Auto Repair and Maintenance: Keep Your Vehicle in Tip-Top Shape
Anyone who drives knows that auto maintenance and auto repair can be expensive and time-consuming. However, if you know where to look for auto repair and maintenance, there's a lot you can do on your own to save your car and your wallet. This Web guide highlights the best sites on the Web for do-it-yourself guides, advice from experts and fellow car owners, finding auto repair shops, and everything else you need to keep your car running and looking like it should.
Expand All Guide SectionsDo-It-Yourself Car Repair
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Find Auto Repair Shops
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Auto Maintenance
If you can, it's best to avoid auto repairs in the first place. Maintaining your car through routine checkups can save you plenty of money and frustration in the long run. The Web sites listed below highlight the important checkups and essential tenets of auto maintenance that keep your vehicle running smoothly.
Dulcinea's Insight
- As with car repair, there are some auto maintenance tasks best left to a professional. Know your limits; don't hurt yourself or your car trying to save a few bucks.
- Replacing a car part (such as a timing belt or a headlight) every now and again should be part of your auto maintenance routine. Consult the findingDulcinea Cars Web Guide to locate new parts; if your car is vintage, go to the findingDulcinea Restoring Cars Web Guide.
Dulcinea's Picks
For general maintenance tips ...
Cars.com
explains care-care terms you should know. The hosts of NPR's Car Talk provide advice about air filters, brakes, coolant, drive-axle boots, drive belts, oil changes, power-steering fluid, rotating tires, spark plugs, timing belts, tire pressure, and transmission fluid.
The Family Car Web Magazine
helps you choose the car-maintenance regimen that best suits your needs. Look to the "Which Best Describes Your Car Care Priorities" section to better understand the auto maintenance efforts you'll have to make. The site also offers articles on actual projects and services.
Auto World
has a brief introduction to car maintenance, with many car categories arranged across the top of the homepage. Although the site isn't organized well, it's not hard to navigate, and myriad topics are addressed in the tabs and columns on the top and side of the page.
To find out if your car needs maintenance ...
OnlineOrganizing.com
has a "Car Maintenance Checklist" that you might want to bookmark or print out for reference. This checklist helps you know what car parts you should check (and what you're looking for) each month, every three months, and every six months. This is a great source for auto-maintenance novices who are ready to learn.
Edmunds.com
has a tool that determines whether your car needs maintenance, and if so, what kind of maintenance it needs. Select the year, make, model, style, engine, and transmission type from the drop-down menu, and the site highlights the updates recommended by your car's manufacturer. Edmunds.com also determines how much you should pay to have the recommended inspections and changes made.
To help you avoid unnecessary auto maintenance or expenses ...
ConsumerReports.org
has a page packed with advice and caveats about detailing, waxing, scratch removers, car-care myths, and more. Visit the "Cars Community" section for CR Expert's Cars Blog, a forum, and "Consumer Opinions" section, where you can read or write a review of various cars. These interactive elements can help you share firsthand advice with other car owners.
MSN Money
has "20 ways you waste money on your car," an article debunking false auto repair maintenance notions. Many people believe premium gasoline is better for their car, for example, but this article suggests that if your engine doesn't knock, you don't need expensive gasoline.
The AAA's Via site
published this short piece in September 2002 about keeping down the cost of maintaining your vehicle. Visit the related stories and online tools sections for more auto advice.
Bankrate.com
's "8 Top Auto Maintenance Myths" explains that the cars of today are better designed than the cars of our parents' generation, and as such, don't require nearly as much maintenance. Most households, in fact, perform more routine maintenance checks than their owner's manuals suggest. This article wants to save you money and certainly deserves a read.
For do it yourself maintenance ...
Samarins.com
was created by an automotive expert with over 20 years of experience. The site's sections include body care, waxing, interior cleaning, engine and transmission maintenance, and more. Each section walks you through each step of the process, illustrating it with useful photographs.
DoItYourself.com
is a great place to go for information on maintaining your car. The site is organized in four clear sections: car detailing, car engine maintenance, general car maintenance and seasonal car maintenance. Each topic has links to articles on a number of possible projects.
Auto Maintenance and Repair Blogs and Forums
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