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Dang this would be rough, especially if you want break downs of different models.
I would probably recommend looking into the Department of Transportation or Bureau of Tranportation but they might just give an overall number of vehicles sold like passenger to pickup trucks but not breakdowns.
I really can’t figure out why you would need this information, hope you don’t mind my prying, but is there something you were hoping to get answered?
I really can’t answer this question but I can throw some input.
One main issue of course is going to be insurance to cover the shop. When I ask mechanics if they would open their own shop the answer is usually ‘no’.
Besides insurance, there’s scanners and not the cheap $15 but the diag ones which will run about $3K but also there’s different ones for makes, hence Chrysler and VW usually have their own type. Tools as well as start up will make things expensive.
Don’t forget on parts, you would need to get with OEM dealers as well as places like Advance (owns Carquest – sorry don’t like some cheap parts which usually end up needing to get replaced in a year). Places like CarQuest are good when you need someone to deliver oil filters or something quick but people will still probably prefer things like GM oil filters.
Then the cost of labor, some shops use sites like Alldata which would supply book times for repairs and also bulletin logs from other mechanics that had issues with certain repairs.
While I do encourage people to follow their dreams, it seems most mechanics just take odd jobs and do it at their home garages rather than opening a shop. You would have to deal with billing, upset customers and having to staff a shop, you can’t really get by relying on just your experience to cover all jobs.
Hope this helped.
Pick N’ Pull also around holidays like Memorial Days will have a 50% sale usually. So that engine might be around $75 at that time (don’t forget they will probably hit you with a core charge, here in Chicago they hit you with an enviromental charge but that’s minor).
The other thing will be the weight of the engine, like the previous post from Flintiron, you probably need an engine lift and probably a stand. But most importantly, what type of vehicle or brand do you like? There’s a difference between makers as well as things like weight.
I would also agree if you are getting into working on engines without any knowledge, I would look for things like lawnmowers and small engines to begin with. After that, read up on stuff in the meantime like engines that have timing chains vs timing belts. A jumped timing could absolutely ruin a motor and you would just be taking apart an engine without any resolve.
American or Import? Subaru boxer? VW VR6 or 1.8T? Chevy 1.6L? Mopar 340 V-8?
But also if you are just going to junk yards to look for now, read on how to check for a good engine or how to spot neglect. It’s pretty basic but checking for sludged oil and fouled plugs/coils and checking plugs with gauges will get you into understanding very basic introductions with engines.
I’ll have to check out those other two apps, I use Test Drive on my Android.
The dongle I have is cheap, ELM327 reader but it wasn’t really for me to pull codes, it was mainly for me to log my drives in different cars and allow me to turn on the PIDS to track as much information as I can.
I believe they said Bluetooth for Androids and Wifi if you have an iPhone, this will be crucial if you are picking up a cheaper wireless device also.
Just adding my two cents here, while I agree with Hockeyclark, I also feel that your mechanic may have given you a one sentence response while leaving out some details.
If you are going to be buying a new car, you will probably be going to the dealership you bought the car from for repairs for warranty purposes if you aren’t doing them yourself, but when you do go to the dealership, you’ll probably will be purchasing genuine manufactured OEM parts also. Out of the three car types you mentioned, Honda will probably be the cheapest to repair and my gut feeling says that Subaru will be the more expensive.
Also depending if you are looking for a SUV type of vehicle, Toyota and Honda do have a few with AWD also but I never had to put those cars to the test with their AWD.
I have owned cars from all three companies with my Subaru Impreza being my current daily driver, one thing I have noticed is my auto insurance company actually gave me a discount for owning a Subaru which I haven’t been offered from other cars that I have owned.
Just to add one last note, I haven’t owned any of the cars in 2008+ models but really can’t complain about their durability. While Subaru did have their leaking oil problem (which some people pointed to their gasket design from 1997-mid 2000’s) range, but my older Civic had severe Honda rust in the rear panels that seem to be all too common with older models.
Keep on researching also on the cars, I would hate to say that just one of them is really better then the other one and i hope you spend sometime checking the cars out since this will probably be a major purchase for the recent future.
Interesting part is what can you make out of old auto parts.
Blacksmiths will always point at suspension springs as well as leaf springs to horde for quick and easy to find metal stock.
So from making knives to even metal stock for tools, it’s an interesting idea because you can usually find those parts cheap, whether scraping or in a junkyard. Also with leaf springs, some sites will show how to test the steel for cracks while heating the steel.Even one of the most uses for blacksmithing is using the rear drum to make a fire pot for a forge to heat metal.
Here’s a link from: http://www.anvilfire.com/article.php?bodyName=/FAQs/junkyard_steel.htm
http://www.anvilfire.com/21centbs/jnkstee1.jpg
