10 Tips And Tricks To Get Your Car To 200,000 Miles On A Budget

10. Don’t be afraid to hit up Harbor Freight for new tools. Also, Craigslist and Garage sales for used tools.

If you want to get to 200,000 miles you’re going to need a decent set of tools. At the end of the day, there’s good and then there’s good enough. You’re not working at a dealership where investing in top of the line equipment is a prerequisite and not even a question. First off, here is a list of tools you should already have.

•  Screwdrivers– One medium-sized flat head and one medium-sized Phillips screwdrivers.
•  Ratchet set– Buy both a Metric and SAE set.
•  Wrenches– See Ratchet set.
•  Allen wrenches– These are L-shaped steel wrenches in various lengths that often come in a swiss army knife configuration or singles. If you’ve done DIY furniture, you should be familiar with these.
•  Jack with jack stands– Oftentimes these come in kits with a creeper jack and two jack stands. Read up on reviews of some of the budget ones to see if there are any horror stories linked to this most important piece of equipment.
•  Droplight and flashlight– These two tools will allow you in those tight places.
• An OBD II Scanner to read codes– Here’s one on Amazon for less than $15. (we’ll get into this one a bit more later.)
• Also, a good amount of rags and gloves. – To clean up messes.

For the hard tools without too many moving parts, go ahead and search around for Craigslist and Garage sales for deals. Oftentimes you can find a full set of tools for a bargain from the later. For new tools, if it’s simple enough like a breaker bar, go ahead and hit up Harbor Freight or Sears for those.

Top tip: Craftsman tools prides itself on its 100 percent replacement warranty if a tool breaks. That means you can walk into any store with a Craftsman tool and can get it replaced. This forces Craftsman to keep a certain amount of quality while being friendly on prices. Check out their warranty policy here.

Next: Hit your recommended oil changes regularly and often