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Mazda abuses copyright to stop 3rd parties from publishing manuals. Can't get a Haynes or Chilton manual for any Mazda newer than about 1995.

http://www.haynes.com/products... 2 seconds on Google.. come on, man.

Here is the Haynes manual It's worth every penny. I buy one for every car I work on.

Do It Yourself (DIY) Auto Repair Manuals from Haynes
http://www.haynes.com/
Heaps of it is easy with instructions, otherwise you can at least get an idea of what needs to be done so you don't get ripped off as easily.

Sure thing.

Get yourself a Haynes manual for your model vehicle.

I do agree with the lost value point. It's a nice pipe dream though. If you are looking for good car manuals to work on your own i suggest the Haynes series http://www.haynes.com/. They are step by step and pretty easy to follow even for the not so mechanically inclined. That and they've got lots of pretty pictures and exploded diagrams too! Really handy for things like brake jobs, belt changes ect. The things the local mechanic spends five minutes on and charges you $300 for it. On a side note I popped by a friend's shop today for coffee and he showed his newest purchase. Since he runs a high-end-fix-all-models place he got computerized non-OEM manuals system. Any car, any manual, any diagram. Kicker is he shelled out over 10K for it (wouldn't be specific on the price but I'm guessing it was more) AND he has a yearly subscription that costs another couple grand per year. I can see how it would get very expensive, very quickly for Wikipedia to make something closee to that public domain with licensing issues and all.

I have also replaced that fuse, and run that snake. "Just" a fuse is rare, except for in the case of a power surge (read 'lightning strike'); fuses blow for a reason, you've got to look for the cause (read 'short'), or you just go through fuses.

That hour at the computer/car/whatever shop is going to cost you as many as 12 hours at work (assuming an expensive shop and a low paying job), so it does make sense to spend some time getting caught up, because I'm sure you can think of a better way to spend/invest your money. That being said, I wouldn't call someone stupid because they got roped in by one of these scams (like Jiffy Lube), I'd just show them how so they can do/avoid it themselves, or in the case of the "I can'ts," let them know that I'll do it for half the price.

I can't believe I just read this: "I may not ever have the opportunity to use a wrench, or take a wrench to my car." Is this for real, or a 'for example'? Dude, I sort of agree with you on the basic computer skills class, except it should be required for graduation, not for internet access, but to me this puts you in the same group as the people that you express offense toward. (Please don't be offended, great-grandparent, I'm drinking.) If you have a car, buy a Haynes Repair Manual for it (16 to 25 dollars), and some tools as needed. Create the opportunity, and you might never go to a mechanic again. (I know that people who rent their homes often aren't allowed to work in their own driveways/parking lots, and that's the only reason I've ever been to the oil change place, but if I had to do it again, I'd have done it myself and told the super where he could stick it.)

That's all I've got for now, I hope it wasn't too bad, because like I said, I'm drinking.

Newsflash: The vast majority of people who use computers ARE novices by our standards (by Slashdot standards, even "novice" is probably too gentle).

You could apply that same flawed argument against Microsoft to almost situation. I mean, if you're an experienced mechanic then a big Haynes car maintenance manual is probably "bloatware". I mean, who doesn't know how to unscrew the drain plug flange grommit from the 5th injector to release oil pressure? That's just Mechanics 101!

Typo - I'll try that again...

I've got a haynes manual and one thing it's taught me is that the "mechanics" (i.e. not by profession) in my family really aren't that hot - they're tinkers. But I still listen to what they've got to tell me and if they do fix something I couldn't manage on my own then I'm grateful.

Point being: in either situation if you're asking for help don't be an asshole about it.

I've got a manual and one thing it's taught me is that the "mechanics" (i.e. not by profession) in my family really aren't that hot - they're tinkers. But I still listen to what they've got to tell me and if they do fix something I couldn't manage on my own then I'm grateful.

Point being: in either situation if you're asking for help don't be an asshole about it.

Unfortunately they stopped publishing online before we had to change engines and swap camshafts.

Of course if they had come up with a better encryption in the first place . . .

and the moral of the story IS.