Where to learn about cars?

veganrun

I'd like to learn a bit more about cars, get my hands dirty and maybe do a small bit of tinkering or work. I've been looking around to see if there are any evening/night courses doing introductions to car maintenance etc but I'm not finding much out there (I'm in the north).

The only training I can see is aimed at people who can study full time and/or who want to become mechanics or who already are.

I do have my own car but need it for work so I'm not really willing to start experimenting with it in case I botch it up or something.

Is there some other way I can start to tinker around with them and learn stuff? I read something online that suggested going to a scrap yard and buying some cheap part like a carburettor and take it apart and put it back together which sounds ok but don't know if that's sustainable.

CharlieCroker

veganrun wrote: »

I'd like to learn a bit more about cars, get my hands dirty and maybe do a small bit of tinkering or work. I've been looking around to see if there are any evening/night courses doing introductions to car maintenance etc but I'm not finding much out there (I'm in the north).

The only training I can see is aimed at people who can study full time and/or who want to become mechanics or who already are.

I do have my own car but need it for work so I'm not really willing to start experimenting with it in case I botch it up or something.

Is there some other way I can start to tinker around with them and learn stuff? I read something online that suggested going to a scrap yard and buying some cheap part like a carburettor and take it apart and put it back together which sounds ok but don't know if that's sustainable.

Best way?

Go out and spend a couple of hundred euro on an old Fiesta/corsa/punto and then buy a Haynes manual and a few tools and start tinkering. That's how I learned the basics.

That's assuming youve the space to work. If not, institute of technologys often have night courses on automotive technology.

Pov06

I started off by fixing my own car.

First job was stripping the interior to clean it up. Then I did the brakes, etc.

You can Google what you want to work on and you'll find plenty of info.

veganrun

CharlieCroker wrote: »

Best way?

Go out and spend a couple of hundred euro on an old Fiesta/corsa/punto and then buy a Haynes manual and a few tools and start tinkering. That's how I learned the basics.

That's assuming youve the space to work. If not, institute of technologys often have night courses on automotive technology.

I'm back living at home and we have the space. Not so sure how keen my mother would be on some old banger of a car that could end up stuck and unable to move though!

CharlieCroker

veganrun wrote: »

I'm back living at home and we have the space. Not so sure how keen my mother would be on some old banger of a car that could end up stuck and unable to move though!

Just come home with it. It's better to beg forgiveness than to seek permission!!!

You can always get a few quid back from the scrapyard if it doesn't workout.

Captain Slow IRL

Get a Haynes manual for your current car and get a subscription to "Car Mechanics" magazine. The majority of the work is common sense; it's just when stuff gets complicated that the professionals should be let at it.

Voodoomelon

One thing i'd make sure of though is that you have the drive, perseverance and time to see it through. If you think it's just going to be a phase or are just a bit bored, think twice, as you'll soon have a drive with a battered looking car, parts all over, stains and smells, a lighter wallet and potential for injury.

If you get tired of it after a few hours, you then have to shift it all, probably at your own expense. What about learning to do a simple service on your own car first? Changing the oil, filter, air filter, cabin filter and plugs isn't overly difficult and hard to mess up, there'll be plenty of written and video tutorials online for your own car no doubt.

biko

Yeah, start by servicing your and family cars. It's not difficult and is a good way to take up DIY.

challengemaster

IMO Haynes manuals are next to useless now. They may have been useful back in the days before internet, but now you can find just about anything by googling it, usually with much better descriptions/pictures than the haynes manuals ever had. Especially on enthusiast fora.

veganrun

Yeah I'm going to start off simple with learning how to do a service, changing the oil etc as mentioned above. I don't want to go buy a car to work on at the moment. My car just got serviced and some work done last month but I'd like to be able to do an oil change etc myself if I wanted to.

If I want to learn more as i go along, I can.

macplaxton

challengemaster wrote: »

IMO Haynes manuals are next to useless now.

They were useful (although prone to telling the odd porky) back in the day, although some of the modern ones have really been dumbed-down.

PrettyBoy

Honestly the best thing you can do now is search YouTube for the particular thing you'd like to learn about. I've used it countless times for basic DIY stuff on several of my own cars and a search always turns up something (usually for the exact model too). Most videos give simple step by step guides which are very easy to follow. Doesn't cost a thing either

Duke O Smiley

challengemaster wrote: »

IMO Haynes manuals are next to useless now. They may have been useful back in the days before internet, but now you can find just about anything by googling it, usually with much better descriptions/pictures than the haynes manuals ever had. Especially on enthusiast fora.

I never really found them useful tbh.

lway

I know GMIT used to do an evening course on Car Servicing, just the basics I believe, if you want instruction. Maybe other IT's or FAS or something similar in your area do similar.

Found a Link to the GMIT one :http://www.courses4u.ie/Car_Maintenance_course-c15374.html

nd

I find my haynes manual handy for torque values. I'm sure you could find them by googling but it's handy to have them all in one place.

macplaxton

Handy if they get them right. It's not unknown for torque figures to be mis-printed/wrong in the good 'ol Haynes. It's not known as the Haynes Book of Lies for nothing!

It's not completely useless. Handy for those wobbly table legs.