ADVICE - SELF SERVICING YOUR CAR

Servicing a car yourself can be a rewarding and money saving idea. But there are quite a few points to consider before starting any servicing:

DO YOU HAVE THE TOOLS?
The quest for having enough tools to do most jobs on a car can cost between $400-$2000. Some jobs require the use of Brand specific service tools which can only be obtained by the manufacturer and can be quite expensive.

Simple oil changing would generally require the following:

Oil catch container - You will need an oil catch container to collect all the oil that will pour out of the drain plug.

Oil filter wrench - To remove the old oil filter (looks similar to the utensil used to loosen tight Jar bottles, works on the same principle)

A set of spanners - You will need to check what size the drain plug is by using a set of verniers. Some cars use imperial measurement while others use Metric. Its good to have both just in case.

An old Cloth - Some cloth will be necessary to wipe up any spills

A set of gloves - The oil and petrol used in cars contain chemicals which are carcinogenic, using a proper set of gloves can protect you from the chemicals.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR DOING?
This is often a question most people don't ask themselves before doing a job. If you have never touched anything mechanical before then working on cars is not the best idea and is best left to the professionals.

WILL IT COST MORE TO REPAIR WHAT YOU MIGHT DAMAGE?
If something is damaged in the process of self servicing your car, it could cost much more than it would have by getting someone to fix the original problem in the first place.

COULD YOU HARM YOUR SAFETY?
The nature of working on a car is dangerous, if you are under a car without adaquate support a car can fall on you which can result in very significant injuries or death. There are sharp bolts and metal around the motor as well as dangerous chemicals such as Coolant, Oil and battery acid.