# Do-it-yourself garage



## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Years ago I remember living in London, ON and driving to a big warm garage where you could fix your own car, use a hoist and borrow tools at an hourly rate. On this cold Toronto day I checked to see if I could find something like that here, but the closest place was in Hamilton, and it appeared to be the only one.

Has this concept gone extinct?


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## Optimize (May 7, 2005)

*extinct*

Yes, there used to be one on Greenwood, between Gerrard and Danforth. But that's been gone now for years...

If you do find a place, please let me know. Sometimes I have stuff to do on my old truck and no warm place to work.

Cheers


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## CanadaRAM (Jul 24, 2005)

I would suspect that a combination of high land values plus liability insurance rates through the roof could be a major barrier to landlords offering this kind of facility


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

There used to be one in Edmonton too, but a check of the yellow pages shows no such service any longer.

Could it be the computerization of modern vehicles has eliminated amateur mechanics altogether?


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## Lichen Software (Jul 23, 2004)

There was one here in Barrie. It was etiher associated with U.S.A. Autoparts, or next door to it, on Dunlop Street West. I think a call to U.S.A. Autoparts would get you more info if you don't mind travelling and hour or so.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Lichen Software said:


> There was one here in Barrie. It was etiher associated with U.S.A. Autoparts, or next door to it, on Dunlop Street West. I think a call to U.S.A. Autoparts would get you more info if you don't mind travelling and hour or so.


Please let me know if it's still there.


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## dona83 (Jun 26, 2005)

SINC said:


> There used to be one in Edmonton too, but a check of the yellow pages shows no such service any longer.
> 
> Could it be the computerization of modern vehicles has eliminated amateur mechanics altogether?


Maybe but there are lots of things one can do at home instead of taking to the shops. Oil and fluids change is one, tire rotations and changeovers, brakes, belts, and a few more complicated things that can be done without the use of a computer. 

A lot of my American friends do their own auto maintenance, seems to be a way of life there. I did my own brakes a couple of months ago.


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

Hamilton has one, Rent A Bay - Do-It-Yourself Car Repairs they used to have a website but it seems like the is a site under construction. They charge $15/ hour for a hoist and that includes all tools (Pneumatic as well) what a deal, I changed my rotors and pads it cost me $30. The employees are pretty helpful as well.

John


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Thanks, John. That was the one I was considering. I'll definitely try it on my next job. 

I wound up, against my better judgment, going to Canadian Tire as I hit the bottom of the pads yesterday and it was still too cold to work outside. 

10:30: Took car in and selected Monroe pads from inventory to take advantage of installation special.
11:30: Once car up on hoist told that Monroe pads not available.
12:00: Told that no pads available for car and they must be ordered from sister company. Parts to arrive at 1:30.
12:05: Since car up on hoist ask them to change a rear left tail light, perform oil change and put two new tires on car.
12:10: Told that no tires are available for car. None.
12:11-2:45: I read autobiography of Steve Smith as told to Mag Ruffman.
3:00: Car ready. 
Told that not one but both tail lights were out, but now replaced. 
Told that they still extended the brake special to me, despite the fact that I did not use Monroe pads.
3:10: I notice that CT has failed to re-set annoying "Change Oil Now" light.
6:00: I notice left tail light is out. Have no idea in which vehicle two bulbs were installed.

Today: Make special note of services offered by Hamilton Rent-a-Bay.


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## monokitty (Jan 26, 2002)

And that's why no one who cares about their vehicle brings it to CT of all places.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

^^^^^^^^^^

Brakes. Fried. Starting to dig into rotors. Too cold. No choice.

Never again!


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

Canadian Tire what a waste of time. Yep to bad you didn't make it into the rent-a-bay. I was so happy to be able to get the hex nuts off my Saab and change the rotors and pads without killing my self or freezing my butt off. 

John


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## MACenstein'sMonster (Aug 21, 2008)

After a couple suspiciously big maintenance (tune-up) and car repair bills last year I decided to tackle that one area of DIY I've never really had much to do with. I have tools to do all kinds of work around the house and beyond but not much mechanic's tools. Fortunately with my older vehicles I don't need too much, yet. My biggest expenses thus far involve a 3 1/4 ton floor jack (on sale), car stands, wheel chocks and a quality torque wrench. 

I have a garage but I'm still in the process of wiring it so no heat. That was unfortunate. When I replaced my radiator this past New Year's Eve day (amongst other things including a heater hose) I nearly froze my feet off. Took a couple hours in the tub to get my core temp back up.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

There's nothing like having the heat sucked out of you by contact with cold concrete and cold steel.

I had to buy a new jack when the jack that came with my car COLLAPSED last year while the car was elevated. Slowly, thank goodness--it bent, but didn't snap.


