The Fixers

Well-dressed and attractive, the woman looked just right behind the wheel of her expensive, well-kept Mercedes-Benz. But when she pulled into the Baltex Garage in Boston the other day, she was as angry as she was chic. "Do you know how much the Mercedes people want to tune this car?" she asked rhetorically. "They want $100 for an ordinary tune-up. Ridiculous! I'll do it myself." She reserved a stall, returned the next day in blue jeans and sweatshirt, and made good her promise--at a cost of only $20. Says Baltex Partner John Price: "She did a pretty good job."

Price and his newest customer have plenty of company. With more than 96 million cars on American roads, with queues and prices growing at conventional service stations, with competent and honest mechanics scarcer than ever, the fix-it-yourself garage is a popular new feature in several cities. Saving money is the prime attraction. Stalls rent for $2 to $3.50 an hour, a full line of tools and equipment is available free or at nominal charge, and parts are sold at a discount.

Like a Clock. Convenience is an important factor. The garages are open evenings and weekends, when most regular service centers do no major repair work. Know-how, of course, is a problem. While a few centers have staff mechanics on hand to help when serious difficulties crop up, insurance laws in some states prohibit such assistance. Some garages offer expert advice and collections of fix-it literature. They also attract car buffs who are willing to share their knowledge with beginners. Baltex is even organizing a five-session course for customers--tuition: $25. At the Van Nuys, Calif., Auto Hobby Center, Actor Bob Purvey recently rebuilt the engine of his 1959 Jaguar. That intricate operation would have cost $2,600 if done commercially; Purvey spent only $1,000. "I hope I never have to do it again," he says, "but now I know just how it works. No garage is ever going to put anything over on me again. An engine is just like a big clock."

Other converts to self-service, including many women, have become addicted to tinkering, viewing it as a challenging hobby as well as a way of beating inflation. Sol Dolgin, a Jaguar enthusiast who opened the Van Nuys garage 14 months ago, says: "We thought that a large part of our business would be motor tune-ups and brakes. Instead, people are putting in transmissions, brakes and rear ends. They aren't afraid to try anything. We've had 8,000 customers in the past year, and they get a great feeling of accomplishment."

Joe Russo, a Los Angeles architect who drives a 1964 MGB, agrees. "I've learned all I know about cars here at the center," he says. "I got a manual, read it, and started doing a little bit at a time." As his confidence grew, he went into more complex tasks, such as rebuilding his engine. Says Russo: "The mystery of mechanics isn't so mysterious any more." Working near by on his wife's old Buick, Law Student Ernest Burger remarks: "I'm actually acting out a childhood fantasy." Many people have always itched to play mechanic, but lacked encouragement until the new garages came along.

Two Washington, D.C., women have found an expanding feminine market. Since May Dodson and Betty McDonald, who are sisters, opened Auto U-Fix-It two years ago, they have noticed more and more women coming in to repair their own cars. Says Mrs. Dodson: "I get many calls from women who ask whether they will be the only females in the garage. When they find out that the owners are women, they feel better." The garage is considering starting auto-repair classes for women in order to encourage the trend. In Detroit, Chrysler is running a course called Women on Wheels, which teaches tire changing and other simple maintenance tasks.

Of course there are some drawbacks. A Birmingham, Mich., man overhauled his Volkswagen's brakes one weekend, then worried so much about whether he had done the job properly that he took his car into a dealer for a check on his work. He wound up paying more than professional service would have cost. Owners of run-of-the-mill garages profess to be unworried by the proliferation of the fix-it-yourself idea. "We don't feel they're saving a lot of money," says Paul Tahmisian, president of Southern California's Independent Garage Owners Association. "Inevitably, they'll be coming in to us for the big jobs." Adds Chuck Abbott, of Abbott Motor Clinic in Los Angeles: "Do-it-yourself may work if it involves a simple car, like a Vega, Pinto or Datsun. Compare those to a Cadillac. There's no similarity other than four wheels and a windshield."

Abbott has a point, but the skill and nerve of the owner is probably more important than the complexity of the car. Many motorists doubtless lack the aptitude or desire to be their own mechanics. But the new fad offers an alternative. If it continues to spread, it may eventually prod the owners of conventional garages to offer improved service at reasonable prices.

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