Thinking about doing my own maintenence

Are you addressing me, regarding the pic in post #13? That's definitely not my setup, just a good pic of underside someone posted a few years back, taken at a professional garage I'd assume. I'm just using run of the mill 3 ton floor jack, albeit with good range.

Another front jackstand pic, maybe clearer:


(passenger side, looking rearward)

 

Given the difficulty that repair shops have in finding folks with two functional brain cells to work for minimum wage AND give a damn about someone ELSES car, reason #1 is good enough. But hey, reason #2 is even better

Start with Craigslist, there are always good deals on good tool sets, over 50% of the mechanics currently employed will be able to retire within the next 5 years!!!! I have already sold off a good portion of my duplicate tools, but am not that close to retirement. GOOD wrenches, used in decent shape, will cost an average of $2-$3/each, but last a lifetime or two

I would start with wheel chocks, drive-on ramps, a box of rags, 8mm-18mm hand tools (combination wrench set), a good (Snap-On) 3/8" drive metric set 8mm-17mm with a couple extensions and an oil filter wrench.

However, the TWO most important tools you will NEED are:
1) Common Sense
2) A GOOD (Factory) Service Manual