My First Car - how do I show it some TLC?

cuckoo

I've just picked up some handy tips from the 'shocking men by doing "manly things"' thread. The motors forum feels a bit too detailed for my newbie questions - i just want to keep the car running safely and in good condition.

So, for starters i'll be looking for a 'powerbar' and 'copper grease' for wheel changing (props to Vegeta for that tip). Does anyone know what would be the best type of shop to find them?

Also, I did have a wander around one of those car accessories type shops and was bewildered by the massive range of products for cleaning the car. I don't want to be spending more money on washing the thing than i do on shampoo for me! Any guidance from the ladies loungers about what products to go with? What's the story with car-wax-finishing treatments?!?

And, has anyone any thoughts about the Haynes manuals? Good to get for a beginner to car maintenance?

LouOB

Furry dice
Furry sterring wheel cover to match
Dont forget the 'nodding' dog on back window


Other than that
Oil for car
Spray to de-ice car in normal irish weather
Tree air-freshener (second hand car in all)
Tissues to wipe condensation off various windows
Plastic bag to throw used stuff into (as you will never get the used car tickets or receipts from your side doors)
Full bar and credit on your mobile (incase of accidents)
and ensure your mobile has camera (see above 'accidents')
AA road side assistance (second hand car-itis)

Abi

An emergency kit for your car, I always keep mine in the boot. You can get them just about anywhere, can't remember where I got my own. But Im sure Halfords have some decent ones.

cuckoo

LouOB wrote: »

Furry dice
Furry sterring wheel cover to match
Dont forget the 'nodding' dog on back window

Now i'm confused, when i went to tax the car the motor tax office people explained my obligation as a micra owner to fill the back window with cuddly toys, but they didn't mention a 'nodding' dog.

Would a Haynes manual list the required specs for such a 'nodding' dog?

Abigayle wrote: »

An emergency kit for your car, I always keep mine in the boot. You can get them just about anywhere, can't remember where I got my own. But Im sure Halfords have some decent ones.

I picked up one already, place near me was doing a deal on the kits that taxi drivers are required to carry so now have fire extinguisher, first aid kit, triangle, etc. Think it's a flashback to my girl guide days - be prepared and all that.

Wibbs

I would say the autoglym products are good for washing and protecting the paint, though lidl/adli do car shampoos and waxes that for the general run of the mill stuff is good enough IMHO. You just need two really. The car shampoo and the wax. I find windolene pretty good for the windows TBH. A sponge(proper car one, not a kitchen one too rough) and a a few rags and you're sorted(old cotton tee shirts are a charm). I would say a rag is better than tissues for getting rid of interior condensation IMHO.

The haynes is great if you want to get into it, but as a general manual for the stuff you're likely to tackle, maybe it's a bit of overkill IMHO. It's more like a workshop manual really. There are more general car maintenance books around more suited I reckon.

A simple spanner set and socket set can be had from argos(or lidl again) for small enough money. You don't need to go crazy pricewise as you're not likely to be stripping gearboxes or anything. Another handy one is a battery charger. Jump leads.

In the car? along with the others suggestions, a Tow rope. A spare set of bulbs is a good bet. A bag of cable ties is another handy thing to carry. A small bottle of motor oil is good to have. A small tool kit with common sockets and spanner sizes and screwdrivers and you would be covered for most problems.

minidazzler

The know how to change a tire yourself. Even if only to embarrass a guy.


This situation is bound to happen to at least 1% of all women drivers.

Driving down the road happy as larry.
Problem with car; flat tyre, no oil etc. Something simple.
Female exits investigates problem.
Man stops to help.
Man tries to be manly and fix the problem.
Man Fails
Man Drives off, woman has to call AA or something.

But learn the basics, wait for the man to fail and embarrass the crap outta him!!!! Go on!!!

Wibbs

That's just cruel:D

minidazzler

Wibbs wrote: »

That's just cruel:D

I know, happened to me once, I was the big strong man trying to help. I couldn't find the Jack and such in her car. She then showed it to me, in exactly the same place as my Mam's car. Logic eh.


Needless to say, I am now quite confident at what I am playing at under the hood. I learned just to stop it happening again.

KatCookie

The OP also needs a scissors, even a tiny one will do, This situation happened to my mammy a couple of years ago : Gets a flat tyre, knows how to fix it, gets out all the relevant items, the jack and whatever, goes to take off the hubcap and realises she cant because the cable tie attached is on!
Moral of the story: carry a scissors to remove cable tie, cos even if a nice man stops to help, he mightn't have a scissors either!

