Table of contents
Introduction
Car maintenance is crucial for keeping your vehicle in top shape. While car enthusiasts are always eager to enhance their cars’ performance and appearance, they often neglect maintenance tasks. Failing to maintain your car is going to lead to catastrophic failures. Most likely, these failures are going to happen at the worst possible time. Follow along as we go over easy car repairs you can do at home and keep your car on the road!
Easy Car Repairs For The DIY Car Owner
#1 Oil Change
Regular oil changes are a crucial part of car maintenance. It’s important to follow your vehicle’s maintenance schedule and replace your oil according to the recommended oil life for either conventional, synthetic, or synthetic blend oil. Unfortunately, some car owners don’t realize that oil needs to be changed, or they may be tempted to visit quick change oil places for the sake of convenience. However, these places can cause more harm than good, resulting in cross-threaded oil filters, stripped drain plugs, and even reused old filters.
To avoid these issues and save money, it’s best to change your oil yourself at your convenience. Not only will you save hundreds of dollars per year, but you’ll also have peace of mind knowing that the job was done right. So don’t neglect this important DIY car maintenance task – change your oil regularly and keep your car running smoothly for years to come. If you need help with the process, we have an easy oil change guide that’ll help you along the way!
#2 Spark Plugs
Regular spark plug replacement is an important part of car maintenance that can improve your vehicle’s performance and fuel efficiency. While it may not be a common fix, changing your spark plugs is a relatively easy task that can provide consistent results.
Fresh spark plugs can make your car feel alive and running at its best. Worn out spark plugs can lead to poor fuel economy, poor acceleration, and difficulty with starting up.
Changing spark plugs is a straightforward process done with basic hand tools. Most vehicles have one spark plug per cylinder and are easy to locate. Double check your owner’s manual, as some vehicles may have two spark plugs per cylinder. Don’t neglect this important maintenance task, and keep your car running at its best.
#3 Cabin Filter
Changing your car’s cabin filter is an easy and affordable maintenance task anyone can do. Dealerships and quick lube change places often charge upwards of $100 to change the cabin filter. Thankfully, you can take this on yourself. In fact, changing the cabin filter is so easy that even a child could do it. Most vehicles require about ten minutes to complete the job, and the cost of the filter is typically around $20.
By changing your cabin filter regularly, you can prevent harmful particles and allergens from entering the cabin. Take control of your car’s air quality, and save money by changing the cabin filter yourself.
#4 Coolant
Your engine’s coolant plays a critical role in regulating its operating temperature, and running low on coolant or using old coolant can lead to engine failure or even a dangerous overheating situation.
Fortunately, changing your engine coolant is an easy car repair that you can do yourself, even in a parking stall or driveway. Don’t let shops overcharge you for this easy job that you can complete in no time and for a lot less money.
Make sure you bleed your coolant system of any air. If you don’t bleed the system, the temperatures will not be consistent and may cause overheating. Check out our video guide from our Pinterest account for assistance!
Before buying any off-the-shelf coolant from your local auto parts store, make sure to consult your owner’s manual. Replace your car’s coolant to prevent a nasty overheat scenario!
#5 Engine Air Filter
Maintaining your car’s engine air filter is crucial for keeping the air flowing into your engine as clean as possible. Fortunately, there are options available to fit any budget. The standard paper filters that come with most vehicles offer excellent filtration to prevent them from entering the engine. These filters typically cost between $15 to $25. Aftermarket reusable filters are also available. While these may cost more upfront, they save you money in the long run by eliminating the need for frequent replacements.
If you go the aftermarket route, consider researching your different options and whether or not they will be beneficial over a standard paper filter. To make it easy for you, we cover all of the research points in our Cold Air Intake article.
#6 Brake Pads
The most important safety system of our cars is the braking system. The brake pads are the point of contact that create friction to slow down or stop your car from going forward. Brake pads come in different types of compounds, anywhere from economical compounds to full on racing compounds and everything in between. The different compounds will have varying levels of friction, brake dust levels, and stopping power. For example, you don’t want to put light duty pads on a heavy duty truck designated for towing because the braking power may be insufficient.
While a local brake shop or dealership may charge you hundreds of dollars for changing brake pads, the pads themselves are not that expensive. A DIY job can cost you around $100 total for the average car depending on what pads you buy. The process of changing brake pads is fairly straightforward, making it an easy car repair for the DIYer.
#7 Windshield Wipers
Do not under any circumstances let a dealership charge you an arm and a leg for windshield wipers. As appealing as it may seem to have someone do the job for you, you’re going to get ripped off. Replacing your windshield wipers is an incredibly easy car repair you can do in the parking lot of the auto parts store. Find the right size wipers for your car, remove the old ones, and connect the new ones. It sounds over simplified but it truly is that easy. Windshield wipers are connected through different tabs that pop out with little effort. Why spend $100 for new wipers at a dealership or auto shop when you can do it yourself for $40?
#8 Tire Rotation
Often times you’ll see tire rotation charges added to your repair bill at a shop. When the uninformed car owner sees this, they think it is an important part of maintenance that a shop has to do. WRONG! When I first learned that a tire rotation was just moving the powered tires to the opposite side of the car, I quickly stopped letting shops do that for me. All you need to do is loosen the lug nuts, jack up your car, and switch the wheels around on the car. If you have a front wheel drive car, the front wheels will go to the back and vice versa. To safely complete this job, use two sets of jack stands rated for your vehicle’s weight in order to suspend the car in the air.
Why Do Your Own Car Repairs?
The main benefits of doing your own car repairs are saving money, developing confidence with working on cars, and empowering you to do more. Auto shops, especially dealerships, are all businesses. While they will help get your car on the road, they have to pay their employees and rent. These hourly rates can be anywhere from $100 to $250 an hour. Even if its an easy car repair, trust me, you will be billed for the entire estimated labor. Bypass the shop and try some of these jobs yourself.
As you follow along with different videos and guides, you will gain confidence while working on cars. This confidence will make you feel more capable if a sudden mechanical failure occurs. Furthermore, this newfound confidence will inspire you to maybe build a car on your own! Having this confidence will lead you into planning a project car and installing some awesome car mods.
Conclusion
Tackling these easy car repair jobs are key to keeping your car reliable and on the road. Not only will your car’s reliability be ensured, but you will get more confident wrenching on a car. Developing more confidence while working on cars will make car ownership a breeze. Just don’t get too good with a car or else people will try to turn you into their personal mechanic! Regardless of your skill level, these easy car repairs are achievable. If you’re confused, you can consult online blog or video guides like our DIY oil change guide. So next time your maintenance light turns on, grab your tools, put aside some time, and complete the easy car repairs on your own and develop your mechanical skill set!
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