Car maintenance apps make it easier to take good care of your car and keep it in the

best condition possible. These apps help you with everything from logging your vehicle

expenses to tracking your fuel economy to diagnosing and DIYing minor maintenance

issues. You can find countless car maintenance apps available on your smartphone or other

mobile device, but not all of them are created equal. Check out these five essential

vehicle maintenance apps that help you preserve the condition of your car to maintain

its value, save money, and keep it running safely and smoothly.

1. Mobile Mechanic

Mobile Mechanic is a comprehensive car diagnostic app that helps you figure out what’s

wrong with your car and fix it yourself without setting foot in a dealership or auto repair

shop. You don’t have to be an expert to use Mobile Mechanic. This app is designed for drivers

who only have very basic, surface-level knowledge about car maintenance and repair. It

helps you learn more about your car, diagnose and fix minor malfunctions, and

determine when you actually need to enlist professional help for major maintenance and

repairs.

2. Garmin Mechanic

Garmin Mechanic helps you keeps track of important data while you drive and

automatically creates a panel of useful statistics that correspond to every driving trip you

take. The statistics this app tracks every time you drive include the amount of fuel you use,

the estimated fuel cost of your trip, the time you spend driving, the amount of time your

car is stopped during your trip, the distance you travel, and your average speed. If you

want to stay informed on the more technical statistics of your trips—like your lateral

acceleration and your engine’s average RPMs—Garmin Mechanic tracks and displays

those too.

3. Road Trip

Road Trip is the ideal car maintenance app for chronic road-trippers or any driver who

logs a lot of miles on their car. It is the ultimate data collection app that helps you keep

track of anything and everything related to your car. This app combines multiple functions that are usually available in separate apps into

one cohesive app that is clear, organized and easy to use. Road Trip keeps track of

your maintenance history and expenses, fuel economy and cost, winter and summer tire

usage, and much more. In addition to helping you keep track of your car maintenance,

this app also offers scheduled reminders that make sure you never forget another car

service appointment.

When you want to view the information you’ve logged, this app’s clear interface

organizes your data and displays it on comprehensive, interactive graphs that all fit on a

single screen at one time. It also calculates helpful statistics—including a realistic

estimate of how much money you’ll have to spend on your car per month or year—that

help you budget and be prepared for future car expenses.

Staying true to its name, Road Trip also includes special features designed specifically

for traveling road-trippers. It can keep track your fuel economy, average speed, and

temperature across a long distance. This app also allows you to compare the costs of

multiple trips and vacations. Another notable feature that is useful for long drives is

Road Trip’s distance-to-empty calculator that lets you know how much further you can

stretch your fuel until it’s time to fill up again.

4. Vehicle Logbook

If you want a simple, comprehensive app that helps you keep track of your mileage and

maintenance but isn’t cluttered with unnecessary extra features, Vehicle Logbook might

be the ideal car maintenance app for you.

This app allows you to create a logbook for your vehicle—you can create multiple

logbooks if you want to track more than one vehicle. Just enter the information you want

to keep track of into your logbook, where it will be saved for you to access it later. You

can log virtually any data track everything from your fuel mileage to your vehicle

expenses to your service history and upcoming appointments. Vehicle Logbook’s design

is simple but aesthetically pleasing, and its interface is clear and intuitive for all users.

5. myCARFAX

myCARFAX is all about vehicle maintenance. It keeps track of your car maintenance to

help you keep up with scheduled tune-ups, monitor expenses, and keep your car in top

condition.

This app allows you to log detailed repair and service history for up to eight cars.

myCARFAX keeps you very well-informed. It lets you know when your next registration

is due, keeps you updated on any safety recalls that apply to your car, estimates repair

costs, and helps you find repair shops near you. Plus, it keeps track of your car’s maintenance schedule

 and alerts you when it’s time to take your car in for its next tune-up service.