Many people know how to drive since they were in their teenage. And cars now become a vital part of our life, no matter where you live. However, there are always occasions when your car breaks down when you need it most. And as you may know, it is very pricey to take your vehicle to the garage. If you do need to tow your car, check out towing Miramar.
Our topic today is saving your family money by learning necessary car maintenance skills. In this article, we will give you seven essential car maintenance skills to deal with the emergency case and save your money.0
Saving Your Family Money by Learning Basic Car Maintenance Skills
Change Flat Tires
Among many parts of the car, tires are always the top important part that will decide whether your vehicle can run or not and whether you are safe. If your tires are flat, it can’t grip the road well. Instead, they tend to slip and result in injures. So it is essential to replace your flat tires with new tires.
And it is not as difficult as you expect to change a flat tire, as long as you have spare tires, a jack, and tire iron. And once you have enough necessary tool, everything you need to do is follow these steps:
- Loose lug nuts with an impact wrench
- Lift the car with the jack
- Remove the lug nuts and the old tires
- Install the spare tires, re-tighten the lug nuts
- Lower the vehicle and check the nuts again
Check Tire Pressure
The tire pressure directly affects tire longevity, gas mileage, and safety while driving the car. Low-pressure tires can lead to flat tires and finally end up with accidents.
Besides, we have to say that you can’t check the tire pressure with your bare hand. Instead, you will need a tire gauge. The tire gauge costs you only 10-15 $, so don’t hesitate to buy one.
Also, you can check the tire pressure at gas stations. And the thing is that they always have an air pump to refill the tires with just a low price (sometimes they are free).
Jumpstart a Dead Battery
It is not a repair skill, but everyone should know to jumpstart the car for an emergency case. Instead of calling wrecker and pay millions of dollars, you can request for roadside assistance to save your car with a few simple steps:
- Take jumper cables out
- Put both vehicles in neutral and shut off the ignition
- Attach the red clips to the positive terminal of both cars
- Attach black clip to the negative terminal of the vehicle helps you
- Attach the other black clip to an unpainted metal surface on your car
- Start the engine, and you did!
Change the Battery
There is the fact that your car always gets in trouble at the most inconvenient times. For example, its battery can die on us on the highway. And in this case, there is nothing you can do except for calling a tow truck.
However, if you can find some signs that the battery will die soon, you should follow these steps to replace the battery at home. It could save you dollars!
- Remove covers from the battery
- Disconnect the negative cables
- Remove the clamp from the battery post
- Repeat with the positive cable clamp
- Remove the screws and change the battery
- Reconnect the cable clamps
Change the Oil
To change the oil, you need to drain the old oil first. You should park on a hard, flat platform, raise the head of the vehicle so you can get into the viscous. Please do not drain the oil when the engine is still hot because it can cause burns. You can also put a large cardboard cover on the floor to prevent the oil from splashing on the floor.
After emptying the oil filter, you can put the plug back and pour in the new oil. Now, you can restart the car to check the engine. And don’t forget to set the time to reminds you to change the oil on time. You should refer to the instruction manual to do this as each vehicle has a different setup.
Remove Scratches
The scratches will not make your drive unsafe, but it makes your car looks ugly. And it is annoying because even the smallest scratch is visible from a long distance. If you take your vehicle to the garage to remove scratches, it can cost you thousands.
And here is the most important thing: you can remove scratches by yourself at home with a little money. Just follow our instructions:
- Check the depth of the scratch
- Gently sanding the scratch
- Clean the surrounding area and apply rubbing compound to polish
- Wash the area again
- Waxing the scratching area, and you have done!
Prepare for Emergency
Among several maintenance skills, get ready for an emergency is always the most important. You can only see how necessary the preparation is until your car breaks out of nowhere. You can’t call for help and can’t even find a place to fix the car. And everything you can do is waiting for a tow truck and get ready to pay thousands for the situation.
So, please equip yourself with the following notes before buying a car:
- Memorize VIN and license plate
- Know safety features like airbags and traction control
- Always pay attention to the warning lights and every sign of the engine
- Save contact of roadside assistance
- Always have spare tires for emergency case
- Check the tires regularly and replace the flat tires with new one
Final Words
Apart from the skills mentioned in this article, you can also learn some other skills to fix your car at home, including changing spark plugs, replacing taillight and headlight, replacing wipers, air filters, and more. It could be an ideal activity for your weekend, which can save you thousands of dollars.
We hope that our article about saving your family money by learning necessary car maintenance skills is helpful. Just try it and share your experience with us.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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