Over the next few days I will hopefully be saving myself nearly £200.

If done correctly, not only will I save money but I should literally not get my hands dirty while doing so.

This is not something that everyone will want to do and only something certain people may ‘need’ to do.

I am in the process of replacing the head-gasket of may car myself.

I bought a CD from ebay with workshop manuals for every car made by the same manufacturer of mine. It cost £0.99 with £2.75 postage (£3.74 total).

Having searched the disc I have found full step by step instructions which I have printed off and am using as reference.

I have been quoted £300+ to have the work done by a garage but by doing the job myself I only have to worry about the cost of parts. I’ve shopped around and a friend will be skimming the head and supplying a gasket kit for a total of £66.16 (inc VAT).

I need an oil filter (£2.70), oil (£20.50) and cam belt (£38.85).

Total cost of parts: £128.21.

Oh, and I’m not getting my hands dirty because I also invested £1 from the pound shop on some latex gloves!

All that remains to be seen is, will the car go back together and will it ever run again!