Into DIY Work? 6 Dangers of Using Free Car Repair Guides Online

The internet provides thousands of resources to help you diagnose and determine what replacement car parts you need for your Land Rover for free. Even in our blog, you’ll find plenty of information on common issues you might experience with your car. When it comes to detailed automotive repair guides, however, designed to help you achieve do-it-yourself repairs, free isn’t always the best.

Why? It’s one thing to get a bit of information that can assist you in determining what might be wrong with specific Land Rover parts. It’s an entirely different thing to use free information to actually fix said problem. Here are a few reasons why.

Many are General Guides

Many so-called “free” guides actually aren’t specific to your particular vehicle. You may have a 2013 Land Rover Freelander SUV 2.0 4x4. The free guide you’ve just downloaded online, however, may be for any Land Rover. The car parts discussed within the guide may not even apply to your specific SUV. If you attempt to follow the repair instructions, you may find yourself lost and confused. This can lead to significant problems, as you might remove a Land Rover part or replace one that doesn’t need to be touched.

Who’s The Author?

Unlike automotive repair guides you have to purchase, you may not know who actually authored the free guide you just happened to download off the internet. The problem with this is that the author could be someone who simply wants you to click on their site and actually knows little to nothing about repairing cars. Purchasing a car repair guide specific to your Land Rover model and written by an author who really knows what he or she is talking about is the only way to perform successful DIY work.

Outdated Information

One of the biggest advantages of purchasing a Land Rover repair guide from a reputable author is that these repair guides show you the date they are published and whether they have been updated to reflect any recalls or changed to the vehicle. This ensures you are dealing with the correct car parts and making the right repairs. When authors to repair guides aren’t paid for their services, they may not set aside the time and put in the effort to update their information to reflect new information provided by the manufacturers months after the vehicle is first released.

Wrong Information

Someone who wants you to visit their website may slap together a bit of information to get you to click on their online advertisement for a free guide. Unfortunately, they may not even understand how your vehicle works or what car parts need to be addressed. If this is the case, they may lead you down the wrong path when it comes to your repairs. This can lead to significant problems and may result in you needing to abandon your DIY repair and consult a professional for help in fixing them.

Downloading Malware

Many car repair guides offered for free on the internet must be downloaded before they can be viewed. This puts your computer at risk, especially if you don’t know enough about the site to trust it. Dangerous malware is sometimes attached to these guides, and can infect your computer as soon as you download it. This can result in very expensive problems you have to fix later on.

Lies, Lies, Lies

Sometimes you’ll get lucky and find a free automotive repair guide that is actually free for you to download and use. It may even be specifically about your model of Land Rover. Other times, however, you’re tricked into clicking on an online advertisement for a free guide when the guide isn’t actually free. Once you start clicking through the beginning of the documents, you may be taken to a page that requires you to pay for the rest of the guide. Not only is this frustrating, but it is dangerous as well. If you enter your personal information on a site you aren’t sure if you can trust, that info may be stolen and used by someone else.

How to Find a Trust-Worthy Vehicle Repair Guide

If you want to save money and get a free guide to repairing Land Rover parts, make sure it’s trust worthy. Here’s how to do it:

• Get it from a trust-worthy source. If you’ve never heard of the site, don’t download from it.

• Make sure it talks about your vehicle. A guide to repairing Land Rovers won’t help you if your specific model isn’t discussed.

• Do some research on both the site, the guide and the author. See what others have to say about the repair guide and the author. If you see any issues, don’t waste your time download the free car part repair guide.

• Speaking of authors, check to see if there is one cited. If there isn’t, steer clear.

• If you’re downloading, always make sure your antivirus software is on. This can help keep your computer and the personal information on the computer safe and protected from malware.

Consult a Professional When…

Should something go wrong with your repair after using a free guide, seek help from a professional immediately. Don’t attempt to go any further in repairing or replacing the Land Rover parts yourself or you may end up causing more expensive problems. You may want to save money by replacing car parts yourself using a free guide, but it may end up costing you more in the long run if you’re not using the right guide.

You should also consult a professional if the DIY repair work found in the guide you’ve obtained for free seems like it’s above your understanding or if you don’t have to tools necessary to complete it correctly. It’s better to spend a little to have your favourite local mechanic tackle it the first time than spend a lot to have him fix the problems you created and the original issue.

Thinking of downloading a free online auto repair guide to work on your Land Rover? Be careful when selecting these free guides, as there are many dangers that come with it. Always choose free guides from reputable sources or purchase a trust-worthy guide you can really rely on when attempting DIY work.