Good advice above.
Agree with the Haynes manual for your car. Each book will have a full breakdown on a maintenance schedule, how to do those things, and the equipment you'll need. I'd say about $200 will get you the bare minimum (jack, jackstands, wrench/socket wrench)
Changing your oil, air filter, and tires is easier than you think if you've never done them. I'm by no means a car expert but basic common sense and the ability to follow instructions will take you most of the way.
Do not get your car fixed at dealerships. Get AAA and find a repair shop through them. Even then, try to do as much yourself as possible.
My car recently started rattling. I took it in to two garages and they both told me I needed to replace my catalytic, and my car only has like 20,000 miles (a cat should last 75k-100k) Just by popping the hood and following the rattle I found a metal plate that was rattling, looked at a manual and turns out that plate is the heat shield for the catalytic. Absolutely nothing wrong with the cat itself and both garages wanted to charge me $750 for a new one. I took the heat shield off, threw on a couple washer plates and got the heat shield back on, tightened it as hard as I could, lo and behold the rattling is gone.
Problem is nobody fixes anything anymore. Mechanic hears a rattle and he wants to replace the entire goddamn part. They were gonna charge me $750 for a perfectly fine working part when it was a fix that cost me a few cents. Again I know jack shit about cars but learn the basics, use your male power of observation and go from there. If all else, don't be afraid to call mechanics on their shit or get several opinions.
Agree with the Haynes manual for your car. Each book will have a full breakdown on a maintenance schedule, how to do those things, and the equipment you'll need. I'd say about $200 will get you the bare minimum (jack, jackstands, wrench/socket wrench)
Changing your oil, air filter, and tires is easier than you think if you've never done them. I'm by no means a car expert but basic common sense and the ability to follow instructions will take you most of the way.
Do not get your car fixed at dealerships. Get AAA and find a repair shop through them. Even then, try to do as much yourself as possible.
My car recently started rattling. I took it in to two garages and they both told me I needed to replace my catalytic, and my car only has like 20,000 miles (a cat should last 75k-100k) Just by popping the hood and following the rattle I found a metal plate that was rattling, looked at a manual and turns out that plate is the heat shield for the catalytic. Absolutely nothing wrong with the cat itself and both garages wanted to charge me $750 for a new one. I took the heat shield off, threw on a couple washer plates and got the heat shield back on, tightened it as hard as I could, lo and behold the rattling is gone.
Problem is nobody fixes anything anymore. Mechanic hears a rattle and he wants to replace the entire goddamn part. They were gonna charge me $750 for a perfectly fine working part when it was a fix that cost me a few cents. Again I know jack shit about cars but learn the basics, use your male power of observation and go from there. If all else, don't be afraid to call mechanics on their shit or get several opinions.