The result? A very awesome infographic. Where do you fall in this mix? Let us know in the comments below.

Car Repair Costs Across the USA Infographic created by Convoy Auto Repair

Step 1: Move to Safe Grounds
When you finally realize that there’s a problem with your tire, maneuver to a stable, flat and traffic-free spot. First, you would need to switch on your emergency flashers so that the other drivers would know that there’s something wrong with your car. Once that you’ve settled in a flat ground area, apply the emergency brake so your car won’t roll and would stay in place while you’re working on it. If you’re going to fix a tire from the front, it’s best to put something strong and heavy, like a stone or brick, at the rear tires; vise versa.

Step 2: The Jack
It is now time to get your tools, and the first one is the jack. You need to place it at the frame beside the tire that you will be replacing. Placing it at the right spot, which is the metal portion of the frame, is very crucial. If you’ve put it wrongly, the molded plastic along the bottom of the car might crack once you’ve lifted it with the jack. Secure the jack in place; make sure that it is entire supporting the car.

Step 3: Loosening Up
We now need to remove the nuts, which should be done counterclockwise, then the hub cap. You can use the wrench, either an average cross wrench or the wrench that comes with your car, to loosen up the nuts. Make sure that the right wrench slips into a nut and would not jangle. Nuts are very securely put on, so it might need some force to loosen them up. If it is a bit harder than expected, you can apply more force into the wrench, but make sure it is the right way, so you would not be tightening it more.

Step 4: Lifting It Up and Screwing Out
You will now lift the car with the jack, pump it up until it is high enough that you can easily take off the tire. As you lift, make sure that the car is in a stable state. If there are any complications, lower the jack at once and fix it again, until you are assured that it is in place and the car will be safe as you lift again. Now, you will have to take off the loosened nuts and the entire tire itself. Just a piece of advice, place your flat tire under the car, so if ever the jack would create some problem, your car will land on the wheel, preventing severe damages.

Step 5: Spare Tire
Now, you will have to put the spare (new) tire at the hub. Align its rim on the wheel bolts, and then you can now put on the lug nuts. At first, it might turn easily, but make sure that they are all secure, snug and tight. Tighten them with the wrench (by hand) and take time turning each of the nuts. There’s no need to rush, besides, “slowly but surely” is a very handy way to fix a tire. If you think that you have tightened enough the nuts, don’t overdo it. You have more chance to tighten it again once you’ve taken off the jack and the car’s tire is back on ground again.

Step 6: Lowering It
Lower your car slowly, once it’s on the ground again, tighten the nuts more until you are satisfied and assured that they are now completely intact on the tire. Put the jack aside and put back the hub cap. You can now put your old tire at the compartment at the back and you can now drive away again, safely. Hopefully, your drive will be safe, but if you’ve really secured and turned those lug nuts tightly, there will be no problem at all, until you arrive at a mechanic that can fix your old tire so that you can use it again at your expense.

Yes, changing and fixing a flat or blown up tire can be a lot hassle, but we need time and patience to really replace it properly and ensure the safety of the passengers of your car. It might look intimidating at first, but fixing tires is actually easy, once you get the hang of it. More tips, always have a spare tire with you, wherever you’ll go, so that you will have it in case of emergencies that you can never expect. Ensure that you also have the tools with you, so you have things to work with the tires. Be responsible and don’t be afraid to replace a flat tire, if there is no one to help, then you have to do the work. Familiarize the procedure, or you can actually practice at home, so you will get the hang of it. It’s also best to always check your tires, or your entire car, before going out. Safety is a huge factor with cars, not just the sleek style or performance. Now with these steps, you can be sure that you’ll never be stranded again, even if you’re all by yourself.

The two biggest causes of car batteries failing is either leaving your lights on or alternator failure. One of these will probably happen to you at some point in your life.

So you have to know how to jump start a car safely and properly, so that when/if you ever do run into a dead battery in your car you can get back on the road quickly. You don’t always want to have to call out your car breakdown cover, particularly when it is something you can do yourself. Continue reading to find out how!

Preparing your vehicle to jump start a car:

First, you’re going to need a set of jumper cables. They are pretty common, so even if you don’t have a set you should be able to find someone who does. They aren’t expensive, so it’s actually a good idea to pick some up just in case anyways.

