This is badass. I aspire to have enough tools and know how to fix my own car. Tools is the biggest hurdle for me currently, as I own only the basics.
A comprehensive toolkit of DIY-grade tools runs you less than what you save in a single repair. If you can't get a good metric set and multimeter for under $100, go look somewhere else. You don't need Snap-On, because you're not a mechanic doing it every day.
The "weird" stuff is generally available for rent from your local parts store - fan clutch tools, ball joint pullers, gear pullers, slide hammers, etc. For free.
I've come to the conclusion that the *average* person cannot afford the *average* car. It gets worse now as it gets older because there's a lot of deferred maintenance. When they bring it to the dealer for repair they receive bills they cannot afford.
Problem: Taking it to the dealer. You'll pay 2-3x as much as you will for a local independent shop to do the work, typically, though sometimes it's worse.
But, yes, a lot of people buy a lot more car than they can afford, and then don't learn that the optimum solution is to do the work themselves. It's a bit more clear when you stretch to buy a total beater that you sort of can't take it to a shop and still afford to drive it...
Where the heck are you that anyone can even dare to quote $500 for a oil change? I can almost undestand the gouging on the other things: people with no experience or understanding of how something works can easily be fooled. But "everyone" who owns a car knows the basic price range...
A luxury car with specialized oil change procedures and a large sump of synthetic, likely. Or a newer truck. I took a truck to a Jiffy Lube for an oil change when I lived somewhere less compatible with doing my own work, and it was over $200, without any exotic oil. Last time I ever did that... their estimate and their actual price were quite a bit apart, and I was
not entertained. But I can see a $500 oil change on a newer BMW or Mercedes being in the realm of "High, but not unreasonable for a dealership doing the work with full synthetic." See previous comments on dealerships.