I'm curious what others think: is DIY a mantra worth adhering to, even if you risk biting off more than you can chew? How many jobs do you do yourself, versus deferring to a professional? I'd imagine it's different if you're retired with an empty nest and a garage full of tools..
Yes, it depends on a lot of factors, but the main factor is this: Do you have the space to work on your rig? If you live an apartment or condo without a garage, you're kind of shit out of luck.
The rest of the factors are all excuses. You can have a family and a demanding job and still turn wrenches. We all have the ability to prioritize time in our lives, but obviously for some, it's a bit more difficult. Labor rates at shops are very high and the quality of the work you're getting done isn't always that great. Often times the quality is piss poor. So, is it worth it to make time in your busy schedule to turn your own wrenches? I believe the obvious answer is YES!
Some people use the excuse they don't have the necessary tools. That's not a good excuse at all. Tools are an investment that pay dividends. Quite often, the tools you buy are paid for after performing one job on your own because of the money you saved not paying a shop their high hourly labor rate.
Not having the knowledge is another excuse, and again, it's a piss poor excuse. This is the information age. Gone are the days that information was hard to come by. We have forums like this one. We have people making write-ups. We have people like myself making videos. You have have access to factory service manuals. The informaiton is in abundance.
The time to throw in the towel and bring it to a shop is when you've exhausted your abilities, usually with a problem that needs a mechanic well versed in vehicle diagnostics, and can pin point for you an issue you've been throwing parts at without success.
How many jobs do I do myself? I probably do 98-99% of all my work myself. I can't balance tires or do a front end alignment, and I'm probably never going to rebuild my own engine because there's just so much expertise and tooling that goes into a quality rebuilt engine, I'm better off paying a shop that specializes in engine rebuilding.
DIY is definitely a mantra worth adhering to. What opens up the door to doing more involved jobs is having a second vehicle. That takes away the stress of having to complete a job in a certain time period, usually a weekend, because you need the vehicle to get to work and take your kids to school. You work on one vehicle while you have a backup for needed transportation.
Happy Wrenching!