Cheap car maintenance is possible! Via Shutterstock
My father has one rule about car repairs that’s always saved him BIG money over the years. He repairs his car himself. He’s all about cheap car maintenance! Since I’m now on the road, he took it upon himself to show me how to perform car maintenance tasks that can easily be accomplished. I was dreading the lesson until I crunched the numbers and realized half a day’s work saved us $400!
Here’s how we saved money on car repairs.
Change Your Car’s Oil
This was the easiest task I had to complete, but it is quite messy if you’re not careful. It took me about an hour from start to finish, but my dad can change a car’s oil in 30 minutes. This task also requires very few tools. We did have to buy oil, and a new oil filter, but I would pay a repair shop for those items, with a markup. Here’s how to change your car’s oil. Money Saved: $75
Change Your Car’s Air Filter
The air filter in our car was enclosed in a black plastic casing that I had to prop open. Dad warned me to allow the car to cool completely before sticking my hands under the hood. This task wasn’t very time-consuming except that we brought home the wrong filter so we had to head back to the store. Here’s how to change your car’s filters. Money Saved: $30
Change Your Car’s Spark Plugs
Spark plugs are little devices that take in high voltage electricity at one end and create a spark at the other end. They are hidden inside your car’s cylinder and help maintain a high gas mileage. I used a socket wrench to unscrew these little suckers. It took me about 30 minutes. Steady hands are a must for this task. Here’s how to change your car’s spark plugs. Money Saved: $45
Change Your The Car’s Brake Pads
I was intimidated by changing our car’s brake pads. After all, you’re messing with your car’s brakes! I want to save money, but I don’t want to compromise our car’s safety. I won’t be changing brake pads by myself anytime soon, but I will give it another try. This task took the most time and tools. Here’s how to change your car’s break pads. Money Saved: About $250-$500
Here’s how YOU can save money on routine car maintenance.
- Familiarize yourself with your owner’s manual. This has the 411 on the parts you’ll need to purchase for car repairs.
- Follow a routine car maintenance schedule and keep good car maintenance records. It will keep you from shelling out money for repairs that have been fixed.
- DIY cheap car maintenance takes time and space. Our building manager doesn’t allow us to do any car repairs in our parking spot so we headed to my aunt’s house and allowed sufficient time to complete every task.
- At-home car maintenance requires you have several tools. My dad loves tools so he had everything we needed.
- Can’t afford to buy tools for cheap car maintenance? Many shops like Autozone will lend you tools for a small fee.
- Search YouTube for tutorials on your car’s particular year and model.
- My uncle invested time and money in mechanic school to learn basic car maintenance. He’s the one we turn to for advice.
- DIY car maintenance not for you? No problem. Bargain Babe shares the pros and cons of skipping the dealer and heading to a mechanic instead.
- Look for coupons for car maintenance before taking in your car.
Performing cheap car maintenance takes time, but it’s well worth the savings. I have so much more to learn.
What cheap car maintenance do you perform yourself?
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Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price. 
If you’re going to do your own car repair, you can also pick up a Chilton manual for your car’s make/model/year which illustrates many tasks you can easily do yourself!
@Julie Great tip! I’ve also found YouTube to be helpful. You can find all types of tutorials nowadays.
I second Yazmin’s comment. My husband does many car repairs himself and he always relies on YouTube videos to help him learn the steps and trouble shoot car repairs.
For those a little unsure, don’t forget that your auto parts store is a good resource! I’m just now picking up my car repair mojo, and have changed my windshield wiper blades (easy peasy!), replaced a broken tail light, replaced burnt out headlights, and fixed a messed-up hood latch. My car is ready for an oil change, and probably some new brake pads, but I’m not sure if I’m quite ready for that yet. (definitely not ready for the brake pads).
@Rebecca @Stapler Confessions Great tip! Auto parts stores are a great resource, especially if you’re able to drop in at a slow time when sales associates don’t have much to do.
Also, community colleges often have car repair classes that are open to anyone. I’ve also found friends who are into cars are a great resource. I once brought a friend who was a real car nut with me when I was looking at buying used cars, and he saw things and made observations that I never did. It was very eye opening having him there!
I agree with you Yazmin Cruz that people spend a lot on car maintenance costs and there are definitely ways where you can decrease this cost. We’ve recently written an article on how to find a quality back yard mechanic where we have written a lot of ways to decrease maintenance costs. If you want to read the details, then here is the link. http://www.howtosavemoney.ca/you-need-a-quality-back-yard-mechanic
Thanks for the information. I’m always looking to save money, so I think it’s a great idea to learn how to make repairs yourself, like you suggested. I was involved in a small car accident a few weeks ago and I’ve been needing to fix my car. I suppose I’ll try doing it myself. Well, I’ll be needing to find an auto parts store to get the supplies I’ll need.
Whenever we have an issue related to our car, most of us fear to take it to a garage due to anticipation of high budget. Some often avoid minor issues, which would result in bigger problems and create a large headache for vehicle owners. So, if you gather few knowledge on basic car maintenance, it would help you save few dollars. With a little training, one can change his engine oil, air filter and spark plugs. Baring saving of money, it will also help you from wasting your valuable time.
I don’t know what others feel, but I genuinely feel that maintaining a car can be exorbitant. But if a car owner gains an understanding of rudimentary car maintenance mechanism, then he can do simple car repairs on his own, by which he can minimize the vehicle repair costs. Changing oil and air filter, changing vehicle’s battery, topping off the fluids, and replacing wiper blades are some of the uncomplicated car maintenance tasks that a vehicle owner can do effortlessly simply by grasping minimum mechanical knowledge. If anyone wants to save more money on auto repairs, then he needs to learn the skills to grapple with more impenetrable repairs on his own. As more complicated auto repairs need more expertise, thus, I think it is better to leave the maintenance task to the car professionals.
This is a valuable resource for any car owner. I like your suggestions. As a car mechanic, I also have the same opinion as you. Anyone can save money by this routine car maintainence. But if there is any big issue must need to consult with professionals.
Great ideas that could save a good amount of money if people should start learning the cheap DIYs as you’ve mentioned. Luckily, I have also saved around $300 by installing new speakers in my car with the help of some online articles and videos.
An OBD2 scanner would help a lot to fix basic vehicle problems and save the mechanic money. But I have trouble finding replacement parts as sometimes the parts are not available in local stores.
An article by my blog contains lots of useful information for me.
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