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## eMacMan (Nov 27, 2006)

Macfury said:


> I had to buy a new jack when the jack that came with my car COLLAPSED last year while the car was elevated. Slowly, thank goodness--it bent, but didn't snap.


I am guessing that you left that bag of kitty litter in the trunk and overloaded the poor thing.beejacon


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## ScanMan (Sep 11, 2007)

dona83 said:


> Maybe but there are lots of things one can do at home instead of taking to the shops. Oil and fluids change is one, tire rotations and changeovers, brakes, belts, and a few more complicated things that can be done without the use of a computer.


Always done the routine maintenance (brakes & rotors on occasion) on our vehicles. Being a "shade tree" mechanic has made me a bit of a curiosity in our neighbourhood. Well, there are likely other reasons, but I like to think that's one of the main ones.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

At my age and with a bad hip my days of crawling under vehicles are gone, but I did my fair share over the years. Did a bit of everything from rebuilding flathead V-8s in early Fords to a ring and valve job on a 1954 VW. 

Did all my own oil changes and maintenance including replacing trannies, crown and pinion sets, brakes, exhaust and all tune ups. 

I once installed a cruise control in a 76 Olds 455 that turned into an all day effort lying on a gravel driveway for the undercarriage parts. It worked like a charm too. I even pulled apart the entire dashboard on that car and changed the MPH to metric to jive with the new road signs in 1977. 

If you have any mechanical ability, it's an education in itself to do your own work.


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## Lichen Software (Jul 23, 2004)

*Barrie Self Service*



Macfury said:


> Please let me know if it's still there.


I have a chance to go down town this morning. Sorry to report "No Joy In Mudville". It is now replaced with a full service garage.

I went to coffee with my "Olde Fartes" and asked around. No joy there either.


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## TheRadioMan (Dec 24, 2010)

Macfury said:


> Years ago I remember living in London, ON and driving to a big warm garage where you could fix your own car, use a hoist and borrow tools at an hourly rate. On this cold Toronto day I checked to see if I could find something like that here, but the closest place was in Hamilton, and it appeared to be the only one.
> 
> Has this concept gone extinct?


The Barrie Do it Yourself Garage is located on the corner of 84Tiffin and Innisfil Street in Barrie. Phone 705-795-0089 They are quite Knowledgeable and nice, the have everything you need to do your own work and also give advice and can help you when you get stuck on something like a wheelbearing that just doesnt want to release fom the axel. The also have 3 snowplows and doffer a 20 dollar driveway service and it doesnt matte the amount of snowfall. Its a small out of place shop and an all around great place to deal with.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Well, thanks!


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## MACenstein'sMonster (Aug 21, 2008)

MACenstein'sMonster said:


> After a couple suspiciously big maintenance (tune-up) and car repair bills last year I decided to tackle that one area of DIY I've never really had much to do with. I have tools to do all kinds of work around the house and beyond but not much mechanic's tools. Fortunately with my older vehicles I don't need too much, yet. My biggest expenses thus far involve a 3 1/4 ton floor jack (on sale), car stands, wheel chocks and a quality torque wrench.
> 
> I have a garage but I'm still in the process of wiring it so no heat. That was unfortunate. When I replaced my radiator this past New Year's Eve day (amongst other things including a heater hose) I nearly froze my feet off. Took a couple hours in the tub to get my core temp back up.


Ha ha haaaaa....

You unfortunate beggar. This winter I have heat in my garage and it's been toe toasty warm.


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## Mckitrick (Dec 25, 2005)

What are you using to heat your garage? Electric? I'd love to install one of those ice rink heaters but I believe they burn natural gas and I'm pretty sure the Carbon Monoxide would kill me. LOL.


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## MACenstein'sMonster (Aug 21, 2008)

Mckitrick said:


> What are you using to heat your garage? Electric? I'd love to install one of those ice rink heaters but I believe they burn natural gas and I'm pretty sure the Carbon Monoxide would kill me. LOL.


Radiant heater.

See here:

Superior Radiant Products Ltd. > Home


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## BigDL (Apr 16, 2003)

MACenstein'sMonster said:


> After a couple suspiciously big maintenance (tune-up) and car repair bills last year I decided to tackle that one area of DIY I've never really had much to do with. I have tools to do all kinds of work around the house and beyond but not much mechanic's tools. Fortunately with my older vehicles I don't need too much, yet. My biggest expenses thus far involve a 3 1/4 ton floor jack (on sale), car stands, wheel chocks and a quality torque wrench.
> 
> I have a garage but I'm still in the process of wiring it so no heat. That was unfortunate. When I replaced my radiator this past New Year's Eve day (amongst other things including a heater hose) I nearly froze my feet off. Took a couple hours in the tub to get my core temp back up.





