A friend asked me once where I learned so much about working on cars. Well, if I told you I’d have to kill you (just kidding). But I can tell you what some of the most important things I have learned over the years are. So tune in and pay attention, because free advice is on its way. This is written for those of you that are just starting out, or perhaps for the more experienced mechanic that can relate.

If you are just starting out, mistakes will happen, and they will probably be your fault at first (don’t worry, we won’t tell if you don’t). And each of these mistakes will add to your experience base, and teach you a valuable lesson. I now have years of automotive experience, and I owe it all to my 1992 Taurus SHO that I mention on my About page, the best mistake I ever made. I can now keep my family safe in their car, keep cost down, and ensure that I have a reliable mode of transportation knowing that I can trust the work that I do myself. I am also now part of an entire community of car enthusiasts that I may have never discovered.

Here are some life lessons that I have learned along the way, and hopefully you can read them now and reminisce with me about our ambitious and inexperienced days gone by, or find them useful in the future.

• If it has happened to you, it has probably already happened to someone else, so look it up! (Hint: On the interwebs)
• If you think it will take 30 minutes, and you’ve never done it before, it will probably take 12 hours. That’s what my wife says anyway, but I’ll never admit that she’s right.
• If you read it on the internet, it does not mean it is true. If it is a complex subject, than some internet yahoo probably missed the point.
• Its ok to make mistakes, but try not to make them twice!
• If you don’t know, don’t be afraid to ask. Ask the NAPA parts guy, ask your friends and family, ask anyone that will listen, but verify what they say.
• Always buy the right tool for the right job. This lesson took me longer to learn than any other because I’m so cheap. The job WILL be safer and faster.
• If you take your car to a mechanic, double check their work, just like you would yours. I have dozens of horror stories about mistakes made by sloppy mechanics. This does not mean that every mechanic is untrustworthy; it only means that mistakes happen to everyone.
• Read the instructions first! I will be the first to admit that I don’t read instructions anymore on jobs that I am familiar with, but for first time jobs, I could have saved a lot of time and frustration back in the day.
• And the number #1 lesson is: When you get !@#$ mad, don’t take it out on the people around you. It’s not their fault (usually). I did have a friend that accidentally poured a beer into my intake manifold during a.… oh never mind, different story for a different day.

What life lessons have you learned along the way? Share your stories with us and hopefully we can all laugh together or prevent a mistake in the future.