Car Smarts: An Easy-to-Use Guide to Understanding Your Car and Communicating with Your Mechanic (Paperback)

by Mary Jackson (Author) "Buying a new or used car or truck is probably the second biggest investment you're likely to make..." (more)
Key Phrases: replacement tires, Money-Saving Tip

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Thoroughly illustrated, "Car Smarts" is written especially for those who may never work on their own cars, but want to speak confidently about car repair. 11 charts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 3rd edition (October 14, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1562614576
• ISBN-13: 978-1562614577
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #535,323 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

62 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Car Smarts is for all car owners, January 13, 2000

By A Customer

I was looking for a simple, "how to" book to give to my teen aged grandson in order to help him be a better, safer car owner.

I have been the resident car expert most of my adult life. As a former automobile dealer, race car driver, race car builder and currently a racing instructor (part-time) for the National Auto Sport Assn. (NASA), I am used to being called upon for any and all questions pertaining to cars. Fortunately, the love affair with these machines still burns brightly and I enjoy the questions and discussions. Unfortunately, the car loving genes did not pass on to my Grandson or my Daughter. His "car smarts" consists of starting the motor and driving. Bright though he is, he has not learned to buy gas, wash the heap or even lock the doors. When it breaks, he calls for his mom or me. I live in another city and can only advise him by long distance.

I thought, "maybe if the kid knew a little more about cars and understood a little preventative maintenance, the heap might run with a little more regularity. I finally choose "Car Smarts" because it was simple yet comprehensive but entertaining and funny, thus a better chance that I might coerce him to actually read it. Guess what? I ended up reading it cover to cover and I enjoyed it more that I imagined. There were actually a couple of points that I actually learned myself. Who would have believed? This book should be mandatory reading for every drivers license applicant in the US. I would recommend it a textbook for a high school Drivers Ed course. Five stars to mary Jackson. Don Sutton

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars IloveitIloveitIloveit, August 18, 2000

By A Customer

THANK GOD somebody finally published this book! It COMPLETELY DEMYSTIFIES the automobile, teaching you everything all drivers should know and few do (why isn't this stuff taught in Driver's Ed instead of what to do at a Stop Sign?)

It uses cartoon illustrations to show how individual systems in the car work. It also provides charts and checklists to help you troubleshoot for yourself what is wrong with your own car based on certain symptoms. It is easy to understand. When you're done reading this book you will feel much more confident dealing to the people who service your car.

There are not only chapters on how your car works and how to take car of your car, but also how to buy and lease a car and how to choose and deal with service providers.

The book was written by a woman who used to feel as clueless as me about cars, so she became a mechanic.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transform yourself to a 'real' car owner, September 7, 2003

By A Customer

What I like most about this book is the simple, direct, logical presentation style of the author. The explanation method always starts with a simplified reference to a human body, then a direct comparison with the actual car part. So you could analogically grasp how the part works and deduce logically on how to take care of that part or how to deal with the associated problems.
Aside from that this book also explains very well the necessary terms such as tire size/codes, the meaning of 15W40 for the car oil, etc.
With all of that, this book does not make you a car genius, but you would be far from giving your car technician a zero-knowledge customer impression.
The downside: the troubleshooting section at the end of each chapter is probably better off left out as it's very general and of little value. A better approach would be to incorporate them as examples, with logical guidance on solving the problem.
This book is a good starting material for people who has zero background in automobiles (most of us are, including myself), it would not, however, be comprehensive enough for people who has strong interest in cars.
I would love to see a second series by the same author for readers who graduated from her current book.