Now that January is here, it's time to focus on what's going on with your car and what needs to be done. Before you do that, you need to know ABOUT your car first. What year is your car, what size tires are on there? Do you know what kind of oil your ride takes? When was the last time you had your belts changed? If you think I mean belts that go around your waist, you're in more trouble than I thought. There are belts underneath your hood. They go around pulleys that run things like your power steering... I'm getting way ahead of myself. So let's keep it simple right? Right. Alright, let's get started with some of the things you NEED to know BEFORE you walk yourself into a repair shop or an auto parts store. Just in case I miss something that you think should be on this list, email me HERE with what I missed and I might add it later but don't get your hopes up!

What kind of car do you drive? What's the Year, Make and Model? Now most of us know what year our ride is. Then most pf us know what kind of car we drive (thank God), but what model is it? Just knowing that it's a Saturn, Nissan or a Honda isn't enough. There can be HUGE differences within the models. Believe it or not there are tons of differences that you may not notice that makes all the difference in what parts you may need or want for your ride. To keep it simple, say you wanted some door trim for your ride and it's a four door, you wouldn't get the same trim for your two door. Oh, and just to add to this, a Sedan had 4 doors and a coupe has 2. I'm sure you know this but in case there is someone that you know that doesn't, help a sister out and tell her. So now that we know what year the car is, the make and model, I'm going to throw a wrench in it...what's the engine size? HA! You don't know do you? But that's alright, we can find that out easliy as well. Go outside(after you read this, or now if you have a laptop) and open up the hood. Look on the top of the engine (the biggest thing under the hood) and look for some numbers and letters. Do you see anything that says 2.2L DOHC or 1.9L EFI-OHC? If you see anything similar to that then that's what size engine your baby has? If it is not there, look on the driver's side door and look at that placard or manufacture's plate. That information will be there as well. That is absolutely necessary to know those numbers and letters...memorize them or keep them as a note in your smartphone. That's how you will really get what parts you need from the parts store or can 'verify' when you've had work done at the repair shop. Now I'm not going to get totally deep into that because it can get waaayy out of hand. So for now, keep all those things in mind and you'll be a step ahead of the average girl.

What size tires do you have? Okay, saying whatever is on there is not a good answer. You'll get taken every time with this one. Unless you have aftermarket wheels on or your car came standard with a performance styled tire, you don't need to really go overboard. Once again, go outside and look at your tires. You will see a group of numbers on the side of the tire. Let's use my current size: 205/40/17. No, it's not a combination, it's telling you just about everything you need to know. Let's start with 205. This is telling you how wide your tire is. You can measure this by going left to right, or if you stand on the side of your car next to the tire like you're in the driver's seat and measure the tire from left to right, that's how you come up with that number. The larger this number gets, the wider your tire gets as well. Next is 40. This is telling you how tall your tire is. The higher this number, the more meat your tire has, the lower, the thinner your tire is. To measure, just go from the edge of the wheel to the top of the tire. Lastly is 17. This is the size of your wheels. It is basically the diameter of the wheel. Measure from one side of the wheel to the other and there you go. You would not measure the tire, just the wheel/rim itself. Was that so hard? Now you know almost everything about your tires. Here's one more thing. Always get All Season Tires...especially if you live in an environment where the weather varies. There are other tires you can get but we want to keep this simple. Now you know what tires to get, what's next?

Which headlights bulbs do you need? What bulbs do you need in general? Yes, I said which because most cars run a high AND low beam. (PLEASE tell me you knew this). I say most because some actaully run off of the same bulb, either way you need to know that number. To be honest, you will probably find out which bulbs you need when you need them replaced. When this happens, find out the numbers and keep this info in your brain or on your smartphone. OR you can just keep the empty package in the trunk. Write on the back where they go like tail light, rear turn signal, etc. This will make for short trips to the auto parts store because you won't have to wait for the slow salesperson to look your car up or play with those dumb machines that aren't working half of the time anyways. Now if you take the bulbs out yourself, most of the time you can just look at the bottom or on the edge and it should tell you the number you need, i.e. 3157 or 3057LL or 4157NA uh oh, I scared everyone away again. Come on back. Those letters at the end of the numbers mean different things but I'm going to expalin really quickly. The 'LL' just means Long Life, like they'll last longer but the 'NA' means that the bulb is amber or orange in color. These are mainly for turn signals and some sidemarker bulbs. That wasn't scary at all! But I think this last thing will scare you, lol. When your headlights come on, do they get progressively brighter? Do they look more blue/purple than most? Ahhh, if so, then you have yourself a set of HIDs. HID means High Intesity Discharge. If you want a science class, you'll have to sign up for one but for right now they are brighter and lasts much longer than 'standard' headlight bulbs. These are not only more expensive but a lot of parts places will have to order them for you. You may or may not want to get them from the dealer but either way, you're going to pay. Enough about these dang bulbs...

