Time

Cost

Frequency

Hard

1+ hours

<$100 in Parts

Varies

These items generally take quite a bit of time and can cost a bit to complete.

Change Your Brakes

Chaning your brakes is a common thing. When you start to hear a rough sound when braking or even a squealing then it is probably time to change your brakes. If you hear a squeal sound and your brakes are good then its probably a brake hardware problem, but that's a different problem. Doing your brakes yourself can cost no more than $75 depending on the style of brake pads you get. The front brakes typically wear out faster than the backs, but be sure to check both if you are doing them yourself. You can do disc brakes in under 30 minutes and drum brakes take a little longer, say 60 minutes.

Time

Cost

Frequency

1 - 3 hours

$75

Every 30k - 40k miles

Coolant Fluid Flush

Flushing coolant can be overlooked, but its necessary. If you don't do it periodically you can have problems with overheating down the road, pun intended. It is a little labor intensive but is fairly easy to do yourself if you know what you are doing. It an also be quite fun and rewarding to do. Depending on how many flushes you need to do to get a clean coolant system it can take a couple hours to complete if done by yourself. Get a funnel, some water, and coolant and have at it. Some people add leak sealer fluid, just dont add to much.

Time

Cost

Frequency

1 - 2 hours

Every 50,000 miles

$50

Spark Plugs

Your car feeling a little sluggish and no check engine light on yet? Well if you havent changed your spark plugs in about 75k - 100k miles its probably time. Such a simple job with some research and the right tools. A quick youtube search and someone has probably changed the spark plugs on your car and put a video up. Watch it before you start, some spark plugs need ratchet extenders and some need the whole engine pulled forward (like mine). If you do it yourself you can save a couple hundred bucks.

Time

Frequency

Cost

1 hour

$50

Every 100,000 miles

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