#FridayReads: The Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide Unlocks The Mystery of Car Care

What’s the biggest financial commitment made by most people? The answer: Other than buying a home, it’s buying a car. Yet, most of us have no idea how to protect that investment, specifically by knowing and practicing even the basics of car care. As a result, we pay a high price to fix problems that should have been prevented, are vulnerable to less-than-honest service providers, and put both our physical safety and financial stability at risk.

Well, I’ve got good news for you: Reading the Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide, and taking the car care advice of the author, “shechanic” and auto shop owner Patrice Banks, will save you literally thousands of dollars—yes, I said thousands—for a book that costs less than a half-tank of gas.

Banks, a former engineer who changed careers to become a car mechanic and owner of an auto repair shop staffed by female mechanics, wrote the Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide in order to empower women to take better care of their cars. She covers everything from do-it-yourself car care basics such as adding oil to the engine, to what you need to know to confidently deal with auto mechanics without feeling intimidated or getting ripped off. While the book is targeted to women (who Banks enthusiastically recruits into her shecanic community), the information is on point and valuable to readers regardless of their gender—in fact, it’s a great book for couples to read together. (How romantic!)

Smart in both language and design, the Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide is an invaluable resource for getting the most out of your car while keeping the costs of owning and maintaining it from wiping out your budget. The book provides loads of fascinating car care information, full of pictures and instructions, helping you answer questions such as: How can I tell if I need brakes? What’s killing my car battery? How often am I supposed to change my air filter? What does that light on my dashboard mean? What should I do if my car overheats? Is this something I can fix myself? Or do I need to take it to an auto shop? Should I spend extra to get a 4-wheel-drive vehicle? And the most important car care questions of all: How much is this going to cost me? What will it cost if I don’t do it?

Your car is a major investment, especially if you rely on it to maintain employment and generate income, or as a primary means of transportation for your family. Reading the Girls Auto Clinic Glove Box Guide and becoming a bona fide shecanic is a great way to protect that investment—and maybe bond with your significant other, too.