Owning your own car is a proud American tradition that has become a transitional ritual for men and women. Of course, maintaining and repairing your own car is an important part of the same ritual and many people even find deep satisfaction – and also deeper savings – by learning to do the maintenance and repair themselves.
Some are intimidated by working on cars, but in fact most of the maintenance can be easily and easily done with a set of relatively basic tools and a little determination. The tools in this list will allow you to do 90% of the tasks related to self-maintenance and auto-repair:
Socket Set
A decent socket set will save a lot of time of struggle and frustration. You don’t have to damage the bank, but make sure to get a standard set for your American car and a set of metrics for your foreign car.
Wrench box set
Box locks are those with closed ends and open ends. They are very useful for bolts that cannot be reached easily with a socket.
Screwdriver set
You need a screwdriver to remove all types of parts such as fan covers, mud covers, or door panels. Be sure to get a set with variations of Philip’s slots and heads.
Oil filter lock
This is easy to ignore, but changing your own oil is one of the best ways to save money on caring for your car, and doing it without an oil wrench is very difficult.
Jacks and Jackstands
When you are under 2 tons of steel to change oil, having a hydraulic jack to lift it and four solid jacks holding it securely in place makes all the difference.
Mini crowbar and mini sled
You will be surprised how often you need a crowbar to lift the pulley when you change your belt, or how often the sledge will help you loosen rusty bolts.
Torque Wrench
There are bolts on your car that need to be fastened to a certain torque level. The torque wrench, which when set correctly, actually breaks at the right torque. Apart from that, you will look cool using it.
Wire brush, utility knife and pressure gauge
This is for small maintenance tasks such as cleaning your battery terminals, cutting hoses, and checking tire pressure regularly.
