One of the best “how-to” resources found online are videos. When I was just a young lad getting into automotive repair, I studied the shop manual for the car I was repairing. These were great resources because you got good step-by-step repair instructions. This was before the age of the internet so it was either read the shop manual, or find my dad for instruction. Dad was a great teacher, so the first thing he taught me was to do it myself.
Now that we have online resources, “Dad” can be found in many YouTube videos. Even with my years of experience, I still look for help when tackling a new problem. As a result, I watch a lot of YouTube videos. Not all YouTube channels are created equal, so I am happy to share my favorites ranked below.
YouTube Repair Channel Ranking
- South Main Auto
- Rainman Ray’s Repairs
- Pine Hollow Diagnostics
- Wrenching With Kenny (added 2/15/23)
- Watch Wes Work
- 1AAuto
Honorable Mention: Eric The Car Guy
South Main Auto (found HERE)
South Main Auto is a small three-bay repair shop in upstate New York. The owner, Eric, shares the steps to repair cars that are in his shop.
He focuses on cars with common issues, which makes the videos relevant for folks like me and you. Since it is located upstate New York, he deals with the same challenges as people like me in Michigan–RUST.
More importantly, he spends a lot of time on diagnosis–walking you through the logic of pinpointing the problem. I learn something new each time I watch his videos.
He has a dry wit, so his “editorials” are often on the sarcastic side. Sometimes I feel like I am looking in the mirror.
Rainman Ray’s Repairs (found HERE)
This channel launched early in 2021. Ray works in an independent repair shop in Sarasota, Florida. He publishes a video daily, and picks interesting repairs to highlight.
His videos are interspersed with dry humor and some really good diagnostic explanations. He makes each repair look easy, which makes the videos fun and informative.
Ray left the shop where he recorded many of his repairs in October 2022, but opened his own shop a month later. It did not take him long to get back into the groove with his usual fine videos!
Pine Hollow Auto Diagnostics (found HERE)
One of my readers recommended this channel in the comments section below. I took his recommendation and watched at least a dozen of the videos on the channel.
Ivan, the channel host, runs an auto diagnostic and repair service out of his garage in State College, PA. Most videos feature live troubleshooting of automotive drivability and electrical problems. In several cases, he drives to the customers’ home to perform his diagnostics.
Electrical work is my lowest skill, so I am learning a lot from Ivan’s videos. The playlists are well-organized by categories and manufacturer for easy browsing.
Wrenching With Kenny (found HERE)
I discovered this channel during one of my morning viewing sessions, and after a couple of weeks decided it deserves to be on my list. Kenny works out of a small shop in North Carolina, but has over 20 years of experience at a Chrysler dealership.
Kenny does a nice job of diagnosing and explaining his repairs. He doesn’t do a step-by-step video, but you get more than enough info if you want to use his repair coverage for one of your own. He seems to be an honest, authentic guy who is concerend with helping us know and do the right thing.
Watch Wes Work (found HERE)
In March 2022, one of my readers recommended this channel. As a result, I spent some time watching Wes’ videos to see if they were worth listing here. Guess what? He made the list!
Wes is the owner/operator of a repair shop in Fulton, IL, which is on the Illinois/Iowa border. He does not publish videos on a regular basis, which is why it took me a while to truly get a feel for his work. What I found was a genuine and humble guy with a dry sense of humor. Being a rural shop, he mostly works on trucks and tractors, but his repair methodology is easy to follow and educational.
Like the other channels on this list, Wes is a good resource if you are looking for a specific repair, or if you just want to be entertained.
1A Auto (found HERE)
1A Auto is an automotive parts store, with really good repair videos. Their video library is well organized (a rarity among car guy videos) and both the camera work and narration make for a great experience.
There are no shortcuts in their videos. If a procedure takes an hour, you will see the full hour. If they run into a problem, they will show ways around them.
Their parts prices are not bad, but I still go to Rock Auto for parts whenever I have the time to order parts. If I am in more immediate need, I go to my local AutoZone for parts. They are terrific about backing their parts.
Honorable Mention: Eric the Car Guy (found HERE)
Ericis much like South Main Auto–he provides a very thorough explanation of typical repairs.
His YouTube channel has a library of over 800 videos, covering everything from How-to Auto Repair, to Installing Vehicle Mods to building a killer Street Machine.
Most of his videos feature Honda vehicles (CRV, Element and Civics) from the early 2000s, but he does cover other makes as well. Eric is calm and easy to understand in his approach.
*** Since updating this article in March 2022, Eric has moved out of his shop and taking a hiatus from new videos. He occassionaly posts a video on his Facebook page, but he has a strong library of past videos that are still worth watching. As a result, I am moving him out of the rankings, but holding a spot open for him in this Honorable Mention section.
Hopefully, he will return soon!
Related Resources
If you have an interest in vehicle repair, modification or customization, check out the related articles on the Repairs/Mods page.
For other videos, YouTube channel recommendations and automotive podcasts, be sure to visit the Video/Podcast page.
All of the resources found on this site are based strictly on my opinion. If you feel I am missing a valuable resource, please leave a comment below.
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