"We work on a lot of cars. Something that a lot of people may not think that they can do by themselves is change wiper blades."
-John-David Duggar
In this Counting On webisode, John Duggar and Josiah Duggar demonstrate one of the simple ways that their family saves money on car repairs.
Photo/video courtesy TLC
My car's dealership repair dept. did this for me for free when I mentioned that the blades were leaving streaks. Not only that, but they vacuumed the car out and washed it before returning it to me. All while I sat on a nice leather couch in the waiting room having free coffee and pastries, watching TV, and using their Wi-Fi. Not everything has to be do-it-yourself. Most dealerships do oil changes for life, give you free loaner cars, or shuttle you home if needed.
ReplyDeleteThere certainly does come a time when diy turns out to be ridiculous when all that you've mentioned can be done instead!
DeleteYes! Couldn't agree more! :)
DeleteThanks for the advice. Some people only know where you put the gas!
DeleteWhen you purchase wiper blades at Auto Zone or a similar store, the employees will put it on your car as part of the purchase. Alternately, there are very simple instructions included on the packaging. Changing a wiper blade is generally not categorized as "auto maintenance."
ReplyDeleteNot sure what it WOULD be categorized as then.
DeleteThat would be like calling washing your car or putting gas in it "doing car maintenance."
DeleteAnonymous 12:07 - I'd call it a chore or an errand, like getting fuel, washing the car, or putting on a license plate. Auto maintenance is generally understood to reference more technical tasks.
DeleteAuto maintenance is what is required to keep your car in working order. Changing wiper blades is in that category.
DeleteWhat would you call changing the oil or wiper fluid then? what about changing a headlight? Seems to me they all fall under car maintenance.
DeleteChanging the wipers is part of car maintenance. Maintenance involves maintaining your car. Car repairs would be a different category. It may be simple to some people to change out the wiper blades but that isn't the case for everyone. My friend's husband changed out their blades himself. The next time it rained, she turned on the wipers and one of them went flying off.
DeleteJohn David is such a sweet gentle man and a sweet soul. Any woman in the future who ends up to be his wife will be blessed, if he does marry.
ReplyDeleteI think John David was profoundly impacted by what his brother did and has personally vowed never to go down that path or make such terrible errors. That alone will be a plus for a future spouse. That said, I also think he's not going to marry for awhile. He seems in no hurry.
DeleteI must agree with you. His sister Jana seems to have the same calming kind nature.
DeleteI hope the best for them.
Basic maintenance and mechanic's were expected to be learned in my family to avoid risk of harm if stranded.
He seems to be quite shy and a bit socially awkward. This isn't a critique, we are all different and it's ok to have some difficulties in some areas of life. Just noticing that the girls seem more pleasant, more able to make connections, while the boys seem very shy.
DeleteI'd love to see one of those boys in love act like the girls do when in love. LOL!
DeleteI noticed that shyness and awkwardness, too. It's almost as though he can't completely open up with his feelings and allow himself to get close to other people. He's smart enough, but he keeps people at arm's length and keeps almost a wall of protection around himself. I think he's going to have to learn to take that wall down before he can ever have a successful courtship. (Mothers know best.)
DeleteSpeaking as someone who has seen John David at a wedding where no cameras were, I can say he is definitely not shy or socially awkward. He was laughing and talking with everyone. Just because someone is a "gentleman" does not mean they are akward. We have lost our sense of what "men" ought to be like in this generation.
DeleteJohnDavid (A jack of all trades) whoever is lucky enough to marry him will most certainly be blessed.These boys are raised to not be lazy and to provide for their wives, how refreshing is that, when you see all these men who don't even pay child support for their children with many different woman and then those women are then dependent on welfare daboot.I wish those men would take some lessons from JohnDavid on how to be a true gentleman, he's such a proper human being😉
DeleteHe just doesn't seem outgoing at all. He only speaks when asked and often doesn't even finish the sentence. I don't know if it's the cameras (to which he should be used now), but I don't find it strange that he's still single. He doesn't look like someone who puts themselves out there. If you don't get to know people, you might never find the one. ;)
DeleteI don't understand their concept of "saving money" on cars. They have en entire fleet of them in all sizes, plus a bus, plus a plane, plus heavy machinery, plus who knows what else. Yes, they might be used vehicles instead of new, but where's the savings if you feel you need 10 times more vehicles than the average family?
