Instead of taking your vehicle to a mechanic every single time something seems off with it, it is a good idea to learn a thing or two about your vehicle, and to know how to do some basic car maintenance on it. Whilst most men are quite knowledgeable on the subject, certain men and a greater number of women seem in the dark of what exactly counts as basic maintenance. Below given are some very simple and easy procedures you should be doing regularly:

Replace the air filter – when it comes to car service, replacing the air filters is one of the most basic things you should do. The air filter, as the name suggests, filters out the air and prevents any debris or dust making their way into the engine of your vehicle (we are not referring to the cabin filter, which instead filters out the air that enters the vehicle compartment through the air conditioning and the like). The air filter needs to be replaced every six months, or, if you are a frequent driver, as soon as you hit the twelve thousand miles limit. You can buy a new air filter from any regular spare parts shop; as for the actual replacement, it takes around ten minutes – you have to simply open up the casing with the filter under the hood of the car and replace it.

Replace the wiper blades – you might think there is nothing to replace when it comes to your wipers, but old wiper blades can easily scratch your windshield, hence why you should replace them once six months pass. Once again, buy a new set of blades, and remove the old blades from the wipers after lifting them (as you would when washing the windshield) before inserting the new wiper blades in.

Replace brake pads – if you want to make sure that your vehicle is roadworthy, replacing brake pads regularly is of utmost necessity. This is also a reason why it is a good idea to leave this to a professional if you are really unsure. Generally, you should be replacing the pads for every twenty thousand miles. To replace them you will need to remove the brake calliper, which you can access only after you have jacked up the car and removed the tires. The old brake pads will slide out once you have removed this, and then, you simply need to replace them.

Change the oil – oil should be changed frequently, about every three to five thousand miles. If you think about it, that becomes quite expensive if you take your vehicle to a mechanic from Oxley every time. Whilst the replacement can get you a little dirty, it is nothing too hard. After making sure that the engine has cooled down, jack up your vehicle, and get under to drain the old oil. Once you are done with that, you simply have to replace the old oil filter, and replace it with a new filter (to which you add the new oil).