Monthly Archives: October 2020

The difference between a car repair manual and a factory service manual

Before investing in such a resourceful thing, buyers must be fully aware of the difference between the factory service manuals and the car repair manuals. It is the question of a person’s vehicle which is for most people a once in a lifetime purchase, so they should weigh the pros and cons of both manuals and then reach a decision. Hence, vehicle owners need to know the exact difference between the two manuals and should be fully aware that a wrong decision can affect their vehicle’s resale value. 

Factory service manuals are those manuals that are created and provided by the manufacturers themselves. These manuals cover a wide range of things about a vehicle such as its servicing, maintenance, and repair. Initially, these manuals were not available to the public because they were made for dealerships so that their mechanics could fix any kind of faults in their own vehicles.

Car repair manuals on the other hand focus on the maintenance and repair of automotive vehicles only. These are created by various different publishing groups such as Haynes, Clymer, Chilton, and many more. These car repair manuals are primarily aimed at car owners who are interested in fixing their own vehicles, that is, DIY enthusiasts instead of professional garage mechanics because these mechanics lack the depth of coverage on particular vehicles or certain issues in them. 

Since factory service manuals are made by the manufacturers themselves, they are much more detailed and comprehensive about the vehicle because they are familiar with the ins and outs of everything. While even though a car service manual may be detailed but it is possible that it might also have a lot of flaws which can therefore be harmful to the vehicles. So the difference mainly lies with the fact that where each of these types of manuals comes from. The factory service manuals are usually very much in-depth and they have a specific tone as opposed to repair manuals that have more of a general tone and are not specific enough.

Factory service manuals have a set, professional layout and are better in quality in terms of paper and representation. But car repair manuals are sometimes scanned and can have misprints in places. So, even though both the manuals are supposed to serve the same purpose, but because each has a different source of where they come from their content and quality differ. This is the ultimate reason why there is such a huge difference in the prices of both the manuals because factory service manuals are extremely expensive. This also explains why factory service manuals are not as widely available and accessible to people.

The difference between factory service manuals and car repair manuals thus lies in their origin. It is advised that vehicle owners go for factory service manuals instead of car repair manuals in order to avoid any kind of trouble because the people who build the vehicles are more accurate than those who take apart the car and write everything down.