Khannie

The tire iron should be able to generate enough torque to snap the cable tie. I always carry my swiss army knife for eventualities like that.

I would just say:
Change your oil, oil filter and air filter regularly. You can learn to do this yourself. Although the idea is probably intimidating, it can save you a shed load of money. Worth investigating spark plug changes if it's a petrol engine (this would require the right tool which I can't remember the name of 'cos I've had diesel since forever).
Jump leads. Can't count the number of times they've been useful for me and / or others.
I never bother with waxing the car tbh. Irish roads are too mucky to justify it. You can spend an hour waxing your car, then it lashes rain that night and the roads are a mess the next day.
Dashboard / "cockpit" shine stuff is good. Makes the car smell and look nice inside.
Worth learning when to get your timing belt changed. If it goes, it can do untold damage.

Happy driving!

minidazzler

Also, when checking for tyre baldness check the inside of the tire as well, the part furthest in the wheelwell.


A few weeks back I was changing the tire on my Dad's van, it was flat as can be. When I took off the wheel the metal bits that are inside the tire were showing it was so bald.

He had never noticed, it's lucky he got home safe, he had driven from Dublin to Cork the night before while tired, with a bit of drizzle about, and he doesn't exactly drive slowly.

Needless to say he got a bollocking.

So I am just saying, check your tyres thoroughly and regularily.

Wibbs

Khannie wrote: »

I never bother with waxing the car tbh. Irish roads are too mucky to justify it. You can spend an hour waxing your car, then it lashes rain that night and the roads are a mess the next day.

I take your point but it does protect the paint for far longer. You can usually spot a car that has had care on a regular basis against one that was tarted up the previous week with a spot of t cut.

minidazzler wrote:

Also, when checking for tyre baldness check the inside of the tire as well, the part furthest in the wheelwell.

V good point. It can tell you a lot of things. Whether the tyres are inflated correctly and if there's a big diff between the inside and the outside of a tyre wearwise it can suggest suspension and alignment issues.

mickdw

You should learn the following:

weekly checks... oils, water, other fluids and how to top up. check tyres also, wear & pressures.
Look at dash lights when ignition is switched on & learn what action you should take if one of them appears while driving. General rule, yellow or orange lights, not dangerous to drive. Red light... stop immediately.
Find out where fuse box is an keep a few spare ones.
Learn how to change a wheel properly... do a trial change.
Learn your service intervals
Learn how to do basic service, oil & filter change, air filter, spark plugs, etc

You will then be ahead of 99% of people on the road.

The tyre changing really is critical. I wouldnt drive anywhere if I couldnt do this.

Wibbs

Khannie wrote: »

I would just say:
Change your oil, oil filter and air filter regularly. You can learn to do this yourself. Although the idea is probably intimidating, it can save you a shed load of money. Worth investigating spark plug changes if it's a petrol engine (this would require the right tool which I can't remember the name of 'cos I've had diesel since forever).

+ 100000000000. It is remarkably simple to do too in most cars. With some the hardest bit is getting to the oil filter. Mine as an example, but since I have small girlie hands I can do it where other blokes can't so a doddle for the average woman.

The other hard part is removing the bung underneath the car to release the old oil. I usually ended up covered in oil. But no more! I have no clue what it's called(me being techy again), but basically it's a pump that you stick a tube down the pipe where your dipstick goes, give it a few pumps and it sucks all your oil out(that's how I described it to the guy in the motor factors. They're well used to gobsheens like me so know what's what). No more feckin about underneath the car. Much cleaner too.

Air filter? Couple of screws or nuts and out comes the old one and in with the new.

Spark plugs can be tricky. More when you screw the new ones in as you can cross the threads in aluminium heads, but nowadays they last a very long time so when you do take it to a garage for brake pad replacement and such, let them do it then.

