While it is true that modern cars have become hugely complicated, fundamentally the service items or service consumables have not really changed radically. Many will have seen friends or family take on these service tasks before so won’t recoil at the thought of DIY service.

There is a certain technical competence however that one should have as a minimum before even considering many service items. Some of the basic service items on the other hand are the items you will often overlook but definitely are within the scope of a DIY mechanic. Of course our usual proviso will apply here; you should know what you are doing or at least your end-goal before you attempt any service on your car so be careful, do your research and plan ahead.

So what is manageable for a DIY mechanic of zero experience? Surprisingly there are many very essential service items which are not involved tasks requiring massive dis-assembly or special tools to complete. These are tasks which you should perhaps just do as a car owner but are neglected by almost all. So have a think about the tasks on this list for a moment. Are these jobs you do regularly and if not, why not?

• Tyre tread condition
• Tyre pressure
• Wheel alignment (examination of tyre wear symmetry)
• Headlight bulb condition
• Tail light bulb condition
• Windscreen wiper condition

None of these jobs require special tools, just a little understanding really yet they are all critically important to yours and other’s safety while you drive. We will expand this series of tutorials to more involved tasks like oil changes, filter services and more but the first few articles will deliberately focus on these neglected checks. This is a dynamic series and will be delivered weekly so if you have issues you would like us to cover then let us know on our Facebook page or tweet us, we’d love to have your feedback.

First item to cover will be tyre checks so keep an eye out here, subscribe to our feed, like our Facebook Page or @OTTOCarParts on twitter.