Question:There are several different [Girl Scout] badges (1 for ages 8-11 and 1 for girls 12-18) that deal with car care. I was wondering what resources specifically on your site would be good for those age groups.

Thank you
Carmela Abraham

Answer: We don't have a lot of "do it yourself" advice on NewCarBuyingGuide.com as most of our readers are more concerned with getting a mechanic to do a proper job for them.

Some suggestions I have for projects with girls is to teach them how to properly install a child safety seat. Your local police department, or sherrif, can give the lesson for you as they have professionals trained in this area.

I also suggest that everyone learn how to check the level of their oil, tire pressure, and water. In our Maintenance section we have some instructions for this. All community colleges have automotive repair courses. I suggest you call to the one local to your area and see if one of the teachers will spend an hour with your girls showing them these things.

As an aside, careers in automotive repair can be quite lucrative. There is a tremendous shortage of service technicians in teh US. In particular the repair of automotive computer systems. As girls find themselves interested in computers this would be an interesting area to steer them. This is clean work and can pay $60 per hour or more.

The Car Care Council has a women's division. They may have some materials for you and further assistance.