

The same goes for headlamps. My Outbacks used to go through bulbs like crazy, and I'd have heat-damaged and sometimes fire damaged lens assemblies. The reason is that AutoZone sells the wrong wattage bulbs, literally out-of-spec but listed as correct. The reason's reason is that lower power bulbs are always longer life, all other things being equal.

I work in infrastructure.

I do have a favorite car. They're the same model, color, engine, and tranny, but different years: 2005 vs 2007 LLBean 3.0L H6 Outback, Champagne Gold Opal. When my older one needs cosmetic parts, I put the new parts on the newer car, and trade down - the old car is my off-road toy. If I crack a trim piece on my new car, I can just swap it with the beater and do an ugly epoxy fix on the broken piece. All good, thank you boss can I have another!

The aged headlights above got handed down to my old car, whose assemblies melted and burned thanks to AutoZone.

My old one's for beating up. My new one's for road trips and hauling. They get some specialization in struts, lifts, and wheels.
Subarus: Suspension Overhaul

It's good to have a control to compare against. If I have a vibration and suspect play in a shaft might be causing it, I can check the other car and see how much play is in that shaft. If I don't know whether my alternator is the source of a problem, I can swap alternators.

Some work is good to batch out all at once, for efficiency, like all fluids and filters. 2 of the same is twice the miles for trivially more work.

Also, it makes even more sense to rebuild your own parts (placeholder) when they're feeding 2 cars instead of one. (Below is for my own tracking...)

• 1 rack (needs rebuild)
• 1 power steering pump (needs rebuild)
• 2 rebuilt heavy duty front axles
• 1 rebuilt propeller shaft
• 1 rebuilt heavy duty rear axle
• 2 sets front / rear rotors (much life, need resurfacing (placeholder))

Some jobs are hard to do with one car, as you might need a professional's help after you begin, or where you plan to spend time rebuilding something before the job's done. 2 cars can help there, but having 2 of the same gives some real advantages.

For example: I'm upgrading the suspension bushings on my cars. I will pull the rear control arms off my old car, restore them, and press in new bushings. When they're ready, I'll swap them onto my new car in an afternoon, and keep on driving. Then I'll do the same job on the pulled control arms, and when done put them onto my old car. Calendar time: 2 months. Total downtime: 3 hours.

Not a maintenance reason, but the most practical. When it takes me 2 hours to commute to work on a bus, and 2 hours to come home again on a bus, it's nice to have a car at both ends.