Oil change

This is one of those things that, for some people, is Just Tuesday—for some people, is Just Tuesday Morning. There are armies of people changing oil several times per day, on cars more complex and finicky than sensibly-designed Škoda Fabia. But for us—regular old schmucks with remote sit-down jobs—doing personal maintenance on the car that gets us around day to day feels like a little Sunday-afternoon adventure.

The most difficult thing about changing the oil on your car is getting up the courage to get underneath your car. Especially if it's up on jack stands or ramps or something. The stiffest handbrake and all of the wheel chocks in the world will not allay the fundamental unease of manoeuvring around underneath something held aloft—which, applied via gravity to your fragile body, will pretty much finish you off. Once you've spent five or ten minutes under there, the unease will abate, and your primary concern will be how not to bang your head on the ground as you scuttle about on your shoulderblades.

Then it becomes a question of figuring out which socket to use with your drain plug and how to get the oil filter off, if the previous technician torqued it down pretty good. Some oil filters even have a little 30mm nut on the end to help you out.

Make sure to check for leaks when you're done.