You can save a lot of money as Khannie says. For most cars, oil, oil filter and air filter is gonna be less than 50 quid, much less in a lot of cases. Compare that to the well over 100 quid a non main dealer will charge. A main dealer? Ouch in some cases. The oil sucker thing IIRC cost about 50 quid. What you could do is buy things like that, things you only use the odd time, buy them among friends. Chip in and share it. My mates do that. Same with the bigger household tools too. No point if each one of us has say a circular saw or a tile cutter.

minidazzler

Wibbs wrote: »

You can save a lot of money as Khannie says. For most cars, oil, oil filter and air filter is gonna be less than 50 quid, much less in a lot of cases. Compare that to the well over 100 quid a non main dealer will charge. A main dealer? Ouch in some cases. The oil sucker thing IIRC cost about 50 quid. What you could do is buy things like that, things you only use the odd time, buy them among friends. Chip in and share it. My mates do that. Same with the bigger household tools too. No point if each one of us has say a circular saw or a tile cutter.

While I agree with you, I can honestly say my Dad would have a heart attack if that was suggested to him.

If he needs the most obscure tool for one project only he will buy it! The worst part, his dad and 2 of his brothers do exactly the same thing!!! So between them they have enough tools to sort out a tool shop!!!


Also OP, if you are not a girl who is particularily strong you might want to invest in a Tire Iron with a longer handle, I have seen them about the place. The Law of the Lever applies, the longer it is the less effort required to loosen and tighten it.

Seth Brundle

In fairness to it, the motors forum isn't that scary!

However, a haynes manual will be sufficient when learning the basics. A lot of routine maintenance is easy enough as long as you remember that in general its just pieces of metal or plastic bolted together.

Knowing how to do a lot of the simple items will help also when trying to diagnose an issue with the car and hopefully will reduce the likleihood of chancer mechanics trying to pull a fast one on you (as happened my other half recently). Thankfully I was able to check the items and found that the main dealer had blatently lied to herself purely to scare her into spending money.

I think its impossible for a wimmens to spend as much money on anything (never mind car cleaning products). However, I would recommend a bucket, a lambswool mitten and somehting like Meguiars Gold Class shampoo. You could also try Meguairs Nxt wax or something like that - get some sponge applicators to apply it and some old cloth to rub it off. Halfrauds are good at having offers on cleaning products. they should also have the Haynes manual (as would Easons).

As for your Micra - make sure that yours is like other micras by having those ultra bright fog lights on all the time so that you can piss off everyone else on the road*!

As for those oil suction things - I would not recommend them as they may not suck out all the sludge at the bottom of the sump, whereas when you drain the oil the proper way (single bolt at the bottom of the sump) much of the sludge will be flushed out.



* mention of fog lights is not allowed in the motros forum but I didn't see anything in the LL charter about them

Seth Brundle

Lastly, a woman into car maintenance - can I have your number?

Wibbs

kbannon wrote: »

As for those oil suction things - I would not recommend them as they may not suck out all the sludge at the bottom of the sump, whereas when you drain the oil the proper way (single bolt at the bottom of the sump) much of the sludge will be flushed out.

I agree there's been much debate about them. The Germans are big into using them. Me being anal and twitchy about my engines health , I've actually measured the amount I get out by the normal method compared to the suction yoke and I get appreciably more oil out by suction. Then again me being anal again I change my oil and filter every 5k so sludge has never been an issue. Some engines more than others seem to suffer from sludge too of course and depnding on the engine the suction pipe may not go far enough in.

Lots of factors going on. Same goes for oil too. Some cars "like" one oil and not another. My last car loved mobil 1, my current hates it and it seems to degrade very quickly. Goes for "average" engines as well as higher performance stuff too IMHO.

The main reason I would personally advise the suction method is that for the average person, woman or man, the convenience means they're more likely to change the oil themselves and do it more frequently. Look at the people who have kept an engine going beyond the million mile mark and the biggest thing seems to be changing the oil more than the usual.

Wibbs

kbannon wrote: »

Lastly, a woman into car maintenance - can I have your number?

Ditto, though first dibbs on wooing Dudara as she knows how to field strip a gearbox(cue Dudara musing on how she may insert a ford transit transmission assembly to cause the maximum of pain...:D). If someone out there can do valve clearances I'll marry you, though that very offer has just massively increased the chances my valve clearances will remain untouched......

Stheno

KatCookie wrote: »

The OP also needs a scissors, even a tiny one will do, This situation happened to my mammy a couple of years ago : Gets a flat tyre, knows how to fix it, gets out all the relevant items, the jack and whatever, goes to take off the hubcap and realises she cant because the cable tie attached is on!
Moral of the story: carry a scissors to remove cable tie, cos even if a nice man stops to help, he mightn't have a scissors either!

