Is it actually cheaper to fix your own car?

Yes, over time. Your first job can cost more than a shop once you buy the tools. After that, most jobs cost little more than parts. The savings come from using the same tools for all your regular maintenance and small repairs.

How much does it cost to replace your own brakes?

The parts for my brake job (pads, rear rotors and slide pins) cost $195. If you're starting with no tools at all, expect to spend roughly $935 more on an impact wrench, battery, sockets, a jack, jack stands, a torque wrench and other basics.

How much does a shop charge for a brake job?

About four years ago, I paid an independent shop $550 and a Honda dealership $700 to replace the pads on all four wheels plus the front rotors. With inflation and tariffs since then, expect those prices to be higher today.

How many brake jobs before the tools pay for themselves?

Saving $355 to $505 per brake job, a full $935 set of tools pays for itself by the second or third job. If you also use them for tire swaps, oil changes and other small repairs, you break even sooner.

Is an impact wrench worth buying for DIY car repairs?

If you do your own maintenance regularly, yes. It turns rusted, seized bolts from a three-to-four-hour struggle into a much faster job. If you stick to one battery platform, every future tool can be bought "tool only" at a lower price.

Are aftermarket brake parts as good as OEM?

In my experience, I haven't noticed a difference between OEM and aftermarket brakes. OEM parts usually cost more, which is one reason dealerships charge more. Stick to reputable aftermarket brands.

Why are DIY savings worth more than they look?

Money you save is after-tax money. At a 30% marginal tax rate, keeping $400 in your pocket is the same as earning about $570 before tax. In Ontario's higher brackets, it's closer to $700.

Is it safe to do your own brakes?

It can be if you follow the basics. Never get under a car held up only by a jack. Use jack stands and wheel chocks, torque lug nuts and caliper bolts to spec, and bed in the new pads. If a bolt snaps or something doesn't look right, take it to a shop.

29 Oct 2026 8 min read Advice

Can you save money fixing your car?

Q: Which car repairs should you leave to a professional?

Jobs you're not confident doing safely, and jobs that are much easier on a proper lift. Alignments, transmission work and air conditioning repairs need specialized equipment or certification. Shops also offer a warranty on their labour.

To save you the long read - yes. But the savings don't come from any single job. They come from owning the right tools and using them for every bit of regular maintenance and small repair you can handle. Do the work yourself consistently, and it pays off over time.

This post was inspired by Chrys Gaines and his "Is It Actually Cheaper to Fix Your Car Yourself" series. After replacing the brake pads and rotors on one of our cars, I wanted to run the math on my own numbers.

Why I Didn't Always DIY

When we lived in downtown Toronto, I didn't do any of my own maintenance. There was nowhere to do the work and nowhere to store tools. We relied on the dealership and, for a while, a local auto shop, until it closed to make room for condos.

When we moved to a house with a large garage and driveway, that changed. I started handling routine maintenance myself and saving the big jobs for the professionals. I didn't know how to maintain cars but YouTube is a goldmine of information. All I needed was practice, and practice I got.

Brakes are one of those routine jobs. I've done them three times now, sometimes pads and rotors, sometimes just pads. And I hated it. With hand tools only, the job took three to four hours once you factored in fighting rusted, seized bolts. Add the bruised knuckles and sore palms, and it never felt like a win.

Upgrading the Toolbox

Earlier this summer, I decided to stop suffering. I found a powerful impact wrench on sale (tool only, no battery) for $220. Compare that to the $20 breaker bar and $20 in wrenches I'd been using.

It didn't stop there. The battery was another $150, and impact-rated sockets added $45. That's $415 in new gear to replace $40 in hand tools and some elbow grease.

And that's just the power tools. To do a brake job safely, you also need a jack, jack stands, wheel chocks, a torque wrench, gloves, lubricants and cleaners, plus a few extras for stubborn bolts.

Here's the full breakdown. Prices reflect what you'd pay to buy everything if you're starting from nothing. I already owned everything in the second group and have used it many times for fluid changes, seasonal tire swaps and other maintenance.

