DiamondDave2005

I do minor stuff myself, but everything else goes to the shop. It would cost me more to do the work myself than have them do it, based on the amount of money I'd lose while working on the car instead of making money.

Ubetit

I do most everything myself. I have the luxury of having Ganley Honda just a few hours away if it's something I can't handle.

Joe04sk

I do all the work myself unless it requires sophisticated equipment that I do not possess. Eg. wheel alignment, putting new tires on wheels, etc...

blue_max

Owning a high-performance vehicle requires proper maintenance. I think that any reasonably savvy person can purchase the Helm shop manual and do at least all of the scheduled maintenance items themselves. Pride of ownership and satisfaction in keeping your vehicle in the best shape possible are all part of the experience in driving and enjoying a great sports car like the S2000. Who better to ensure that the job is done to the proper specifications than the owner? Sure I spend an hour taking my time to do what the dealer will take 30 minutes to do but I won't be chipping the paint, stripping bolts, not torquing to the right amount etc like some junior mechanic who is rushing to get it done so that he can "test drive" the car.

Zeniac

Well, so far I feel a little less like a dinosaur. Are there any UK S2K owners out there that have any opinions?

See the thread that spurred me to start this poll (

Beardie

Zeniac, Chris Type R summed it up simply in his 2 posts on that thread.
In the UK, the service book is just about the only thing that a prospective buyer will be interested in. As long as those stamps are in there, then your average punter doesn't really care whether you've got a bunch of receipts too.
In fact I'd go as far as saying that showing that the car's been maintained by it's owner will have a serious negative impact on what you'll get for the car.

Now before I get flamed, I'd like to point out that I'm a long time Triumph enthusiast and have always maintained my own classic cars, including engine rebuilds.

You've also got to remember that we don't have the facilities that most of you colonials ( ) have. Namely a monster garage at the side of your house .

Let me ask a related question.
Will an S with a CAI, aftermarket exhaust and some extra bling under the hood receive a higher value or be quicker to sell over there?

AP1_rock

only do oil changes since i have a Fumoto valve. all other fluids go to the shop..

Av8ing1

Perhaps in the UK they have decent dealerships with decent techs. Around here, I don't trust the average dealership morons with my car. Most anything they can do (with the exception of items requiring special equipment) I'm confident that the average enthusiast with mild to moderate skills could do better. More often that not taking your car to the dealer results in more things fudged up than fixed.

JeffA

Zeniac

Under the hood mods or bling would most likely degrade the value and ease of selling the car to most buyers. With the exhaust, it would really depend on the type, a quieter exhaust like a Fujitsubo wouldn't probably make a lot of difference, and may even enhance the saleability of the car, however, a ricer type, single, or louder exhaust would for most buyers have a negative effect as people may construe that the car has been raced or abused.

One of the reasons you will find most owners removing and mods before selling is that at the very best, in general, you usually wouldn't gain any extra value and are better off removing the mods and selling them separate, as you see on this and other similar websites.

The ability to find a place to work on your car can be an issue, when I was younger I had a similar problem and ended up working on the car in the street. It sucked, especially in the winter, but at that time I could hardly afford the price of parts, not much less paying someone to do the work for me.

Let me also ask a related question Beardie. Is the value of your Triumph degraded because of you doing your own maintenance and repairs?

MrV

Far from the truth

As stated before one thing in the UK that cause's prosective buyers to walk away from your car is an unstamped service book