Auto Repair For Dummies

-----updated review October 2007----------------
I just finished re-reading this title cover-to-cover. This book was apparantly written 20 years ago. If you own a 20 year old car, this book is a goldmine. If you own a more recent model, this book is better than nothing, but not nearly as good as getting the Haynes (or similar) manual for your particular vehicle. Or for that matter, any other car repair book written in a more recent decade.

I can't speak for the entire series, but you really would be a dummy to buy this particular book.
------original review----------------------------------
First, an observation. This book starts out explaining what a screwdriver is, and proceeds to attempt to explain complex repairs such as servicing the distributor. If you really don't know what a screwdriver is, this book can't help you. And if you attempt to service the ignition system because you read this book, you will need real help, and possibly hospitalization.

The book explains in great detail outmoded automotive technology. Anybody driving a car with drum breaks and carburetor needs a job, not a how-to book.

The book is liberally infested with cut-away line drawings of various car systems. Most are confusing, none are explained well.

The book is chock full of esoteric details, but lacks coherent explanation. This is the way engineers generally write (I speak from experience here). As it turns out, the author has zero technical credentials, yet she claims sole authorship. Could be.

All in all, one of the worst books it has ever been my misfortune to purchase.

I own this book. It has some good basic info, but a much better title would be How Cars Work, With a Little Auto Repair Thrown In. Some of the actual descriptions of "repair" are of very simple things, like how to open the hood - but I guess you should expect that in a Dummies volume. She recommends going to a pro for all but the simplest repairs. Kind of defeats the purpose of the book, it seems to me. She doesn't even discuss exhaust system work, and on many cars that's a relatively simple job. I'm certainly not Joe Mechanic, but even I managed to replace my own muffler and another pipe. This book is more about maintenance than repair.

There are also too many cutesy stories and comments, and Sclar's descriptions are often much too wordy. If she had merely stuck to the facts this book could have been 50 pages shorter. For instance, Sclar tells a story about a woman who had a flat tire but refused a truck driver who offered to help. Then the woman discovered she wasn't strong enough to lift the tire onto the rim. Sclar makes sure to mention that the guy stayed there in his truck to enjoy her helplessness, then goes into an explanation, complete with illustrations, of how to build a ramp to ROLL the spare up to the rim. Who's going to do that, and then lug the thing around in their trunk? Not many, I expect. Hey, here's a thought - when someone graciously offers help, why not just accept it?

That said, the book does have some good general info that should at least enable you to talk to your mechanic more intelligently and might help you avoid getting ripped off. But if you're looking for a book that will actually help you do a variety of repairs on your car, you probably ought to look elsewhere.

I confidently give this book five stars because it is exactly what I was looking for. Coming from that generation that does not always receive alot of the accumulated knowledge of previous men, I was very happy with the information in this book. As the previous reviewer says this book does not help you to repair your car yourself. It does however, explain very well how the systems in your car work. It mentions a few things you can do yourself but primarily limits these to the regular external things like fluids, tire pressure, etc. I believe that a book of this kind is actually more helpful than one that might explain how to repair a car yourself. I think that the ability for a layman to actually do any sort of profound repair on a modern car is practically impossible because of advances in computer technology and their integration into the workings of automobiles. This book however explains how the physical parts work and tells you what to look for so that you know if it is something that needs fixing. This is helpful in planning repairs, selecting a mechanic, or deciding to buy or sell a car.

This isn't much of an auto repair book, as such. For repair, I'd advise those who know what they're doing to grab themselves a Chilton manual specific to their car.

However, I think this book should be read by anyone preparing to enter the world of driving. I personally would have my child read this book before allowing them to own a car.

This book pretty much covers how a car works and simple/routine maintenance. Stuff most people who drive have no clue about. Stuff that is important to know if you're planning on navigating 2 tons of steel in three dimensions at 60mph.

This is a great present for your teen's 16th birthday (place it in the front seat of their new car!), or for anyone who has just gotten a new car (and you know they barely understand how to turn it on).

i knew nothing about cars when i bought this book. it really helped me a lot. buy it and you'll learn more than you can imagine.

believe me its worth every penny. i was a novice but not anymore. i'm giving credit to where credit is due!!!