ReplyDeleteImagine what they spend on vehicle insurance.
DeleteAnd taxes, and registrations, and state inspections...
DeleteThey didn't used to have that fleet. They seemed to make do with one big van.
They have about 10 times more people than the average family. Makes sense they can't get along with one or two cars.
DeleteLet's remember they pay cash for everything. I wish I could do the same. What about you?
DeleteIf the kids are driving their own vehicles, then I hope they paid for them, they pay for the insurance, they pay for the registrations, they pay for the maintenance, and they pay for the gas. You should give your children the satisfaction of supporting themselves, and the lesson that life is not a free ride. I hope that's in the Duggar financial lesson book somewhere.
DeleteOf course they didn't have that many cars when the show started out. The kids were too little to drive. They also buy and sell cars, so how do you know how many they are actually keeping?
DeleteI certainly don't pay cash for a car when they're offering 0% or 1% financing and my investments are making 10-12% per quarter! Keep my money where it is, making more money, and let the car co. have their monthly payment. Paying cash for everything isn't always a good deal. What about people who pay off their credit card every month AND get cash back or airline miles or some other perk from it? Why would you pay cash at the store if you get those deals?
DeleteThere's an online calculator that shows you how much you can lose if you pay cash instead of financing the vehicle. There are many variables in that equation, but yes, it's possible to save money by financing instead of liquidating your investments, especially if they're making decent interest or dividends.
DeleteYour investments are not making "10-12% per quarter" unless you are into illegal activity.
DeleteI have energy stocks that have been consistently making over 10%. Highest quarter recently was 23%. They paid for a nice trip this summer. Quite legal.
DeleteStart small.
ReplyDeleteThank you John David and Josiah for your tutorial! JB
DeleteCome on! Do the Duggars think people are stupid? Most people I know change their own window wipers etc. My husband even puts on the winter tires each year.
ReplyDeleteThe Duggars are out-of-touch of how most people live.
Are there places that charge to put on wiper blades? I also do it myself, but I know that anywhere I have bought them, they ask if they want them put on for free.
ReplyDeleteEven things done to save money can become very expensive if done in excess. For example, Jim Bob said Jeremy might need a second job due to how much thrift shopping Jinger does. It doesn't save money when done in excess. The wipers may save a couple bucks but they have over 10 vehicles so it's a tiny drop in the bucket compared to other maintenance, insurance, gas.
ReplyDeleteWait you guys get it done for free? We do it ourselves but every mechanic I know charges a little to put your wiper blades on.
ReplyDeleteMy dealer's shop gave me replacement blades and put them on the car for free. The car was about 2 years old and still under warranty, so maybe that's why? Whatever the case, I complained they had been chattering for awhile, so when I got the car back from having something else done, there were new blades on it, no charge. Maybe dealerships can do this at no charge and make up for it by charging more for other things?
DeleteGo to an auto parts store. Sometimes if you buy the blades from them, they'll put them on for free.
DeleteI don't understand why anyone would pay someone to do their wiperblades, it's one of the simplest things to do on your car. I'm a young women and I even do my own oil changes and things like fluid changes, bulbs, some diagnostics etc. Yould be surprised how much of common sense half these things are to do. I understand not everyone is good at it but wiperblades are so simple, they even have instructions on them!
ReplyDeleteWait, people actually pay for someone to do their wiperblades? I'm Australian and everyone I know does their own. Its very easy, you can do it with eyes closed lol.
ReplyDeleteI'm 23 year old women and do my own oil changes, fluid changes and most diagnosing etc, only book it in for more major things. Everyone should do easy things such as wiperblades in ny opinion, it's common sense
ReplyDeleteAuto Zone puts your brand new wiper blades on for free in their parking lot, AND changes out your old battery for free too in their parking lot. I'd say that's a better deal. After all, the Duggars have to purchase their auto parts too.
ReplyDeleteAre they reaching to fill airtime? A old women , like me ,who started driving late in life can do this lol. If you get them at Walmart it saves a buck or 2 . If your at a auto parts dealer they change them for free and batteries are cheap there too. Maybe it's because it's not a women thing to do? Not sure but it would make sense since I never met a man alive who couldn't do this. Odd indeed
ReplyDeleteI have never changed my own windshield wiper, so I thought their demo was good and I learned something new.
ReplyDelete