6 Car Repairs You Can (Really) Do Yourself
Car maintenance can be a costly endeavor even for a minor fix. If you aren’t trained as an auto mechanic, it can feel daunting to undertake repairs yourself, but there are many simple repairs you can do yourself — if you’re willing to roll up your sleeves and get a little dirty. Just make sure you understand what you’re getting into.
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Many of these car repairs are much easier than they sound, too, and with the help of the internet, how-to videos abound. Of course, your local car mechanic might not tell you that. But we will. Following are six car repairs that can save you hundreds of dollars.
Front Brake Pad Replacement
Cost to Repair: $35-$75 in parts
Estimated Savings: $270 and up
Brakes are an essential part of safe driving. But too many people neglect changing their brake pads until their lives are literally on the line. Don’t let money stop you from doing this repair when you can actually learn to do this yourself — for a fraction of what you’d pay a mechanic.
Changing your own brake pads is a very simple and inexpensive procedure that mechanics and specialty brake shops will charge hundreds of dollars to do. According to Auto Zone, you can pay anywhere from $115 to $270 per axle — and this can be even more expensive for luxury cars. It’s to a mechanic’s advantage for you to think changing brakes is hard, because that’s their bread and butter.
The average lifespan of front brakes is 30,000 to 70,000 miles, varying widely due to driving conditions and style. On average, brakes need a change about every 25,000 miles, thought you can check your brake pad thickness earlier if you drive a lot.
Make sure to change pads before they reach the “metal on metal” stage, which can damage the rotors. If you wait too long and you damage your calipers, too, the cost of repair will go significantly up.
A set of brake pads costs $20 to $40, depending on car and pad material. All you need to change them is a socket wrench, pliers, caliper compression tool and set of jack stands. Jack the car up and pull off the tire as if you are changing it to expose the pads. They are a snap to unbolt and replace.
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Battery Replacement
Cost to Repair: $75
Estimated Savings: $280
You put the key into the ignition, and nothing happens. It’s a sinking feeling just about every car owner knows, and it typically signals a dead battery. But it doesn’t have to sink your budget, too.
Changing your battery is the easiest of all DIY repairs. Most batteries will have a replace date stamped on them, with the average battery lifespan running four to six years. It’s a good idea not to wait until you find yourself in the dead battery situation, however. Test your battery every four or so years.
While new battery prices vary widely, you can get a decent one for as little as $75. If you pay a shop to install your battery for you, they may charge you several hundred dollars.
You should be able to do your repairs with some basic wrenches. Just be careful when removing the cables — be sure to remove the black cable (negative) first, followed by the red one (positive), so you don’t short circuit.
Tune-Up
Cost to Repair: $100
Estimated Savings: $100-$700
Nothing quite sounds as good as a quietly purring engine under the hood. Many people fear a huge tune-up bill from a mechanic. But these days, the old-fashioned tune-up is passé, since today’s engines are full of electronic controls that need little adjustment.
If your car is otherwise running fine, look to mileage and your car manufacturer’s recommendations for when to tune it up.
Many dealers want to service cars more frequently than the manufacturer recommends, but performing work that is not needed costs you money for nothing. The average cost of a tune-up at a dealer can run you anywhere from $200 to $800, according to Jiffy Lube. Buy your own spark plugs and air filters for a fraction of that, as well as any fluids that need refilling, and you can save yourself a fair amount of money.
You’ll just need a spark-plug socket and a basic wrench set. Instructions are easy to come by, and mainly involve no more than some elbow grease. Just be careful when replacing the fuel filter, since fuel will spill — put some kind of a pan down beneath it.
Air-Filter Change
Cost to Repair: $20
Estimated Savings: $80
Changing an air filter is one of the simplest repairs you can do — and one that is vital to the health of your car.
Replacing your air filter is a quick and simple fix that mechanics and dealerships may heavily mark up. It’s recommended to replace your filter between every 12,000 to 15,000 miles. Not doing this can result in failed sensors, which can lead to larger problems, like the catalytic converter failing. That’s big money and not something you’re likely to be able to do easily yourself.
If you ask a mechanic to replace your filter, you will likely pay around $100 for the mechanic to do it for you. However, if you can buy an air filter from a retail store, the cost will be between $15 and $20. In most cases, you’ll simply have to open up the hood of your car, unscrew and open the air-filter housing, replace the air filter and replace the screws.
All you’ll need is a screwdriver and a new filter, and you’re good to go — with clean air.
Drive-Belt Replacement
Cost to Repair: $50 to $100
Estimated Savings: $100 and up
Have you ever heard that brain-freezing squeal when you start your car? That is due to a worn and loose drive belt, also called a “serpentine” belt. Fortunately, this is a fairly easy DIY car repair.
You’ll need a ratchet set with sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers and gloves. Depending on the age of your vehicle, you’ll have between one and three belts, on average. Modern cars tend to have fewer, making it easy to figure out which one is broken.
On average, a drive belt will last between 60,000 and 90,000 miles. If you’re reasonably skilled with a wrench, replacing your own belt will save you money — if you have this done at a mechanic, you’ll pay around $200 or more.
With this repair, find the auto tensioner — which is the bolt that controls the tension of the belt — and loosen it. Remove and replace the belt. Then, tension it back up.
Spark-Plug Replacement
Cost to Repair: $20 to $40
Estimated Savings: $120 and up
If your car is running rough or not starting, you might need new spark plugs. But don’t stress — this is an easy DIY car repair that will not cost a lot of time or money. A professional shop will charge you around $140 in parts and labor. Doing it yourself saves you money.
First, you’ll need a few tools. Specifically, you’ll want a socket wrench with a spark-plug socket. These are longer, so they will accommodate the head of the spark plug.
There are also a few key points to follow in the replacement. Ensure that you only change one spark plug at a time, since spark plugs are installed in a specific order that you need to maintain, and don’t overtighten the spark plugs.
To replace the plug, remove the wire to the first spark plug only, then use the spark-plug socket and wrench to remove the plug. Install the new spark plug first by screwing it in by hand, then use the wrench to tighten it to a snug fit. Re-attach the wire and repeat for each spark plug.
Finally, do something nice for yourself with all the money you’ve saved on DIY car repairs or sock that money away into a savings account to grow it over time.
Jordan Rosenfeld contributed to the reporting for this article.
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