It happens to every driver at some point: Something's not right with your car .... maybe its just a warning light.
So you bring it to the dealer, who wants 500 dollars to fix it!
It happened to Dave Waters, who says the trouble began when the temperature knob came loose in his Toyota SUV.
The Highlander would blow only "hot" air. He got even hotter when he went to his Toyota dealer.
"They told me the repair would be 900 dollars," he says.
$900? The dealer explained the whole temperature control unit would have to be replaced.
"As the knob loosens, you pull away the wire, and once its broken you cant control it anymore," he says.
But on a hunch, David went online...and struck gold.
"I stumbled a Toyota owners forum, with owners who had a similar problem. They explained what the problem was, how to fix it, it would save 900 dollars."
Turns out this is a common failure on Highlanders ....and with instructions and a 10 dollar soldering iron, David fixed the knob!
You can now find online forums for most cars, where a simple search will reveal how to fix many problems on your own, if you're handy with tools.
Just Google for a Honda forum, Ford forum, etcetera.
Dave hopes to Google his way to his next repair too.
Of course this won't work with all repairs. If you need a new headgasket, you need a headgasket: There is no cheap do it yourself fix.
But for switches, lights, or just strange sounds...You may find a cheaper repair if you get online.
So Don't waste your money. I'm John Matarese.