Item	Cost
New tools (bought this summer)
Impact wrench (tool only)	$220
Battery	$150
Impact socket set	$45
Subtotal	$415
Tools I already owned
Jack	$200
Torque wrench	$100
Jack stands	$70
Lubricants and cleaners	$45
Manual impact screwdriver	$25
Hammer	$20
Gloves	$20
Universal joint	$15
Extension	$15
Wheel chocks	$10
Subtotal	$520
Parts
Brake pads, rear rotors, slide pins	$195
Total if starting from scratch	$1,130

What a Shop Would Charge

I didn't get quotes this time, but I have a decent reference point. About four years ago, I paid our local Honda dealership $700 to replace the pads on all four wheels and the front rotors. Around the same time, a local independent shop did the same job on our other car for $550. Going back further, 10 years ago the local shop in Toronto charged me $650 to replace all rotors and brake pads on our Honda Accord.

The gap likely comes down to two things. Dealerships usually use OEM parts, which cost more than aftermarket, and they charge higher labour rates. For what it's worth, I haven't noticed any difference between OEM and aftermarket brakes on our cars. Just stick to reputable brands.

It's not a perfect apples-to-apples comparison, since those jobs included front rotors while mine was rear, but it's close enough for a ballpark. Usually front rotors are just a bit more expensive. And with the inflation of the past few years and recent tariffs, I'd expect both prices to be higher today.

So, Is It Worth It?

It depends on how you count. There are three ways to look at it.

Starting from zero: $1,130. If you owned nothing, your first brake job would cost nearly double what a shop charges. On a single-job basis, DIY loses.

What I actually spent: $610. Counting only new purchases (the power tools plus parts), I spent about what the independent shop charged four years ago. Roughly break-even, except I now own an impact wrench, a battery and sockets.

The real cost of this job: $195. This is the number that matters. I originally bought the impact wrench to replace an exhaust earlier in the summer, so it had already earned its keep before I touched the brakes. The rest of the tools were bought years ago and have been used dozens of times. The only cost truly tied to this brake job is the parts.

That's the key insight. Tools are a one-time cost. Shop labour is a recurring one. Every job you do yourself spreads the tool cost a little thinner.

Even if you bought all $935 worth of tools from scratch, saving $355 to $505 per brake job means you'd break even by your second or third one. Count the tire swaps, oil changes and other small jobs those same tools handle, and you get there much sooner. Sure, an impact driver is an overkill for an oil change, but I did have to borrow one once to remove the differential drain plug after struggling for an hour.

The Savings Are Bigger Than They Look

Here's the part most people miss - money you save is after-tax money. If your marginal tax rate is 30%, keeping $400 in your pocket is the equivalent of earning about $570 before tax. In Ontario's higher brackets, it's closer to $700.

Time matters too. With the impact wrench, this job took me about two hours, down from three to four. But even at three hours, saving $400 works out to more than $130 an hour, tax-free. Not many side hustles pay that well.

Tips If You Want to Start

Buy tools as the jobs come up. Don't buy a full garage on day one. Each tool pays for itself on the job you bought it for, and you avoid paying for tools you never use. But remember to do some research in advance and figure out what you need before you start the job. Nothing is worse than leaving a job half-done when you realize you are missing a tool.
Stick to one battery platform. The battery was 36% of my power tool cost. Pick one brand and every future tool can be bought "tool only" at a big discount. But you should also do a comparison in case a tool and battery combo comes up on sale.
Wait for sales. Tools go on sale constantly. If a job isn't urgent, there's no reason to pay full price. This is how I slowly assembled my tools over the last 4-5 years.
Never skimp on safety. A jack lifts the car. Jack stands hold it. Never get under a car supported only by a jack, and always chock the wheels.
Torque to spec. Use the torque wrench on lug nuts and caliper bolts, and recheck the lug nuts after the first 100 km or so. This is important for two reasons - to ensure nothing is loose, and to ensure you didn't overtighten a bolt that could eventually snap. I have had a bolt snapped because of overtightening it. Bolt extraction sucks.

When I Still Call a Professional

Not every job is worth doing yourself. I leave work to the professionals when I'm not confident I can do it safely, or when it's much easier with a proper lift. Alignments, transmission work and air conditioning repairs, which require specialized equipment and certification, all fall into that category.

Shops also offer things DIY can't - a warranty on their labour and a second set of eyes that might catch a problem before it gets expensive. That's worth paying for on the right jobs.

The Bottom Line

Fixing your own car is cheaper, but it's a long game. Your first job might cost more than a shop. Every job after that costs little more than parts. The more you use your tools, the lower your cost per use, and the more money stays in your pocket.