Here’s how many Canadians would perform their own auto repair

More than half of Canadians would prefer to do some form of do-it-yourself vehicle maintenance and repair on their vehicles, according to a recent study.

Compare the Market, a rates comparison site, surveyed Canadians, Australians and Americans about automotive DIY habits. It found 57 per cent of Canadians would perform DIY actions on their vehicle — 42 per cent said only the small stuff, like an oil change to fixing a window chip, while 15 said they’d tackle more complex projects like a starter replacement.

The remaining 43 per cent said they would always take their vehicle to a repair shop no matter the issue. In the U.S., 64 per cent said they’d tackle the issue themselves (44 per cent said only small; 20 per cent said big ones, too) while 52 per cent of Australians said the same (41 and 11 per cent, respectively).

Though most Canadians wouldn’t bother with an automotive repair if they had no experience, 30 per cent still said they’d give it a shot. That’s compared to a quarter of Australians and 36 per cent of Americans.

Between the three countries, most agreed that they had no idea if completing a DIY task on their vehicle would void the warrant – 43 per cent of Canadians and Americans and 42 per cent of Australians. Americans (28.4 per cent) were the most insistent that they can at least make some repairs to their cars without it having an effect on their warranty — 24 per cent of Canadians said so, and one-fifth of Australians.

The report also noted that vehicle owners could save $345-$880 by doing repair and maintenance work themselves, highlighting windshield repair, starter motor replacement, battery replacement, oil change and air filter replacement as tasks they could perform.