Most Helpful Customer Reviews
122 of 126 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Get this book with other things., May 31, 2004
By A Customer
While in CA I had a bad experience getting an oil change. The jiffy lube guy forgot to put the oil filler cap back on. I noticed the engine sound difference right away but since I didn't consider myself an expert in any way I didn't do anything. Well, for 2 weeks I drove my car. After driving for 10 minutes everytime the car would fill up with a oil burning smell and after I parked the car there would be the oil puddle on the road. Finally I forced myself to open the hood and found the problem immediately. The oil cap was still wedged between the hoses where the JL guy left it. Luckily it hadn't fallen off, otherwise I would've never found the problem with my lack of car skills. I went back to JL and told them what happenned. There appeared to be a discussion in the inside office. I peeked inside and saw the supervisor was laughing his head off. The guy who worked on my car came out and apologized. The manager appeared apologetic and offered to clean up the splattered oil mess under my hood if I would leave the car for a couple of days. Yeah right, like I would...after what happenned. After this experience I looked if I could change the oil myself. I'd bought this dummies book a couple years eralier and it was gathering dust on my shelf. I'd never seriously read the book and like most people I thought dummies were just a quick brush thru of car concepts...not for the real hands-on person. So I went and bought the Haynes repair manual for my corolla (about $20). I did an oil change and realised 2 things: One, it was incredibly simple. Two, it takes about 30 minutes for the oil to drain out (actually even after 30 minutes there is a slow drip coming out). That made me think of the 10-minute oil change you see advertized in some shops. The mechanics probably let it drain for 2-minutes max. That means there's still a half-liter of old oil still in the crankcase. Since then I have always change my own oil except when there's snow on the ground since I live in an Apt (don't have my own garage). The Haynes manual has a vareity of other stuff to do on your car and I realised that I needed some hands-on instruction. So I took a 14-class night course at the local community college ($250) which has really taught me a lot. The book followed there was Jack Erjavec's Automotive Technology which is an expensive but 'utltimate' book for automobiles. While studying for the exam, I came upon this dummies book on my shelf and I was struck by the clear, consise explanation and neat drawings which rivalled those in Erjavec's. I mentally kicked myself for not reading this dummies book that I had with me all the time. The Haynes manual had all the right steps needed for any job, but little or no explanation or not easy to understand, about the system or basic concepts and the photographs are pathetic. Since then, apart from oil changes, I have flushed the cooling system, cleaned and reinstalled the battery, changed the air filter and other simple stuff. I would try more stuff if I had a garage. To cut it short, if you're like me (you aren't a auto-maniac, but you can fix afew things around the house) you need three things:
This book by Scalar for very good system concepts, drawings and reasonably detailed repair steps. A fully detailed repair book like haynes or Chilton's for your particular car. Finally a small evening course in a local communnity college on auto fundamentals would make you really comfortable with your car. (Off course you need to buy some tools too). Good luck.
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99 of 104 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic beginner's book, June 28, 2000
I recently purchased an older model American car... the kind with a carburetor and distributor and--get this--spark plugs that you can actually reach without removing half the stuff from the engine. It has been so long since I could really work on my own car that I had forgotten how to do basic tuneups and keep my auto in primo condition. This book is outstanding for explaining how it all works and how to do the basics yourself. It begins with a simple but thorough explanation of all the systems (electrical, fuel, suspension, steering, etc.) and how a car works. Then it goes through each system and, with the aid of very effective diagrams, explains how to check and fix each one. I have, thanks to this book, the knowledge and confidence to keep my new/old car in tune, running smooth, and at a fraction of the cost of taking it into the shop. You don't need an older car to appreciate this wonderful resource, either. The author goes through modern cars and their systems, too, like fuel injection and rack-and-pinion steering and disc brakes. If you have always wanted to know more about cars, and want the confidence to do the basic maintenance yourself, this IS the book for you. Highly reccommended.
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109 of 123 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not an Auto Repair Book - Very Basic, Maybe Too Basic, December 23, 2005
I put this book on my Wish List at Amazon.com. It is exactly what I need and the other reviewers give it a good rating. But HOLD THE PRESSES not so fast. I went over to the local book store and happened to see a copy, so I sat down for 10 minutes and quickly took in as much as I could.
First of all the title is misleading. It is not about car repair despite the size of the book's big 600 page thickness. It should be called
"Dummies Guide to Car Ownership".
It is like a large owners manual that comes with every new car. This book cannot be used to repair your car. You can use it to understand how the car works, when to change the oil, and what certain parts do but it is (definitely) not a car repair book. Maybe if you bought a used car and it has no manual buy this book, or you just bought your first car and you are clueless, then okay buy the book, but if you are that clueless - do not fix your car. Get help.
It is like a cartoon book on very basic things. For example one section is how to open the hood (I kid you not!). Another is how to change the tire. Another how to check your fluid levels. There are cartoons showing the suspension, the motor combustion cycle, etc. all the things that are basic. It is not a guide to repairing a serious problem or maybe even a not so serious problem in your car. There are a few interesting items in the book like PVC valves and cartoons showing how they bleed exhaust gases back into the input manifold, etc.
Okay so you want to repair your Chevy or your Honda or your VW or your Ford pickup. This is what you do. You go to a store like Autozone or similar (this is not an endorsement) and you buy a shop manual for your exact car - say a 1999 Chevy Lumina V6 3.8 L, that is for the make, the model, with the year and exact engine or the equivalent book for $25-$50. bucks. Maybe you can get it for less. Then you use the shop manual as a guide to determine what to change and how to do it, and buy the parts at an auto supply place. If that manual is too complicated, just go to a garage, or get help from a friend that has some experience.
If you know the basics about a car, skip the book.
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