Find articles and tips on how to reduce the cost of auto repairs.
There’s nothing more annoying than seeing that bright engine light pop-up on the dashboard out of the blue. “What do I do?” “Should I stop and check it out?” “Maybe it’s nothing.” “Will I damage the car if I keep driving?” For the past month or two, I’ve lived with the bright light adorning my
As the Christmas season moves in, like a thief in the night (not really but it sounds cool), it puts pressure on our budget. To mount even more on top of the holiday season, we are having problems with our car. Doh!!! Ya we have 140,000 miles on our 2005 Honda Odyssey and we have
Do you ever feel like you are just emptying your wallet, time and time again? It feels like we are in that season right now. Several months ago we made some major car repairs, next we got notice in the mail that everyone in our neighborhood would be assessed $500 for street repairs (“What are my taxes
That’s right. I’m keeping my 2004 Saturn Ion together with duct tape. And, I’m not ashamed to admit it. To be a true Thriftster, you have to use duct tape (or another form of adhesive) to salvage or maintain pieces of your equipment in order to make it last longer than anyone thought humanly possible.
Your car is the second largest investment in your life (coming in right after your home). Yes, it’s an investment, not a commodity. In order to maximize that investment, you need to make sure you keep its value high. While there’s nothing you can do about market depreciation (the process that starts as soon as
When you think about vital systems on your car, truck or van, what comes to mind first? For many of us, we think about the engine, the transmission, the radiator or the heater/air conditioner. We think of our brakes, our oil or even our air filters. However, what many of us fail to realize is
Preparing for the rigors of seasonal driving is important. You should ensure that your car is ready for spring, summer, fall, and, most importantly, winter driving. Each season brings its own unique hazards and threats. Summertime sees heavy rainfall, serious storms, strong winds, and more. However, winter is the most dangerous in terms of actual
Your car’s engine is an incredibly complex set of systems designed to work together. The core of the system is where combustion happens. Combustion (the ignition and explosion of gasoline vapors) is what’s responsible for moving the pistons inside your engine, and creating motive power that’s then transferred to the transmission and then to the
This is a guest post provided by my (Aaron) 17 year-old step-son, Haäkin – who is enrolled in auto tech classes at school, loves riding motocross and is a “Thrifty Guy in Training”. Doing an oil change yourself is an easy way to save money. First off, you will want to have a set of
