Building a Tool Kit for Your Car

For many of us, driving a car is only part of the fun of owning a car. For us, the truly involved car owner, taking care of our ride gives us a great deal of pleasure as well. However, no one can give their car the treatment it deserves if they do not have the right tools and equipment in their car tool kit. Below are the items that need to be in your kit.

Jumper Cables

Go ahead and spend the extra $15 to get yourself a robust set that you will hopefully never need to use. Oh, and if you have never jump started a car before, go ahead and practice it a couple of times.

Adjustable Wrench

This tool will be the workhorse of your tool kit since it, being adjustable, can loosen and tighten most of the bolts on your vehicle. Again, spend a little extra to get yourself a quality tool for there is nothing worse than an adjustable wrench that won’t stay clamped.

Pliers

These will do on those simple jobs when a wrench is not needed.

Car Jack and Tire Iron

Odds are your car came with a jack and a tire iron. Give them a look over to make sure they are strong enough for the job. If they are not, replace them. If they are, practice changing your tires a couple of times to make sure you know what to do when the time comes. Also, add a few towels to your tire changing gear for sitting on and cleaning up with.

Tire Gauge

Yes, new cars have automatic tire pressure gauges that will let you know if your tires are losing air. However, you need gauges as well so that you can confirm your tire pressure is at the optimal level.

Funnels

Cheap and light, there is no excuse for not having a couple funnels in your tool kit. These will save you in a pinch when you need to add fluid to your car.

Roadside Flares

Keep at least four roadside flares in your kit so that you can keep your car from being crashed into if it breaks down.

Screwdrivers

Get a collection of flathead and Phillips head screwdrivers.