It's so shiny and pretty.

It sounds like you're in a good position at that job. The benefit of working on your own car is huge. And it's clear you have a passion for it.

I just paid a plumber $1700 to swap out a water heater. And I helped him get it down there and carry out the old one. The actual plumbing was about 45 minutes of work for him. I probably could have done it myself, but, well, it seemed a bit beyond my DIY level of patching burst pipes with SharkBite fittings. I guess I'm paying for the fact that he had a truck full of tools and decades of experience.

I still often regret not going into the trades...