Video on What to (and not to) “Cheap Out” On?

[Ray Heim]

Hello Eric the Car Guy.

I’ll start out by saying Thank You for what you do. I came across you (it seems like a couple of years ago) and you truly impressed me with your actions/views and the fact that you really do want to just help people. (Not just help people with their cars… but you help people that are in, or want to get into, this line of work… and you help people, on both sides, see the other sides point of view.)

As for the title… What to (and not to) “Cheap Out” On? I would like your opinion, and hopefully a video, on this topic. Here are some examples…

Tires (Do Not Cheap Out On), I watched your video about using cheap tires and I wholeheartedly agree with you. This is something that a person should never “cheap out” on. The tires are the ONLY thing that allows the vehicle to do what you, the operator, are telling it to do (i.e. Turn when you turn the wheel, Stop when you hit the brakes, give you traction, etc.).

Wiper Blades (It Depends), I personally believe that if a person is the type of person that changes the blades at the beginning of every Spring/Summer, then Yes, they could get away with buying the cheapest blade refills because, well, they replace them so often, and the chances of a failure are pretty low. BUT, if a person is the type of person that tries to use their wipers for years on end, and barely gets around to changing them even when streaking/chattering starts, then they should get the highest quality (longest lasting) blades that they can get their hands on.

Washer Fluid (It Depends), along with the above is washer fluid. If it is above freezing, you can be really cheap if you want to… Free! Just water! Or there are Low-End cheap washer fluid (house brand blue stuff) or High-End name brand washer fluids with additives (for bugs, or rain-x, etc.). Personally, I use the high-end stuff because I don’t run my wipers often and when I do, I want to clean the windshield off quickly as possible. A buddy of mine drives a LOT on highway/country roads and he got tired of the expense of buying a gallon (or two) a week, so he tried just water… it just mostly smeared the bugs… so he went to using the cheaper no-name brand of blue stuff.

Brakes (I NEVER cheap out on brakes or brake components), Why? Because the ONLY time I use my brakes is… because well… when I NEED to stop. I never just randomly stop for no reason just to use the brakes, LOL. When I use the brake pedal it isn’t a suggestion, it is a necessity, I am slowing for a corner, or coming to an intersection, a stop light or stop sign, or somebody pulled out in front of me… (etc.). I’ve used “house brand” pads and rotors because I was broke at the moment and they wore out in four years, and the brake material was “chunking” off of the pads. Not Happy. At All. Plus they squealed every morning until the first stop almost from the time they went on. Now? Wagner Thermoquiets and Wagner rotors/drums (at the least). They have functioned as well as factory equipment and it has been 7 years… brakes still work flawlessly with a firm feel (however I am keeping an eye on the front pads, they are starting to look a little thin).

I APOLOGIZE for the LENGTH, LOL. Not trying to write a book and waste yours (or anybody’s else’s) time. I have more examples but I will leave this as it is since it is so long already.

I welcome Your (and other peoples) opinions and input. Thank You.

Topic

[EricTheCarGuy]

Thanks for the suggestion. As you pointed out I have touched on the topic in other videos. I like your idea about making a video specifically on this topic though. I’ll see what I can work into the schedule.

Thanks again for the suggestion.

[Mahmoud]

I want to express more desire for this kind of video to be made. TL;DR is that I cast another vote for this.

I started thinking about this when I had to choose brake pads to buy; It feels like it’s all just hearsay and personal anecdotes, which means a whopping YMMV on every selection of pads. I know your caliper service guide mentions the material type, but then there’s brand, and even then, (wearever, for example) there can be multiple versions/prices for the same brand, and both can be ceramic or what have you.

[Nicholas Clark]

I can tell you what this video does not need to cover: Tools. We already kind of went over that in ETCG’s tools VS video.

[Ray Heim]

Yes, I thought pretty much the same thing about the brakes. But my wife had ran them down to the rivets (pad material was gone) and they were scoring/cutting the rotors (rotors couldn’t just be turned). Since I was broke at the moment, I went with “house-brand” pads and rotors. They sucked and wore out very quickly. When I got the money later on (and because the cheap brakes were actually failing/squeaking), I went with name-brand stuff and did the fronts and rears all at the same time (pad/rotors on the front, drums/shoes on the rear). I haven’t had any problems since I switched back to something that is as good as what the factory used originally.

There was no need to upgrade to any type of performance brakes because this is just a 23 year-old daily driver (it is a 1993 Dodge Dynasty). It was never meant to be any type of performance vehicle, LOL. But, it is paid for, taxes and tags are around $50 a year… and the insurance is only $20 a year. (I asked about dropping the insurance on it because I was thinking of parking it. I would have saved $50, but then I would lose the multi-car discount of $40, so this car actually only costs $10 every six months to insure!) That is less than a 100 spot once a year… this car literally only costs me about $6 a month to put on the road. Total. And it runs good, is dependable, I don’t worry about shopping cart dings, hail storms, etc. If I get t-boned in an intersection, I can just replace it out of pocket (hey… it is just a cheap older car 🙂 ). This car could have been showcased in Eric’s “reliable POS” videos. LOL.

[Ray Heim]

True Hockeyclark, Eric did a video just recently about that.

I was thinking about what others have asked me about parts (and/or services). What is “needed”, and if it is, “how cheap can it be done” type of thing. As mentioned, there are certain things I won’t “cheap out” on, and other stuff that I will. While I don’t think “cheapest” equals “the best’, I don’t necessarily think “most expensive” equals “the best” either. I can certainly understand why a person would want to save a couple of dollars here and there (been there and done that a time or two myself, LOL).

[Henry]

Well it’s not always considered cheeping out but sometimes the brand of an item sets it at a higher price than others like NGK, DENSO, Bosch, those might be considered cheaping out if say u go with a Bosch item for $32 where an identical DENSO sells for $54 there’s obviously a reason why that is

[Author]

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