Move both cars so that the batteries are close to each other. If you don’t know where your battery is then pop the hood. Make sure that both vehicles are off, and have the parking brake on… you don’t want any accidents.

Make sure that both cars don’t have any accessories running. This means headlights, A/C, heaters, fans, cell phone chargers, radios etc. When you jump start the car it may cause damage to these accessories by pushing too much current through the car’s electrical system… so it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Take a look at the batteries before jump starting. Make sure you know which side is positive (+) and which side is negative (-) before going further. The positive terminal is usually marked red and the the negative is usually black, but check the markings on the battery to make sure.

If your battery is damaged or is leaking… don’t jump start your car. You will need a new battery first, and if you try to jump start it anyways you may cause a lot more unwanted problems. Besides, a damaged battery is not going to hold a charge anyways.

Make sure there isn’t any corrosion on the battery terminals. The terminals themselves won’t hurt you, so you can clean them off with a rag or a brush if you have one.

Time to learn how to jump start a car

Step 1: Connect one of the positive (+) ends of the jumper cables to the positive (+) terminal of the DEAD battery.

Step 2: Connect the other positive (+) end of the jumper cables to the positive (+) terminal of the GOOD battery.

Step 3: Connect one of the negative (-) ends of the jumper cables to the negative (-) terminal of the GOOD battery.

Step 4: Connect the other end of the negative (-) jumper cable to any non-painted metal part of the engine block on the DEAD battery’s car. Why not put it on the negative terminal of the dead battery? Because this could cause an explosion… and explosions are bad.

If you jump start your car by connecting the jumper cables in this order you minimize the chance of the cables sparking and is the safest way to jump start your car.

How do you know if you’ve connected everything right? The dome light in the car with the dead battery should come on when the circuit is complete (all the cables are attached). If the dome light doesn’t come on then you probably either have something connected incorrectly, or your jumper cables are toast.

OK now to jump start the car

Run the car with the good battery for a few minutes and then turn it off. That’s right, turn it off.

Why? Because if you jump start a car with the good battery’s car running, you may actually burn out the alternator on the good car because of too much current being drawn from the electrical system.

So turn off the good car’s engine, and try to crank the car with the dead battery. Most times this will be enough and your car should start.

If that doesn’t work, then you have to start up the good car’s engine. Bring the RPMs just above idle (push the gas pedal just a little bit) to increase the current flow from the alternator. Then try to crank over the bad battery’s car once again.

It can take a few minutes to jump start a car sometimes, so be patient. If you’ve done the previous steps correctly you should have your car running quickly. If you still can’t get enough juice to start the car, try moving the negative (-) cable that is attached to your engine block to the negative (-) terminal on the battery. This should be your last resort, but it may just give you the extra boost you need.

Now to take off the jumper cables

After you’ve jump started your car you need to safely remove the jumper cables off of the batteries.

Disconnect the negative (-) cable from the exposed metal on the engine block first.

Then disconnect the other negative cable from the good car.

Then both of the positive cables.

So you’ve just learned how to jump start a car. As I mentioned above, it’s always a good idea to have a good set of jumper cables in your car/truck in case you have to jump start it. They aren’t expensive and they can really save your butt from time to time.

What if you don’t have jumper cables or can’t find another vehicle to help you?

This one can be tricky. After all, what happens when your battery is dead and you’re not near any other vehicles to help you out? Even worse, what if you’re stuck this way in the winter?

If you have a standard transmission (aka stick shift) then you’re in luck because you can jump start your car without jumper cables using your clutch.

Jumper cables in your trunk are pretty standard emergency equipment, but you may also want to consider investing in a jump starter for your car.

A jump starter will be able to successfully jump start your car without jumper cables. Essentially it’s a battery pack attached to one half set of jumper cables. You hook up your jump starter, flip a switch and hopefully there is enough juice to jump your car.

Be sure to read our reviews of jump starters however, as you don’t want to get stuck with a jump starter that doesn’t have the umph to jump your car. You can check out reviews and get a pretty damn good deal on jump starters over at amazon.com here.

Leave us a comment below about jump starting a car, or even a horror story… I’ve sure got a few, but that’s a different post.