As in many things, when it comes to such as motor vehicle engine repair, the first thing you should know to start with is something which Benjamin Franklin said (Quote): "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Indeed the more complex and expensive things become, such as cars and car repair, the smarter it is to heed that truism, or the more it will "smart" (cost) you if you don't.

For example: Even if you won't want to even check the engine oil, coolant, and etc, it is still a good ideea to at least check your owner's manual before you bring your car in for engine repair, if for no other reason than to help yourself have at least that information on your side for anything from helping you make sure you have a good shop to bring it to, to helping guard against being complete and totally "taken" by some unscrupulous auto repair shops.

The fact is, like it or not, and agree with it or not, the days of hearing some "noise under the hood" and having it often repaired by "any shade tree mechanic" are long gone and buried under years of the "plastic, computerized, capsules on wheels" which are the cars of today.

Indeed without some relatively expensive tools, including computerized diagnostic and electronic automotive equipment, etc, and even special tools to work on various systems and/or simply remove/replace fasteners, etc, (which are often changed, sometimes yearly, because of government mandates/regulations and/or manufacturing changes), it would behoove most "shade tree mechanics" to let fully equipped and currently ASE Certified professional mechanics handle it, and thus follow another truism (quote) "Discretion is the better part of valor". This is coming from one with experience in both "shade tree mechanic" work, and work among ASE Certified mechanics in a genuine auto repair shop.

Note: ASE stands for (National Institute for) Automotive Service Excellence.

So what to do? For most of you who want to know how to do, or at least know about preventive maintenance, well you could find out how to do such minor preventive maintenance as check and fill the engine coolant (most often these days in the "coolant recovery reservoir"); how to check and fill the transmission fluid (in automatic transmissions); how to check and fill the brake fluid, and when and how your car's engine oil and oil filter should be changed. These things help prevent excess fuel consumption, expensive break-downs, unreliability, and even warranty violation. Especially because

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