Auto Repair for Dummies, 2nd Edition

By: Deanna Sclar

Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King

Get the skills to maintain your car like a pro!

Want to handle basic auto repairs yourself? This easy-to-follow guide gives you the nuts and bolts of diagnosing trouble and performing maintenance and repairs on your vehicle. You'll explore each system and keep everything running in tiptop shape, including how to change coolant and oil, repair leaks, and check breaks. Along with learning about rollover protection, you will also discover how to utilize stability control. Plus, you'll see how to go green on the road - from recycling oil to choosing alternatively fueled vehicles. Inside:

• An under-the-hood checklist
• Advice on using proper tools
• Techniques to extend car life
• Eco-friendly tips for saving fuel

©2019 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (P)2020 Tantor

Required a lot of Patience (Also no PDF!)

I definitely learned from this book, but it took me a LONG time to get through it. I found it pretty tedious and at times quite patronizing to listen to, because although it is a "for dummies" title, I found it to be too simplified at times and VERY repetitive. The book could have been WAY shorter if it didn't repeat things over and over, such as reminders not to smoke while working with anything flammable, and not to leave coolant where animals and children can get it. Anything described about safety or environmental/"ecologic" practices was repeated over and over. That would make sense if someone was just using it as a reference book, but to read cover to cover there was a lot of redundancy. Abbreviations were always expanded too, like every time it said "ECU" it also included (Engine Control Unit) and after the 15th time or so I was like I GET IT!! GAH!

Also, I understand the author's desire to encourage a healthy lifestyle and low environmental impact, but the excessive focus on those things in this book detracted from the overall purpose, in my opinion. There were several times she encourages people to quit smoking, or switch to a more eco-friendly vehicle, which to me are personal choices (and sure, maybe it's fine to throw it in there but not so many times!).

The narration felt really slow to me, so I listened to it at 1.10 or 1.25 speed (thank God for the speed settings!) but it still was a really long read. I think some of the meat and potatoes of the info got lost in the minutiae and I could've come away with more takeaway if not for how diluted it was at certain parts.

Also, although this is a revised edition, many things described were really out of date, such as car phones, service stations, negotiating prices with businesses and using phone books to look things up. It made me wonder how up to date the mechanical information was too.

Lastly, the book referred to the PDF in just about every section, but there was no PDF included with purchase. I contacted Audible to ask about it and they said no PDF was provided by the author for this title.

Overall, I appreciated the detail with which everything was covered, but it could have been done more concisely. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book, but wouldn't steer people away either, because it definitely has educational value. I just wouldn't read it again myself (but I'd love to have the PDF!).

Don't bother

Terrible narration, and the whole book it seems like the author is trying to scare you off from doing your own maintenance.
"Hire a professional." "Consul your local mechanic." There I saved you a credit.
Being feightened off from doing maintenance is the last thing the type of people picking up this book need. If like me, you try to power past through the fear mongering, good luck. Lots of fluff that drones on forever before you get to little bits of useful information. You're better off watching youtube for free. Youtube encouraged me to and helped me with various tasks, battery, oil, mass airflow sensor, power steering, spark plugs, and I am now looking into installing a turbo and catback exhaust. This book? "Consult a professional." Waste of time.