Wanna know how to save hundreds to thousands of dollars a year?
Do your own basic car repairs! There are car repairs you can do yourself, with minimal equipment, and practically no under the hood knowledge.
By keeping a few car essentials around and a few basic tools you can do things yourself and save a ton of money.
These DIY auto repair basics will help you help yourself.
Change Your Own Oil and Replace Your Own Oil Filter
This is one of those car basics that we have been led to believe needs to be done by a professional. Meanwhile, your dad or grandpa would never have paid anyone to do this back in the day.
For the price of a bottle of oil, and with only a few basic tools, you can have this done in only a few hours.
You can find out exactly how to do it here.
Replace Worn Brake Pads
While this may seem daunting it really only requires a few DIY repair parts and a set of basic tools.
You can pick up brake pads inexpensively at your local parts shop. You can even have the people who work there give you a visual on where to start.
Battery Replacement
When teaching yourself how to fix a car this repair should be high on your list of basics to master.
Batteries are fairly inexpensive and you only need to unscrew a few screws to remove and replace them. Just make sure you pay attention to how it was installed in the first place, rinse and repeat.
Replacing Worn Belts and Leaky Hoses
If you have fixed a leak under your sink or put the chain back on your bicycle you’re ready to replace most of the belts and hoses in your car.
With a little bit of info from your owner’s manual and a glance under the hood you can fix these with ease.
However, when it comes to some of the more complicate belts like your serpentine and timing belt they should probably be handled by a professional.
Installing a New Air Filter
It may take you by surprise, but this is one of the easiest repairs on this list.
You need to just unscrew a lid, take out the air filter, put the new filter in, and screw the lid back on. Easy Peasy.
DIY These Car Repairs and Keep Your Money
It can be daunting to think about doing your own auto repairs. Even if the repair looks simple there is always the fear of messing something up.
I promise, once you get familiar with how your specific car is laid out, you will get more courage. Once you complete a couple of these car basics it will get you interested in what else you can do for yourself.
Not to mention, with some of these repairs costing more than $80 in a repair shop, your wallet will definitely be thanking you.
Need some more help? Check out our blog for more answers to your auto repair problems!
So, roll up your sleeves and get to it!