With modern cars becoming increasingly complicated, it looks like the only solution for maintenance is to take it to the workshop for even the smallest repairs and regular check-ups. However, as the cost of car maintenance is relatively high in Singapore, there are a couple of things you can do it yourself, regardless of your skill  level. This way, you will save a significant amount of money and time without trying to make yourself comfortable in the dark waiting corner of a noisy workshop. All you need will be some space to park your car, and a simple car jack.

1. Engine Oil And Oil Filter

Changing oil is one of the most common acts of car maintenance. Having «fresh» oil in your car helps preserve an engine’s health and to keep everything running smoothly, hence, you should always keep an eye on manufacturer’s suggestions for oil changing intervals. The first step to take is to buy the proper amount of the right type of oil and oil filter. Then lift your car on the jack so you can access the oil pan underneath the engine. Unscrew the bolt on the oil pan and let the old oil drain from the engine. This can take a couple of minutes. When the old oil is drained, bolt the screw back and put in the new oil into the engine.

Next, you can look for the oil filter at the side of the engine. Unbolt it and remove the rubber gasket on the old filter. This could be messy since the old filter contains old oil so do be careful not to spill it on the engine or on yourself. Attach the new filter with the new rubber gasket and use dipstick to check the oil level.

2. Headlight Bulbs

The designers of modern cars deliberately made back of the headlights hard to reach so you would take your car to the shop for this pretty simple change. However, there are numbers of tutorials online which will explain to you how you change bulbs or even whole in a matter of minutes. All you need is a screwdriver and a little of patience and you can save yourself a lot of money.

3. Windshield Wipers

Comparing a brand-less wiper change at a workshops and a Bosch wiper at Giant supermarket, both are the same price except the former includes labour cost. So why not change the wiper yourself since the only thing you have to do is to hook the wiper onto your car? Simply purchase a wiper set at a cars accessories shop or supermarkets and follow a few simple steps written on the manual. To summarize what is on the instruction sheet, you basically would have to just detach the old ones and snap the new ones in place. This takes only about three minutes of your time while the workshop will charge you with a full hour of their labor.

4. Spark Plugs

Changing spark plugs is another simple task you can do wherever you are. You only need a proper tool (right size wrench) and a set of four, six or eight spark plugs (depends on how many cylinders you have got). First, you turn your car off and open the hood. There will be spark plug wires coming from the distributor to the head of the engine. Simply remove the plastic caps and disconnect the wires to leave the spark plugs exposed. After which, use a wrench to unscrew the spark plugs and remove them slowly. As the spark plug holes connect directly to your engine, be extremely careful not to drop anything in as you would have to incur more cost to bring it to a workshop to bring your whole engine apart. Put your new spark plugs in place and bolt them properly then connect the spark plug wires back in place.