A group of women in Louisville gathered beneath a lifted Toyota RAV4 and watched used oil drain into a pan as they learned to change their own oil, something many had never done before.
With maintenance bills rising, a class at Momentum Motorsports offered more than a cheaper way to handle routine car care: it gave participants more confidence around their vehicles, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Here's what to know
At 3906 S. Third St., Momentum Motorsports is a do-it-yourself community garage where customers can work on their own vehicles with professional tools and shop space, with help available if needed.
Classes are geared toward beginners.
Momentum Motorsports partnered with the Louisville Tool Library for a free oil-change session led by instructor Abbie Guard.
"Once you know what you're doing, it's a 20-minute job," Guard told attendees.
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The Courier Journal reported that July's average monthly vehicle maintenance and repair cost hit roughly $461, a 10-year high.
For founder Nick Pirog, a professional mechanic, the shop is meant to do more than repair cars.
"We empower people to fix their own vehicles and to ask questions, to actually put the tools in their hand, and to repair the vehicle at a fraction of the cost of anywhere else," he explained.
More background
Pirog launched Momentum Motorsports in 2019 after working as a tank mechanic in the U.S. military and later at car dealerships.
He chose the community garage model because he saw a need for people who didn't have a safe or legal place to work on their own cars.
"Unless you're fortunate to be a homeowner, there's no real place to work on your car," Pirog observed. "If you drive by a Walmart at midnight, you'll see people working on their cars."
Baker Alison Crossett, who attended the session, admitted that working on such an expensive machine can feel intimidating.
"It's a multi-thousand-dollar vehicle that you've invested in, so it's kind of scary to touch," she said during the oil change class.
"Especially when you're taking off bolts and unscrewing things and stuff like that, you just don't want to mess it up. But now I feel great. I feel confident and ready to go do it."
Ford automotive engineer Andrea Schultz had changed brake pads before but had never done her own oil change, according to the Courier Journal.
"I definitely feel a lot more confident being in the space now. I learned that a lot of people are just wanting to know more about their cars," she said after the class.
"Seeing a group of women being here to learn together, the openness from the garage, and just how laid back the thing was being taught today, I think that just really helped with the confidence."
What can be done?
Momentum Motorsports costs $40 an hour to use or $215 for a full eight-hour day, and Pirog added that the garage is stocked with "most every tool ever produced."
The shop also orders parts at discounted shop pricing and offers support from its seven-person team, which can help customers figure out which repairs are realistic to do themselves.
Guard estimates she has saved thousands of dollars by handling bigger repair jobs there instead of going to a standard repair shop. Shelby Rodeffar, a founding volunteer at the Louisville Tool Library, summed up the stakes simply.
"Having a car is giving you sovereignty in a city like Louisville, where you need it to get to work and get to school … Having a dependable car is a big deal for people," she told the outlet.
Beyond garage access, Momentum Motorsports also runs youth mechanic classes and adult classes with community partners, letting people build skills before a breakdown forces them to.
"I think an oil change is a really important step for people in kind of breaking through that fear barrier of cars are really important and it seems really complicated, and if you break something, that would be financially devastating, and things like that," Guard began.
"I think people get really stressed and they get really scared, but I think it's really empowering for people to be like, 'I did this with my own two hands.'"
Where can I learn more?
Rising repair costs and basic car know-how are shaping other parts of the auto world, too. These stories cover EV repair careers, warranty protection, and roadside service fleets.
• Startup AmberCare launched a new Tesla warranty program to ease major EV repair bills.
• An EV mechanic answered 10 questions about electric repair and why the field drew him in.
• In Nova Scotia, retailers replaced jugs with windshield wiper fluid dispensers that cut plastic waste.
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