With this:
It's so simple a monkey could do it. That's the theory anyway. It's a hub assembly for the family van, the much maligned "Golden Bear" or "C3PO," depending on the kids' preference of the day, or "the van," or "the damn van," depending on J's. The job I decided to tackle myself literally only requires removing six bolts, a big nut, and a cotter pin, or so I thought. As it turns out, the monkey who does this job also might be required to beat the daylights out of the parts if they're rusted together, and that's probably why the shop wanted to charge me about $220 for labor. Yes, as luck would have it, the old parts are badly rusted together, sealed, it seems, by corrosion for the duration of their earthly life. So what is a guy to do? After beginning what I hoped would be a 1 hour job at 6 a.m., I ran to Home Depot at 7:30 a.m. to get a rubber mallet. By 8:40, the mallet succeeded in pounding the rotor and the hub apart, which is why you don't see a rotor in the picture. But now the old hub is hanging on to that van for dear life. What's next? Probably a more severe beating for C3PO using some more vicious tools. We'll figure that out later. In the meantime, J is forced to drive our other car, which she's even less happy about than driving our "damn van."
I like to think I have a basic grasp of economics. In the case of fixing cars vs. legal work, I know I have a comparative advantage in producing legal work and a mechanic has an advantage in fixing cars. Theory would therefore hold that the most efficient allocation of labor would be for me to do my job and let mechanics handle theirs. My problem is that I earn a fixed salary, but I pay the mechanic by the hour. Therefore, despite what my billing rate at the office would suggest, from my bank account's perspective, the mechanic's time is worth more than mine, so I do more things myself than I'd like.
If the day comes when I can truly say the choice is to work for an hour to earn $X or pay someone $X-$Y, and $X > $Y, I'll gladly choose the pay $X minus $Y approach. It would be more convenient and result in not just less cursing but also more money in the bank. For now, however, it's a choice of paying $0+$Y or to do it myself for $0. Sure, there are other opportunity costs, but they're not directly monetary, so I'll sweat away for the time being.
I think you should write a column for the paper and earn some extra money on the side. Your blog is pretty funny and witty. You come from a stock of people that like to do things themselves, not just to save money, but because they like to do things themselves. I save money doing my own hair. (cut, color, etc.) It just gives me satisfaction. I guess how many people you want on your payroll is up to you. Don't think of the frustration in the process, just what you are learning. Mom
ReplyDeleteWell, a lot of penetrating oil and a rather severe beating by a 4 lb hammer did the trick. The downside? The car's computer shut off the ABS sensor, the anti-rollover system, and the limited slip. Perhaps its just a matter of resetting them. Maybe it's more. Either way, it's probably not something I'll mess with, so I'll probably end up giving my DIY savings to the mechanic anyway. I knocked the alignment out of whack a bit too, but I can get that readjusted for free, so no harm there. Yes, I come from a long line of do-it-yourselfers. Something tells me they were/are more capable than me. I actually like cars (or swearing at cars); it's home improvement projects that I'll be glad to outsource.
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