I put this book on my Wish List at Amazon.com. It is exactly what I need and the other reviewers give it a good rating. But HOLD THE PRESSES not so fast. I went over to the local book store and happened to see a copy, so I sat down for 10 minutes and quickly took in as much as I could.

First of all the title is misleading. It is not about car repair despite the size of the book’s big 600 page thickness. It should be called

“Dummies Guide to Car Ownership”.

It is like a large owners manual that comes with every new car. This book cannot be used to repair your car. You can use it to understand how the car works, when to change the oil, and what certain parts do but it is (definitely) not a car repair book. Maybe if you bought a used car and it has no manual buy this book, or you just bought your first car and you are clueless, then okay buy the book, but if you are that clueless – do not fix your car. Get help.

It is like a cartoon book on very basic things. For example one section is how to open the hood (I kid you not!). Another is how to change the tire. Another how to check your fluid levels. There are cartoons showing the suspension, the motor combustion cycle, etc. all the things that are basic. It is not a guide to repairing a serious problem or maybe even a not so serious problem in your car. There are a few interesting items in the book like PVC valves and cartoons showing how they bleed exhaust gases back into the input manifold, etc.

Okay so you want to repair your Chevy or your Honda or your VW or your Ford pickup. This is what you do. You go to a store like Autozone or similar (this is not an endorsement) and you buy a shop manual for your exact car – say a 1999 Chevy Lumina V6 3.8 L, that is for the make, the model, with the year and exact engine or the equivalent book for $25-$50. bucks. Maybe you can get it for less. Then you use the shop manual as a guide to determine what to change and how to do it, and buy the parts at an auto supply place. If that manual is too complicated, just go to a garage, or get help from a friend that has some experience.

If you know the basics about a car, skip the book.

I recently purchased an older model American car… the kind with a carburetor and distributor and–get this–spark plugs that you can actually reach without removing half the stuff from the engine. It has been so long since I could really work on my own car that I had forgotten how to do basic tuneups and keep my auto in primo condition. This book is outstanding for explaining how it all works and how to do the basics yourself. It begins with a simple but thorough explanation of all the systems (electrical, fuel, suspension, steering, etc.) and how a car works. Then it goes through each system and, with the aid of very effective diagrams, explains how to check and fix each one.

I have, thanks to this book, the knowledge and confidence to keep my new/old car in tune, running smooth, and at a fraction of the cost of taking it into the shop.

You don’t need an older car to appreciate this wonderful resource, either. The author goes through modern cars and their systems, too, like fuel injection and rack-and-pinion steering and disc brakes. If you have always wanted to know more about cars, and want the confidence to do the basic maintenance yourself, this IS the book for you. Highly reccommended.