The Girls' Guide to Car Repairs

Girls, do you ever feel like they're taking you for a ride when you take your ride in for repairs? I used to...and that's when I decided to do something about it. Never again am I at the mercy of some counter guy at the mechanic with dollar signs in his eyes.

Of course, the obvious solution is to take someone with you who knows cars, but sometimes, that isn't possible. (Particularly if you've only gone in for a simple oil change and they "discover" a problem.) Based on my experiences (and believe me, with the car I used to drive, I've got experience), I've come up with five tips that can save you some heartache and moolah.

1. Know your car. You don't have to know where the joints connect to the chassis (or whatever...) but it does help if you know the basic maintenance schedule of your car. Know when the manufacturer recommends a tune up. Know when to have your engine belts inspected and the chassis lubricated. These things can be found in your owner's manual. (I keep one copy in the glove box and another in my house. If you ask nicely, the car dealership will give you two.) Also, join the owner's group online. Go to the website of the manufacturer. They usually have a link.

2. Check your own fluids. I do it once a month. Pop your hood. Everything's labeled all nice and neat. There are four that I check: oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and power steering fluid. Let's go with the transmission fluid, for sake of example. Pull on the labeled component. There will be a long stick (for lack of a better description). Wipe it with a rag. (I keep one in the trunk for this purpose.) Stick it back in for a few seconds and pull it out again. The stick has markings on it at the correct position for full and low (or empty). Hopefully you'll see a smear of fluid somewhere above the empty line. The closer it is to the empty line, the sooner you need your fluids changed.