What oil are you currently using? And if you think I mean cooking oil slowly move away from the computer AND your car! If you do know what I'm talking about, at least a little, we can move on. Oil is basically like blood. Your engine needs it to survive. Too much and it will flood the engine and underhood area. Not enough and your engine will croak. Put the tissues down, you can save your baby and never get to those points. Secondly, it's very easy to find this out before you leave the house. You can look under the hood and there will be a oil symbol where you put the oil in at. A lot of newer cars or cars from at least 1998 on will actually tell you on the oil cap. If your ride is a little older you can check the owner's manual. Don't have a manual, then call the dealership. Why? Let's see because they deal with your car every day, duh. Calling a dealer is the best way for those of you who have luxury cars. Why? Because parts places sometimes list you can use regular oil when you need sythetic....Ahhhh, I'll touch on synthetic oil in a sec. If by chance you can't do any of this and you're out and about and just need a quart or two, then I guess it's okay to go into a parts store and have them look it up for you. Just make sure to keep an extra bottle in the trunk. That way, you'll have extra on hand 'just in case' and you'll always know what you need. Now, oil can get very complicated if you let it and I won't, so here's the basics. Standard, Synthetic Blend and Fully Synthetic. Standard is exactly what it sounds like and there's nothing special about it. It has the basic necessities in it that your engine needs. The difference between one standard oil over the other is that one company may refine it a certain way. For example coffee. Eventhough it's all coffee, you may like one brand over the other...same here except that you won't drink oil. Next is Synthetic Blend. This oil is a blend of standard oil and synthetic oils. Basically the synthetic oils will perform better at higher temps and coat engine parts better than standard. Lastly is Fully Syntetic. If you just read what I wrote, then you will quickly understand that fully synthetic oil is just that. It is an all synthetic oil, oil. Now I could get into weights (not working out!) and use words like viscosity but I don't want to casue any more heart attacks than I already have.

What type of Brakes do you have? We're going to keep this simple as well. First, let me tell you that you have disc brakes up front. This means that to stop, there are 2 pads that clamp down onto a disc when you put your foot on the brake...this is the same on both the front wheels. Those discs are called rotors and they are called disc brakes because of that. The main thing is do you have discs in the rear or shoes. If you have disc brakes all around, it means that you have this set-up in the front AND the back. Not everyone has this set-up and you will need to know if you have disc brakes in the rear or brake shoes when it's time to replace them. Again, you will probably not realize this until they need to be changed and when you find out, remember between the two. Point blank, brake shoes look totally different. For one, if you can see through your wheel, you will see how. Discs are flat and round. Drums, which cover the shoes look similar to microwave covers...that's the best way to explain how they look. Behind these drums are the brake shoes. These shoes spread out towards the drums in order to stop. These don't need to be replaced as much as brake pads as most of the stopping power is coming from the front. Instead of trying to describe everything, check out the pictures above. The first pic is of brake pads and the second is brake shoes. The third pic of of rotors and the last pic is of drums. If you have upgraded wheels that came on your ride or changed them afterwards, you'll be able to check them easily. Now wasn't that easy?

These are just some of the basics that you need to know but they will help you a long ways down the road. There are some other things that I could go into but I won't right now. Let these points simmer for a little while and get more familiar with them. As you do this, you will feel for comfortable talking about and taking care of your ride. Who knows, you may try and do some of these things yourself when it's time to replace them. Stop shaking your head no, it's more like you never know ;)