To the unexperienced home mechanic, do-it-yourself car repair and maintenance can seem daunting. While some high-level things are best left the experts, with the right tools, you can perform many simple automotive maintenance tasks yourself. Here are a few of the essential tools that may come in handy:

• Knockaround clothing. Working on a car has a tendency to get oil, dirt and grease all over your hands and clothing. If you have time to plan, change into clothes you don't mind getting dirty or torn.
• Car jack, spare tire and lug nut wrench. These three items are essential for changing tires, which almost any driver should be able to do on their own. Many new and used cars are sold with all you need to change a tire on a fly. In case of emergencies, it helps to keep these in your trunk.
• Jumper cables, jump start kit and digital multimeter. If your battery dies, having jumper cables will help – but only if there is another car nearby that you can connect them to. This has led many drivers to buy jump starter packs, which include short cables attached to a personal battery, designed to get your car going in a pinch. To measure your battery's performance, use a digital multimeter.
• Wheel chocks. If you're doing work on your car at home or on a steep road, the last thing you want is for it to slip out of gear and start rolling. These small wedges are designed to slip under the wheels and stabilize the car, preventing dangerous movement. 
• Spark plug spanner. Changing a spark plug regularly can improve your car's performance and is relatively simple when equipped with a spark plug spanner or socket wrench. 
• Adjustable wrenches, pliers and torque wrenches. An adjustable wrench is a great all-purpose tool for tightening and removing screws, nuts and bolds of all shapes and sizes. Pliers function similarly, but allow you to grip and cut as well. For hard-to-reach areas, a torque wrench can slip in and tighten a bolt with great accuracy. 
• Hammers and screwdrivers. While it might be rare that you find yourself using these more traditional tools, a screwdriver may be needed to loosen the internal plastic paneling of a car while a hammer may come in handy when smoothing out minor dents and misalignments.
• Zip-ties and duct tape. For a quick, minor fix to get your car back on road, simple duct tape and zip-ties can hold on to bits of bodywork, organize wires and smooth rough or sharp edges.
• Spare fluids. Avoiding some of the major issues cars experience can come down to simply changing or topping off fluids. Keep extra oil, transmission fluid, Dot 4 brake fluid, coolant and windshield wiper fluid on hand.

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