If you are trying to live a more frugal life, owning a car is probably not the way to go since a car needs more caring and maintenance than any other thing you own. Of course, that’s not to say you should give your ride because you can definitely save money by handling car maintenance works that you pay professionals to do.
Air Filter
How much does having a professional to clean your air filter cost these days? Well, save your dollar. All you need is about 10 minutes of your time to get rid of the dirt and dust trapped in your car’s air filter. You can find this under the hood of your car inside a back rectangular box. Once you’ve located it, open the casing and remove the filter. For dry filter, use your vacuum’s hood attachment to absorb the dirt and dust. For oiled filter, spray it with a cleanser from a cleaning. Set it aside for 10 minutes and then rinse.
Windshield Wipers
Wiper blade needs replacing every six months or more, depending on how it is often put to use. The good thing is you don’t have to pay extra for its replacement. You can easily check your owner’s manual for instruction. But basically, the process is generally the same for most cars. Simply lift the blades and remove them. Make sure to pay attention to how they connect to the metal arms. Most models have a tab on the wipers’ underside. Push this to remove the old ones. You can now attach the new blades. See to it that everything lines and that blades are secure and tight.
Oil and Oil Filter
They say that oil should be changed every 3,000 miles, but you can go longer with better products and car handling. Anyway, whatever benchmark you choose to follow, make sure to drive your car around first to heat up the engine and loosen the hardened oil. After which, wait for the engine to cool down. Go under your car and locate the oil pan. Unscrew the drain plug, let the oil drain into the pan, and replace the plug. Then open the hood of you car, locate the air filter and replace this with a new one. Make sure to lubricate the gasket and fill the new filter with the new oil.
Certainly, you do not have to be an auto expert or even mechanically inclined to keep your car in top shape.