MACenstein'sMonster said:


> Ha ha haaaaa...
> You unfortunate beggar. This winter I have heat in my garage and it's been toe toasty warm.


:clap::clap:
You gotta love it when a plan comes together.


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## jlcinc (Dec 13, 2002)

It's an old thread but it seems the Hamilton Rent a Bay has bit the dust. So I was looking in Toronto and found this.

Do it Yourself

John


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## kelman (Sep 25, 2010)

dona83 said:


> Maybe but there are lots of things one can do at home instead of taking to the shops. Oil and fluids change is one, tire rotations and changeovers, brakes, belts, and a few more complicated things that can be done without the use of a computer.
> 
> A lot of my American friends do their own auto maintenance, seems to be a way of life there. I did my own brakes a couple of months ago.


Yes, these can all be done at home although the original post written in January was about being able to work in a warm garage on his own car without driving for an hour to do it.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

jlcinc said:


> It's an old thread but it seems the Hamilton Rent a Bay has bit the dust. So I was looking in Toronto and found this.
> 
> Do it Yourself
> 
> John


Thanks for that!


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## KC4 (Feb 2, 2009)

Yes, I know, old thread being revived...but still on topic. 

Yesterday I brought my 2003 Honda Pilot into the dealer I bought it from for minor work. In addition to routine servicing, I asked if they could take a look at what might be the matter with the driver's side electric seat controls which had become non-functional since the resident teen had started to drive. The plastic moulding around the base of the seat was also broken and loose. 

I explained that since the vehicle was almost 10 years old, I didn't need a pretty solution, just a functional one. 

$225 - just to diagnose the problem, because, they explained, they'd probably have to take the seat apart. Fixing would, naturally, be additional cost.

Gack. Unfortunately, the seat had failed in the driving position preferred by the resident teen, which to me is an oddly very forward position that causes me to crack my knees on the dash when I get in to drive. So it had to be fixed. 

Estimate:
$260 new seat moldings, installed
$220 new power seat switch, installed
plus, any other minor bits and pieces that may be necessary as they go. 

Gulp. 

Even though they had the car all day they didn't get to the estimate until the last minute, plus they did not have the parts on hand so couldn't complete the repair. I told them not to order them yet, but that I would book another (probably full day) appointment if and when I decided to repair it. 

So today, I thought I would take a look at the seat myself. My plan: If it looks like I will be causing more damage by meddling with the mechanics or wiring, I'll leave it for the experts. 

In 20 minutes, which included going back into the house for a flashlight and then having to find new batteries for same, I had it fixed. It wasn't working because an electrical connector had simply become unplugged from the switch. I straightened the bent pins and reconnected it. Simple.

I fixed the moulding with a couple homemade plastic washers (the broken part was where the screws had broken through the moulding). 

Cost: 20 minutes of my time and a bit of blood where I gave myself a minor cut from scraping my knuckles across broken moulding. 

Big difference though from what the dealership was planning on hosing me for. 
No wonder car dealerships and mechanics get a bad reputation. Sometimes they really deserve it. 

So - the message here is to have a look yourself before paying big bucks to a mechanic. You might be able to fix it yourself.


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## SINC (Feb 16, 2001)

Kudos to you for tackling that job yourself and well done! I do much the same with my 2001 Suzuki Grand Vitara with only 89,000 km on it since I bought it new. A dealer quote to replace a fog lamp at over $400 was accomplished in a couple of hours of jury rigging a $40 Canadian Tire universal model to fit and works fine for example. Same with our eight year old motor home. A $600 plumbing repair estimate was done with the help of a plumber friend at a cost of $40 (and a couple of beers  ).

That noted we also have a fabulous mechanic, a woman in her late 50s. The Ford dealer quoted $2,700 to replace the compressor for the A/C, but Margaret, our mechanic, scoured the bone yard, found a compressor from a van with less mileage than ours (and ours does not have much) and installed and recharged for just under $500. There are some honest mechanics out there, but they can be hard to find.


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## Macfury (Feb 3, 2006)

Well done, ma'am and sir!


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## Ope (Aug 22, 2021)

jlcinc said:


> Hamilton has one, Rent A Bay - Do-It-Yourself Car Repairs they used to have a website but it seems like the is a site under construction. They charge $15/ hour for a hoist and that includes all tools (Pneumatic as well) what a deal, I changed my rotors and pads it cost me $30. The employees are pretty helpful as well.
> 
> John


Hey John, I am looking for a place to also get my rotors and pads all changed. Do you know if the Rent A Bay - Do-It-Yourself Car Repairs in Hamilton still operate?


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