If you have just bought your first car, you should know that owning one comes with certain unavoidable expenses. With rising cost of living, you will want to keep repair and maintenance costs as low as possible. You can achieve this by handling certain simple repair works on your own. While most cars require expensive diagnostic and repairs equipment, there are simple fixes that you can handle on your own irrespective of your abilities. The following are simple car issues that you do not have to take to the mechanic for repairs.

Windshield Wipers -- When car owners take their cars to an auto repair shop, a mechanic will most likely add the cost of replacing wipers into the overall cost of repairs. However, you can avoid this cost by replacing the wipers on your own when they get old. Ideally, you should replace the wipers after about a year of usage. Although cars have different steps of fixing new wiper blades, you should not worry yourself. New wiper blades have simplified instructions on how to change them. A new pair will cost you approximately $20 and take about 15 minutes to replace.

Air Filter Replacement -- The air filter in your car plays an important role with regard to maintaining the car's optimal performance as well as fuel consumption. If the air filter gets clogged, you can decide to take it to a professional mechanic for a day or opt to do it yourself and cut costs altogether. Depending on the model of your car, an air filter will cost about $10 and any replacement will take around 10 minutes. Further, you can manage the cost of air filter replacement by frequently hitting it with compressed air to remove any debris.

Drive Belt Replacement -- In the course of using your car, you may hear unusual squeals whenever you start it or when you use particular accessories. If this happens, chances are that your car's drive belt is faulty or worn out. Simply give it a look to ascertain that it is not broken or worn out. However, you will need to replace it if it is damaged. You can do the replacement by yourself without necessarily having to consult a mechanic. A new drive belt costs approximately $150 while labor costs range between $70 and $100. Therefore, you can save the $100 by simply doing the replacement on your own.

For more complicated repair jobs, seek out shops that offer affordable car repairs.