Americans Think They Can Handle These Simple Car Repairs, Can You?

Car repairs used to be a lot easier to work on before everything on it became computerized. Now you need to be a high tech person with your very own computer interface to work on the stuff that you once were able to fix.

Back in the day, and maybe you still can buy a repair book for your car that was a complete manual that showed you everything about the entire car. Now that is all online and pretty much over our heads, nobody is going to try to adjust the carburetor of fix the timing on the timing belt the way we used to in our parents garages.

 Chalk this up to saving money, and the fact that you can learn anything on YouTube now . . .

Heading into 2025, more of us feel confident we could handle minor car repairs on our own if we had to.  How many of these things could YOU do?

1.  Change a flat tire . . . 65% say they could, up from 52% in 2015. This is the most often performed repair and not hard to do if you have seen someone do it once. The hard part is putting everything together back in their proper place when you are finished.

2.  Change your oil . . . 58%, up from 45%. With the high cost of oil and oil changes, it's not surprising that this ranks so high.

3.  Change your brake fluid. . . 49%, up from 35%. Adding brake fluid is very easy to do of course, but having to change out older fluid is not so easy.

4.  Replace your battery . . . 64%, up from 51%. Always a money saver, the hardest part is getting to the battery itself. A lot of cars have made access to the battery very difficult, not to mention dropping a new one in.

5.  Replace the air filter . . . 61%, up from 53%. This is probably the easiest to perform, it usually involves on center screw or clamps and simply taking the old filter out and putting the new one in. Replacing cabin air filters are a different ballgame due to the challenge of actually getting to it.

6.  Change a spark plug . . . 50%, up from 39%. As long as you have the correct tools for it, changing spark plugs is fairly easy.

45% said they'd probably still pay a mechanic to do most of that stuff.  But they're fairly confident they could do it themselves if they had to.  (. . . as long as there's Wi-Fi.)

(Hankook)

Last weekend's massive snow storm that dumped up to 18 inches of the white stuff in a few Massachusetts towns was a good reminder that you should be prepared for the big one. That's why we have put together the 5 Essential Things You Should Have In Your Car To Survive A Nor'Easter.

We were lucky that the storm took place on Saturday and Sunday as opposed to a weekday event that would have potentially caught people commuting in their cars. If you are old enough to remember the Blizzard of 1978, then you know how huge it was and it caught a lot of people by surprise.

Sure back in '78 the meteorological world was not as advanced as today. There was only one local weatherman back then that had a good read on what was going to happen. His name? Harvey Leonard, the living legend. He was certain that it would be a snow event like no other and was spot on.

Vehicles were stuck and stranded on Routes 128, 93, 95 and dozens of other highways and byways. People were trapped in their cars, some for days and sadly there were those that lost their lives.

Of course weather forecasting has come a long way since then. There was no such thing as Doppler Radar Weather that all of our local television station use and there's been so much help from computer models. The chances of being caught by surprise are a lot less now.

If in the unlikely event that you do get caught in a major snow storm and are unable to move your car you have to be prepared for what could be a very scary situation. Experts have told us what we should always have in our car (or trunk) to be able to handle being stranded. They are all common sense items but, we have a tendency to either forget or take it too lightly.

We should have a mini first aid kit in our vehicles regardless of the season. It's smart and a very non expensive item to keep handy. You can grab one in most big stores or places like CVS and Walmart. You can also find good kits online. Leave it in your trunk and you will be ready if needed.

These tools are small and easy to keep around. I personally keep one in my glove compartment at all times. I can't say how many times I have used it over the years for things you wouldn't imagine. They are reasonably priced and you don't need a brand name or something too fancy. You want one with a knife, scissors, file and even a corkscew.

If you're stuck in your car in a blizzard you will not be able to continue running it because you want to preserve as much fuel as you can. A nice thick blanket will help do the trick. Get a qood quality blanket that you can wrap around yourself and keep that precious heat in. You can store in the backseat or the trunk.

Every vehicle needs a good flashlight, don't rely on your phone's you want a strong halogen type that can light up the night in case you're trapped after dark. Plus you will want to preserve your phone's battery for communication reasons.

Number one is the good old fashioned snow shovel. You can pick up a small handle snow shovel in most automotive stores that can be placed in the trunk and left there. A good shovel might be just what you need to dig yourself out of trouble.