1. Check your oil

The engine of your car has a lot of moving parts all functioning at pretty high speeds. All these moving parts cause heat and friction. To prevent the heat and friction from ruining your engine, your car needs a little, uh shall we say, lubrication. That is where engine oil comes in to play. It keeps all those parts lubed up and moving smoothly if your engine runs low on oil things can get pretty hot and not in a good way. In a damaged engine and expensive repair bill kind of way.

1. Pop your hood

There is usually a lever under the driver's side dashboard near your feet.

2. Find the dipstick

It is usually yellow or orange and easy to find, although some companies get a little crazy and make it a different color. It is usually clearly marked. If there are two, one is likely your transmission dipstick, the fluid on this one will be reddish and not the one you want.

3. Check your oil level

Remove the dipstick from its tube and wipe it clean. Replace it back in the tube all the way back down and pull it back up again. Hold it level, and parallel to the ground. There usually a set of markings at the bottom of the stick that will show you if your oil is at a safe level. If there is no oil on the stick add some ASAP.

2. Checking your tire pressure

This one is easy all you need is a tire pressure gage, but important, improperly inflated tires can wear your tires faster and it can also be dangerous. Balding may work for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson but it isn't a good look on tires.

1. Find your tire pressure

Open the driver door and look for a placard on the frame or the side of the door. It should list the required pressure or, "PSI."

2. Check your pressure

Take your gauge and hold it to the valve on your tire, inflate or leak air (through the valve) as necessary.

This is an important one to know for roadside emergency situations, and the most important thing to remember is to be safe! Pull over in a safe spot and turn on your hazard lights before getting out of your vehicle. It is easier to watch this than to read it so here is an excellent video tutorial.

3. Jumping a dead battery

Unless you have a fancy-dancy jumper box, you will need to find a good Samaritan to help you with this one. Be safe and smart. You will need to have the other person line their vehicle up to their engine faces yours, or so it is close enough for the jumper cables to reach the two batteries.

1. Put both vehicles in park mode and turn off the engines.

2. Place the red clamp on the positive terminal of the dead battery. This will be marked with a "+" or in red.

3. Now attach the other red clamp to the positive terminal of the other car.

4. Time for the black clamps. Attach the first one to the working car's negative terminal.

5. Attach the second black clamp to your negative terminal OR an unpainted piece of metal away from the battery.

6. Fire up the engine of the working vehicle and let it run for a few minutes.

7. Now try and turn your car on. If it starts, yay victory, DO NOT TURN IT OFF. Leave the vehicle running for 15 minutes to allow the battery to charge.

8. If it doesn't start you may be in need of a new battery or more expertise.

4. How often?

The final thing you should know is how often to get maintenance done. Barring emergencies or other situations here is a list of basic guidelines.

Oil Change

Every 3 months or 3,000-4,000 miles. This is dependent on the type of oil and filter you use.

New tires

This depends on the amount of driving you do and how well you take care of the tires. As long as you are lucky enough to avoid flats, you will only need to replace your tires when they wear below 2/32nds or every 5ish years.

Tire Rotations

This helps tires wear smooth and should be done every 4,000-7,000 miles.