Many a time, you might have come across a situation in which you had this sudden urge to service your vehicle yourself. However, not everyone is acquainted with the proper procedure and any minor mistake could lead to drastic consequences.
Though you might pick up your tools in an adrenaline rush if you have no idea what do you have to do, you could end up hurting your vehicle rather than maintaining it.
In this situation, your automotive manual will be your biggest helping hand. However, choosing the Best Garage tools is also very important. As some fake manuals have no reliability and possess the ability to damage your vehicles.
What You Need to Know About Chilton vs Haynes:
Since the market is saturated with many different manuals and not every one of them is suitable to your car, it is very important to choose the one that is made for your vehicle type, as well as has good customer reviews.
For layman mechanics, there must be some repair manual that has instructions clearly written and in detail. Its better if it has enlisted the instructions in steps because that will make it even easier to follow.
In this article, we will review both the Chilton and Haynes automotive repair manuals to see which one of them truly fulfills their claims of being the most detailed and easy manual.
Besides a Good guide, one also needs some essential tools like a 3-ton floor jack. A good automotive repair manual can convert your boring car repair weekend to one which is filled with a lot of learning and fun.
We’ll compare and contrast them to check which one is the best manual for automotive repair mechanisms.
Which is the Best Automotive Repair Manual?
Foremost, we’ll give you a little introduction of both groups to get you acquainted with them well. Chilton started in 1986 by publishing Cycle repair journals, with time it expanded and started publishing car repair journals.
With the passage of time, Chilton underwent series of organizational changes and established itself as a renowned automotive repair manual brand. It was then sold to Haynes Publishing Group which publishes Haynes manuals.
This is how both these brands are connected with one another. They still continue publishing repair manuals and each of them has its own style of writing.
Is Chilton the Best Repair Manual?
Currently, Chilton’s parent company is Cengage Learning (previously known as Thompson Learning). Cengage Learning got the license and ownership of Chilton’s do-it-yourself manuals in 2011.
Since its birth, Chilton has been passed on to different companies, one of which was Walt Disney as well. However, currently, Engage Learning publishes and licenses Chilton’s professional and consumer automotive products and assets for car enthusiasts.
What Does a Chilton Manual Include?
The best way to teach something to someone is to assume they knew nothing about it previously. Chilton has employed this tactic in all of their manuals. Hence, Chilton’s automotive repair manuals are very elaborate and contain a step-by-step guides on how to service your vehicles.
- Chilton publish hundreds of repair manuals for thousands of cars of different models.
- They cover all the popular as well as less popular car brands.
- These manuals teach you how to do maintenance of your car from the very first step.
- Since these are designed for laymen, they also contain descriptive pictures of the car parts, and how to service them so that there are absolutely no chances of making any mistakes.
- Though diagrammatic illustrations are present, but these manuals are more focused on the procedure specifications and procedure details.
- Chilton is aware how small negligence can cause huge mishaps and can cause you huge losses.
- Helps you save you from all the trouble, Chilton tries to be as elaboration as possible.
It teaches you how to check engine, engine oil, car’s electrical and mechanical systems, and contains overhaul instructions, etc. It has trouble codes specific to car models, it guides what sensors are associated with the code and what vehicle parts are related to the code.
Who Should Use Chilton’s Repair Manuals?
Although very descriptive, yet these manuals are designed keeping in mind that the user has basic know-how of car and its parts. People who are not experts in car maintenance but know a thing or two about basic procedures can benefit from these manuals a lot.
- On the other hand, the users who literally are picking up the tools to operate on their cars might not be very happy with the manual.
- Thus, if you have a basic knowledge of car maintenance, and know about the car parts and how to operate on them. This manual may be your best guide.
- But if vehicle servicing is something you are doing for the very first time, you might want to consider using some other manual which gives instructions from the start.
- You can get a little confused if you are a beginner.
- The best thing about Chilton is that they also publish their journals in Spanish, which is spoken by a large number of people.
Which Car Models Does Chilton Provide Guidance for?
Chilton releases hundreds of do-it-yourself repair manuals for thousands of different models of cars. These include Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Nissan, Mitsubishi, BMW, Toyota, etc. they also cover different styles of vehicles including high-and-low profile cars, SUVs, trucks, wagons, etc.
What Other Services are Offered by Chilton?
Since this is an era of the internet thus Chilton has also provided its services online. Not only does it provide online manuals there, but it has also created an online community where people can ask each other questions regarding the automotive repair and can learn from each other. This way, professionals can share tips with laymen mechanics, and everyone benefits from it.
Is Haynes the Best Automotive Repair Manual?
Haynes originates from the United Kingdom and became a popular brand amongst car enthusiasts in the States. Haynes published many of Chilton’s do-it-yourself manuals under the license from Cengage Learning till 2011.
In 2013, Haynes acquired Clymer repair manuals from Penton Media. It has published manuals for the repair of not only cars but also motorcycles.
Who Should Use the Haynes Repair Manual?
Unlike Chilton’s repair manuals which suit you only if you have a basic know-how of automotive repair machine tools and techniques, Haynes will suit you even if you are a beginner.
- Haynes enlists steps which can be understood by someone who has decided to repair their car themselves for the first time.
- Their illustrative diagrams are also quite descriptive unlike Chilton’s diagrams.
- It also releases its manuals in Spanish and thus covers a wide range of people.
- The only downside of Haynes is that their manuals contain sections and sometimes.
Some necessary information regarding the repair mechanisms could be found in a different section. This confuses the users.
What Models are Covered by Haynes Manual?
Haynes’s manual covers all popular sub-models, engine options, and equipment installations.
- This is similar to Chilton’s repair manual which also covers nearly all automotive makes and models.
- Haynes manuals are not only limited to cars, but it also has more than 200 service manuals for motorcycles and ATVs.
- As a part of its expansion program, Haynes also contains bicycle repair guides as well as “Practical Lifestyle” manuals which may be able to teach you.
- How to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse’ in case you ever find yourself in that situation.
What Extras are Provided by Haynes?
Haynes’s website contains a huge number of articles that provide you with ‘Tips and Tutorials’ regarding the automotive repair mechanism. These include detailed advice on everything from vehicle history to troubleshooting tips.
Chilton vs Haynes: What Should You Choose?
Given below is a table where we have summarized and compared the pros and cons of using both Chilton and Haynes repair manuals:
Chilton | Haynes |
Suits best to mechanics with a basic understanding of vehicle repair techniques. | Suits best the laymen with no basic knowledge of vehicle repair techniques. |
Contains instructions about different types of cars. | Contains service instructions for not only cars but also motorcycles, bicycles, and ATVs, etc. |
Has created an Online Community that allows professionals to connect and share tips with newbie mechanics. | The online platform contains ‘Tips and Tutorials’ articles which contain detailed advice on servicing. |
Contains diagrammatic illustrations which focus on procedure details. | Diagrams are more elaborate and descriptive than the ones Chilton’s manual contains. |
Also releases manuals in Spanish. | Also has manuals in Spanish. |