50% off and Instant Delivery | Haynes Manuals
No matter how much I write about car fundamentals for the average driver, some people want to fix their own cars. Completely understandable. Maybe you’re buying an old used car, or perhaps you’re just tired of paying exorbitant auto shop prices for DIY projects you could handle on your own. Whatever the case may be, you’re probably seeking more information than a YouTube video can offer. That’s where Haynes Manuals come in.
Brandi Lynn is a diesel mechanic based in Wisconsin. Lynn uses the Hynes Manuals to repair her own vehicle, a 2000 Dodge 1500. “I like the images, specs, and schematics,” she told me.
Haynes Manuals starts the technical process by purchasing and then wholly disassembling the car that is the focus of the manual. This process makes the manual as accurate and easy to understand as possible. It also allows them to include a lot of photographs to help you follow along. Haynes manuals also use it as a way to develop a workaround for sophisticated tools.
The Haynes manuals include services that a DIY car aficionado would consider doing at home. These include maintenance services and tune-ups, and replacement of parts ranging from brakes to suspension and emissions competences. They do not, however, cover specialized services like alignments and transmission overhauls.
Here are some of the manuals and tech books you can buy from Haynes:
Vehicle Specific Haynes Manual
Buy a manual developed specifically for your vehicle. Using the Haynes method of completely disassembling a car, this manual is specific to your vehicle with troubleshooting, maintenance information, tips, and trick, and you’ll need to get the job done. It includes all of the following and more.
- Tune-up and routine maintenance
- Engines
- Cooling, heating, and air conditioning systems
- Fuel and exhaust systems
- Engine electrical systems
- Emissions and engine control systems
- Automatic transaxle
- Brakes
- Suspension and steering systems
- Chassis electrical system
- Wiring diagrams
Automotive Body Repair & Painting Haynes Techbook
This techbook is for the bodywork beginner. It covers (with pictures) the following subjects.
- Rustproofing and undercoating
- Tools and equipment
- Repair of minor dents and rust damage
- Metalworking techniques
- Major rust repair
- Body component replacement
- Sanding and painting
- Car care and detailing
- Welding
Online Car Specific Manual
The online version of these manuals is clearly the best deal that Haynes manuals offer. Not only are they easily accessible via cell phone, tablet, or computer, Haynes also includes video tutorials as part of the annual fee. Haynes manuals have an international following. A marine engineer apprentice in Cornwall, UK, Vicki Sichel used the manuals to repair her 2005 VW Polo facelift. “I love how they include tips in them and give step by step on how to do something, and I trust it to be right,” Sichel said.
“[Haynes manuals] are definitely my go-to,” she told me.
But don’t let the manuals make you overconfident. There is still a learning curve, and fixing your own car means taking on the risks that come with it. Lynn warns, “Sometimes I think they’re kind of vague and you have to know a lot of background info to fully know what they’re saying.” She continues, “I would say they’re not always beginner user friendly.”