Cars, oh the never-ending task you are

If I had to choose my least favorite section to write about, it would be a hard pick between cars and loans. I am not a car girl; I don’t naturally understand the complex mechanics of an engine. My only needs are that a car has freezing AC, decent radio quality, and I can drive from A to B with relative ease.

Despite my best efforts, I did get my driver’s license at 18 and then a car not long after. (I really didn’t want to.) Since each state in America has slightly different laws when it comes to licenses, I am not going to even try to explain that process. This section is just about how to keep your car going.

A car might not be living and breathing, but I argue it is the most expensive pet you can get. Not only does it require an outdoor space to rest, but its food source is bad for the environment and constantly changing prices. Plus, every single piece of the car needs to be given special treatment, or it will stop working overtime. To be a good car owner, we must learn how our pet works.

I do want to make sure you all know, never buy a new car. A brand-new car is always an extra couple of thousand dollars that just disappears when you drive it off the lot. Basically, cars lose a significant amount of value the minute you drive them away from the dealership. Do not be a silly goose, buy your cars used. (A fun rhyme for all of us.)

When buying a used car, you need to ask if there have been any issues with the engine or battery in the past. You will want to know the fuel emission rating, which is how much fuel the engine emits when running. Figure out the gas mileage, how many miles a full tank of gas gets you.

All this can be done online but it is better if you test drive the car. That means going in person to meet the car, get a feel for it, and maybe try to get a discount.

Car buying is better when you bring a ‘no’ person. Someone who is dedicated to meeting the car, shaking their head, and overall making the car dealership employees feel like they are not going to get a sale. You want someone who is not emotionally involved by your side to help keep you on track. It just helps if they are pessimists.

Some people recommend not only test driving the car, but the monthly payment too. Most cars are so expensive (even used) that they come with a 36-48 month payment option. I personally would never agree to more than $250 a month, it’s a car not an apartment, but I don’t want a fancy car.

If you test drive the payment, it means a few months before buying the car, take that money out of your paycheck, get used to it. Low stakes since you can always dip into that money if you need to, it gives you an idea of what monthly payment amounts you can handle. The money from your test drive payments can go towards your official down payment, yay!

My last car buying suggestion is to befriend a car guy. I know it sounds silly, but having a friend who knows a lot about cars is such a lifesaver. All it costs is letting someone talk about cars to you from time to time (a worthy sacrifice).

Let’s skip to car ownership because I happen to think it is where the problems really start.

Cars need more than gas to run, they also need oil, coolant, new tires, tune ups, and windshield wiper fluid. I guess you can get away with skipping the windshield wiper fluid but otherwise nothing is optional.

Most cars need an oil change every 3 months or if you drive more than 3,000 miles. It is super easy to do yourself if you have some way to fit under your car and clothes you don’t like. If you don’t feel like it, you can always find somewhere that offers oil changes. Places like Valvoline will also air up your tires, refill coolant and windshield wiper fluid, and check your car maintenance for an extra $20. The oil is lubricating, cleaning, cooling, and all out supporting your car’s engine. It is the car’s emotional support liquid, and it gets dirty, so you need to give it a refresh.

Coolant is not on a replacement schedule; it just gets low sometimes and needs a refill. It keeps your engine (and car) from overheating.

Every 50,000 miles or so, change the car brake pads. If your car needs new brake pads you will know. The car will make funny noises when you brake or just suck at braking. Not ideal. Get that car some new brake pads, if you drive in more urban conditions you may need to consider a change earlier.

When your car hits 100,000 miles, it has aged too old. That car has seen things. Now it needs some more care. A mechanic needs to check the engine, the battery, and the suspension. If anything needs replacement, I recommend asking about used parts from older cars.

I will say, having the car friend is really great in this situation because I get them to draw me diagrams, help me figure out a realistic cost, and decide if fixing my old car is worth the trouble.

Special section on batteries and tires because these are 2 issues you may have to handle on your own.

Car batteries are charged by the car engine, seems counter intuitive to me. If you leave your car headlights on or it gets really cold outside, your battery can die. Without the car battery, no vroom vroom for you. This means you get to jump start your car. You will need another car that has an alive battery and some jumper cables. Both batteries need to be visible, pop the trunk or hood (my battery is in the trunk which is weird). Hook up the jumper cables like the diagram below. You need to have the car with the alive battery running for this to work. (diagram drawn by me)

After a few minutes of letting the car battery charge, try turning on your car. Unhook the cables first you sillies.

There are also special car-jump-start devices that allow you to skip the other car part. Just hook up the fully charged jump start device and wait for it to charge. I think the good devices are over a $100 but if you have a car that constantly loses its battery in the winter or you and some friends want to split the cost, it seems worth it.

Tires are also a maintenance thing I needed to figure out on my own. Every car should have a spare tire somewhere, that is in case you have a tire pop while driving. What most people forget to have in their cars are the tools to change a tire. You need a jack to lift the car up and a lug wrench that fits your tires lug nuts.

I have a tire with smaller lug nuts than the standard so I had to buy a lug wrench instead of using the one I already had. Did not know lug nuts on tires came in different sizes before that.

If you feel confident and want to replace the tire yourself, a quick step by step guide below. (Picture diagram is drawn by me)

Before you start, make sure to get to the side of the road/out of traffic if possible. If you cannot get out of traffic, call the cops and wait for their help rerouting traffic.

1. Get the spare tire and tools out of your car and to the side where you need to make the switch.

2. Undo the lug nuts on the popped tire, if you can’t get them off then call for help.

3. Now use your jack, place it behind the tire (towards the middle of the car) and get it up so the tire is off the ground.

4. Take that popped tire off there, put it in the trunk.

5. Now on goes the spare tire.

6. Twist those lug nuts as tight as you can, you will not be the one taking them off next time so no worries if they are super tight.

7. Lower the car jack.

Now you have a spare tire on, put your tools away and get yourself to a mechanic that can get you a new tire as soon as possible, that spare is not going to last forever.

Feel ready to be a car owner yet? Me neither, and I have owned a car for 3 years now.