AH God this is so true, I'd this problem years ago doing a driving test, I ended up bloodied and bruised after battling with cable ties

Anyway all that aside, I'd definitely suggest everything that's been said, learn how to do basics like tyre/lights changes, read the manual for your car and know what means what when the scary warning lights come up.

One small tip I'd add is find a forum relating to your car, and just browse it, I drive an alfa, and the alfa forums I am a member of have been a downright godsend for info.

Wibbs

nouggatti wrote: »

One small tip I'd add is find a forum relating to your car, and just browse it, I drive an alfa, and the alfa forums I am a member of have been a downright godsend for info.

QFT + 1. Get spares for less too from fellow members.

Khannie

Wibbs wrote: »

I have no clue what it's called(me being techy again), but basically it's a pump that you stick a tube down the pipe where your dipstick goes, give it a few pumps and it sucks all your oil out(that's how I described it to the guy in the motor factors. They're well used to gobsheens like me so know what's what). No more feckin about underneath the car. Much cleaner too.

I like it! Never knew such a thing existed. I'll check it out. How much did you pay for this thing if you don't mind me asking?

Gary ITR

Khannie wrote: »

I like it! Never knew such a thing existed. I'll check it out. How much did you pay for this thing if you don't mind me asking?

They leave all the crap and gunk at the bottom though. I wouldn't recommend them.

When my ex started to drive I asked her what she should do if she got a puncture, she said 'I reach for my phone, I dial your number and say 'sweety I have a flat tyre can you come help me''

Das Kitty

minidazzler wrote: »

The know how to change a tire yourself. Even if only to embarrass a guy.


This situation is bound to happen to at least 1% of all women drivers.

Driving down the road happy as larry.
Problem with car; flat tyre, no oil etc. Something simple.
Female exits investigates problem.
Man stops to help.
Man tries to be manly and fix the problem.
Man Fails
Man Drives off, woman has to call AA or something.

But learn the basics, wait for the man to fail and embarrass the crap outta him!!!! Go on!!!

Had to change the wheel on my car last Friday in the pouring rain and not one person, male or female offered me help, in spite of plenty of people passing me.

Wibbs

Khannie wrote: »

I like it! Never knew such a thing existed. I'll check it out. How much did you pay for this thing if you don't mind me asking?

Around the 50/60 euro mark IIRC.

Onkle wrote:

They leave all the crap and gunk at the bottom though. I wouldn't recommend them.

Like I said to Kbannon above, there's debate about this. I know a fair few garages who use them and IIRC some manufacturers even recommend them(Mercedes?). I got more oil out than using the standard drain method. Plus as it's an active suction taking the oil out as opposed to relying on the flow of gravity, I would say it's more likely to take any gunk out. In any case if you have gunk in the engine that isn't sucked up there's more to worry about IMHO.

Now compare that to the normal messy, laying on the ground possibly stripping sump drain bolt threads(I've seen it happen more than once). If you're not techie or prepared to do that chances are it won't get done as regularly.

Snowie

Auto gleam wax dont use it unless you no how to wax a car ule stain any matt black bits with it and thats really bad instead try maguires wax its ina tub reason being i think it stays on the car longer then auto gleam and its not as harsh as auto gleams stuff and black bits or rubbers like auto gleam does
get your self a nice radio and speakers Id say shell out on some nice wheels to improve the handeling of the car grip and lower a little... but then again thats me tho at the moment I have a new car its fast ....

:pac:

Khannie

Wibbs wrote: »

Around the 50/60 euro mark IIRC.

That's ouchies enough. If it was half that I'd go for it without question.

I usually let the engine idle for a bit to warm up the oil to allow it to flow more easily. Hmmmmm.

karma403

Whats an air filter for?

I have a 10 year old micra and am planning on buying a car this summer. Don't know how to change a tyre but I am going to learn

Khannie

The air filter cleans air before it goes into the engine. Even small particles of dust can cause enormous damage inside the engine. If you're interested in dipping your toes in the water of your engine, learning to change your air filter's a great place to start. Easy peasy and gives a great feeling of satisfaction the first time you do it.

feylya

A torch. If you get a flat at night, it will be the single handiest thing you could have.

phasers

All I have is my dad's mobile nuber and a triangle thing :pac:

I need a new jack actually, my dad broke my flimsy little standard one, thinking of one of those iron cross ones.

I just bought a car a couple of months ago, and the bolts on the wheel were on so tight no human could possibly remove them. Such a pain when I got a puncture, I had to drive to the garage on a flat!