T he trick to saving money on repairs for your car, appliances or anything else may be something you've never even considered: Do the repairs yourself, or at least find out whether you can order the parts at a discount and have a technician install them. It may sound like it's more trouble then it's worth. But doing your own repairs or supplying your own parts can save you hundreds of dollars. These days there are many online retailers of low-cost parts for cars, computers, appliances, and more. Many of them have posted online how-to videos and instructions that show you how to diagnose a problem and replace a part yourself. Those resources can give you a good idea about whether the job is something you can handle on your own. (If you're hiring a repair shop, online videos also an help you decide whether a technician is misdiagnosing the problem, perhaps intentionally, or charging you an outrageous amount to fix it. I've saved a lot over the years maki...

I was a guest this month on Hot Shopping Tips  (episode 14) – a series of free and really helpful podcasts by my friends and former Consumer Reports colleagues Lisa Lee Freeman and Mandy Walker. The subject was: "Ten hacks to get the best deals on cars and avoid repair ripoffs." I thought I'd provide some additional specifics in a few posts here. Today: How to save hundreds on vehicle scheduled maintenance. I f you check your car's owner's or maintenance manual, you'll find the car maker's recommended maintenance schedules. For instance, there may a list of maintenance procedures at 5,000 miles or six months and another at 10,000 miles or 12 months. It's  important to take care of your car or truck as the manufacturer recommends, especially if you don't want to risk the warranty coverage. But just telling a car dealer or independent mechanic that it's time for scheduled maintenance is a surefire way to end up with an unnecessarily big bil...

W hen you're buying a house, especially if it isn't new, you should consider hiring a home inspector to make sure there are no hidden problems with the structure; plumbing, heating and electrical systems, roof, windows or anything else that can affect the price you'd be willing to pay or your decision to buy at all. But it's essential to investigate the inspector carefully before committing to a contract, based on the complaints dissatisfied customers have made online and elsewhere. In a recent undercover investigation, the Washington, D.C.-based non-profit group Consumers' Checkbook found shortcomings among all 12 inspectors it hired to examine a three-bedroom Virginia home. On average, the group said, the inspectors discovered only about half of the 28 problems it had identified in the test house. Among the issues some inspectors missed were unrepaired water damage to a ceiling and walls, an unsafe fireplace and a roof that was in poor condition. It didn...

R eaders email me almost every week asking wheth er it's a good idea to purchase a home service contract, com monly known as a home warranty.  As with any so-called extended warranty, my answer is that it's probably better to self insure by putting the roughly $200 to $800 you'd spend annually into a savings account or dedicated product repair and replacement fund. And I'm not the only one who feels this way. The non-profit Consumers' Checkbook gives the same advice in its home warranty coverage. Admittedly, home warranties have an edge over many other types of service contracts. Instead of protecting a single product, such as your refrigerator or television, as other plans do, the coverage applies to a range of items, such as your appliances, home heating and ventilation system, plumbing and more, depending on the plan you buy. So if your air conditioner doesn't break, your washing machine or furnace might. That means there may be a better chance you...