The Family Handyman: Simple Car Care & Repair [Spiral-bound]

Editors of The Family Handyman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Family Handyman | Publication Date: May 19, 1997

For the car owner who's willing to bite off the manageable maintenance tasks, this book, written in clear, plain English, presents hundreds of illustrated repair jobs that can be done on one's car at home--from changing a headlight to reattaching loose trim. Also included is sensible advice on emergency repairs, plus tips on dealing with dealers and repair shops. 300 color illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

It occurred to me, as someone who grows faint looking under the hood of my car and has no intention of even attempting to fix anything in there, that this is still a useful book, if for no other reason than it will help me determine how honest my mechanic is. The Family Handyman Simple Car Care and Repair offers good, practical, readable, and sometimes even humorous advice for people wanting to know how their cars or trucks work, why they sometimes don't, and how to prevent the latter from happening.

From the Back Cover

In this complicated four-wheeled world, are you uncertain or confused about car maintenance? Don't despair! There are thingslots of thingsyou can do to prevent your car from acting up, breaking down, and just plain falling apart. You don't need years of experience and a garage full of fancy tools. You can save money on repairs (and carry on a halfway intelligent conversation with a mechanic). This book, through clear illustrations, plain Englishand a touch of humorwill show you how to keep your car running smoothly and looking good.

In Simple Car Care & Repair you'll find: * Up-to-date, down-to-earth advice from master mechanics on how to troubleshoot problems, avoid them in the future, and get the most out of your car, van, or truck. * Money-saving tips on how to choose the safest tires, the best wax, the least expensive gas. * Illustrated explanations of how to handle maintenance and scores of simple repairs, from changing a headlight to touching up scratches. * Special sections on emergency repairs and how to locate hard-to-find parts and service bulletins. Plus unique "Hey, What's Wrong With My Car?" checklists you can fill out and give to your mechanic when you bring your car in for repairs.

It's all inside, from the friendly do-it-yourself experts at The Family Handyman.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 192 pages
• Publisher: Readers Digest (May 19, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0895779307
• ISBN-13: 978-0895779304
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,241,918 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Basic and readable, but a little light, February 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Family Handyman: Simple Car Care & Repair (Spiral-bound)

This book was easy to understand and as I was reading it, it seemed to cover a variety of very specific topics such as fixing sagging headliners and replacing an oxygen sensor. However, when I had finished, it seemed I hadn't learned a thing about the jobs <I> foresaw myself tackling.

The book seemed to jump right from the incredibly basic (what octane do I need?) to the beyond-me (fixing a misaligned door with a block of wood and a big heave-ho) without touching on the more common points in between. For example, how to change oil was not covered, but there was a great section on how to wash (yes, wash) the car and why you should choose a natural chamois, along with a section on electrical work this weekend mechanic wanna-be wouldn't touch with the proverbial ten-foot pole.

The book does a great job explaining the things it actually does talk about, but this 180 page book is about 100 pages short. In other words, I'm definitely keeping the book in case I do want to try reattaching some peeling trim or replace a PCV valve (huh?) one day, but I still have to buy another to learn about the stuff I'm more likely to do in between, like change my own oil or deal with the beginnings of a little rust patch...

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good for understanding your car, July 30, 2000

By 

Steve (Rockford, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Family Handyman: Simple Car Care & Repair (Spiral-bound)

This book is great for those wanting a basic understanding of cars in general and how to maintain them. A great starting point for those like me who don't know a lot about working on cars but are willing to learn the basics. The book covers a lot of thing that are good to know such as how to identify different fluids in the car (along with what to look for to see if there are signs of something wrong in them), what to look for to tell when belts need to be replaced (along with way to get rid of belt sqeak), along with some of the "simpler" repairs such as hoses, lighting, and spark plugs. It's best as a starter, and then a companion to something like a Chilton manual for your specific car. For example, this book talks about the PCV valve, but I had no idea where it actually was on my own car until the Chilton manual showed me a photo diagram of the engine I actually had.