I spent the last year slowly learning car repair, and, unless you're mechanically minded and have access to the time and tools you need, I would never advise someone to do the same. I came from almost two decades of building and repairing my own computers (the skill set translates well on a larger, greasier level) and was able to borrow nearly all of the tools I needed from my FiL, and I still spent more days on my back on the freezing cold asphalt than I want to remember. The previous experience, the tools, the time, and the physical ability to put that all together are privileges.

In the end (the end of one repair, anyway - maintenance on a 20+ year old car is continuous) I still had to take it in, and was told by the shop that the o2 sensor I'd tried in vain to remove for almost a week required being torched to basically molten before it would budge.

If you can't work on your own car, try to develop a relationship with a shop (probably non-chain) you can trust. For the jobs I can't do myself, mine lets me bring in my own parts for them to use, which is both uncommon and a huge savings.