[Cd00d]

I'm sorry, but this is an unnecessary and negative comment. I don't know why you made it.

Of course a professional will accomplish tasks faster than a DIY'er checking YouTube.

But, as OP says, there's savings AND personal satisfaction involved. Why is time-efficiency the metric you're weighting in value?

[grp000]

It has nothing to do with negativity. Maybe OP is accounting for an efficiency loss rate, but they didn't mention it, so I brought it up. What good are inaccurate calculations?

[sokoloff]

It matters if OP is multiplying the hours they spent times $100 rather than the time the mechanic would quote (usually from a flat rate manual) times $100/hr.

If a pro mechanic would charge me $100/hr times the book time of 1.3 hours to change pads on my car and I take 3 hours to do it, I saved $130, not $300.

For simple jobs, I can usually match or slightly beat the book rate. Because I don’t have a lift, a lot of undercar work takes me loads longer.