The 6 Best Car Maintenance and Tips Apps

Owning your own car can give you a sense of independence, but keeping all the necessary maintenance on that car can be overwhelming.From oil changes to tire rotations to fluid flushing, maintaining your vehicle takes a lot of work.

Fortunately, there are apps that can help you manage everything.You might get maintenance reminders from your local car care center, or sometimes put a sticker on your windshield with a suggested date for your next oil change.But install an app on your smartphone, which you carry with you every day, to keep you updated with all the important information you need.

So, now is the time to check out six of the best car care and tips apps:

1. AUTOsist

The AUTOsist app helps you manage your car with an easy-to-use interface.When you open the app, you'll see all the cars you've entered in the virtual garage.With the free version of the app, you can only add one vehicle.

If you want to add five cars, you'll have to pay a one-time $19.99 Pro fee; if you want to add more, you'll need the Gold plan, which costs $49.99 a year.

For each vehicle, you can add the type, trim, odometer reading, license plate number, VIN number, and the vehicle's nickname for easy organization.You can also take pictures of your vehicles so you can quickly identify them.

By selecting a vehicle on the home screen, you can access service records, fuel records, trip logs, personal notes, reminders, and more.Adding a new service, like an oil change, takes about five minutes or less, depending on the details you get.You can add pictures, odometer readings, shops used, and notes to any service entry.

Download: AUTOsist for Android | iOS (Free, in-app purchases available)

2. Simply Auto

Simply Auto is another great app that keeps your car up to date with all the services.Maintaining your car can often be a stressful task, but Simply Auto makes it easy!

First, you need to enter your vehicle, then you can start recording everything related to that vehicle.There is a plus sign on the main screen to easily add new records.From the home screen, you can enter new fuel, service, expense, trip or odometer readings.

To get an overview of all services and charges related to your vehicle, you can switch from the Dashboard tab to the Statistics and Charts tab.There, you can see total stats, average fuel stats, trip stats, and more.

With the Simply Auto app, you can also use a feature called automatic trip recording.If you enable this feature, it will automatically detect vehicle movement and enter your itinerary for you.You can track 15 trips for free, or upgrade to the Platinum plan for $9.99 a year or a one-time fee of $29.99.

Download: Simply Auto for Android | iOS (Free, Premium Subscription)

3. Fuelly or aCar

The Fuelly app and the aCar app are the exact same app, just on two different operating systems.If you have an Android phone, you will download aCar, if you have an iPhone, you will use Fuelly.

The home screen is in color, bringing a little vibrancy to something as mundane as servicing a car.Similar to AUTOsist, Fuelly lets you take notes related to fuel, service, and travel, as well as write detailed notes and set reminders for yourself.

You can also find out about any vehicle-related expenses, accidents, vehicle parts that have been replaced, or even the sale of your car.If there are services you know will repeat, like oil changes and tire rotations, you can add them to your services section.Then, when you need to enter an oil change service record, you can quickly select an oil change from the menu.

Download: aCar for Android (Free, premium subscription)

Download: Fuelly for iOS (free, premium subscription)

4. Drive

When you open Drivvo, you can instantly see an overview of all previous service dates for your vehicle.This is a very useful way to keep track of when you last drove your car for an oil change, or how long ago you changed your tires.

Tap the plus sign at the bottom of the screen and you can enter a record of income, services, expenses, fuel, driving directions, and future reminders.When entering a new service record, a long list of service types is already pre-installed in the application to make the process easier.

On the Reports tab, you can see an overview of the information collected and graphs that represent your data.There are general reports and reports for fuel, expenses, income and services.

Download: Drivvo for Android | iOS (Free, premium subscription)

5. CARFAX Car Care

CARFAX is a popular service when shopping for a new car, so most people are probably familiar with it.What you may not know, however, is that there is a CARFAX Car Care app that helps you keep track of every service your car does without even lifting a finger.

Well, you have to enter your car's VIN number to find your car, but after that, you're in gold!Because CARFAX works naturally.Because of the natural way CARFAX works, it pulls up all of your car's service information and shows it to you.From there, it'll suggest when you should have your next oil or tire change, when you need to renew your registration, and more.

The app also has a useful section to help you estimate the cost of certain repairs.This helps a lot if you're not sure about the cost of things so you don't get scammed by an untrustworthy repair center.

If you're buying a used car, the CARFAX Car Care app is especially helpful as it can call up records based on the VIN number.So even if you don't have actual records of the work done by the vehicle, you may see virtual records through CARFAX's system.

Download: CARFAX Car Care for Android | iOS (free)

6. myEZ Car Care

The myEZ Car Care app has a simple interface that may look dated, but it functions well and makes it easy to keep track of your car's maintenance needs.Certain features of the app are locked behind a VIP subscription plan, which starts at $9.99 per year.But most of the features are free to use!

Every time you send your car in for an oil change, a fluid flush, a brake pad change, or anything else, you can enter it as a new record.You can also set reminders for yourself to receive push notifications on your phone every time you need to pick up your car.

Then, if you enter information while filling your car at a gas station, the app can automatically calculate your gas mileage for you.Keeping abreast of your car's gas mileage is one of the best ways to make sure you're not wasting gas.

Download: myEZ Car Care for Android | iOS  (Free, premium subscription)​​​​​​​

Make car maintenance easy

As a car owner, there are many things to do to properly maintain your car.Just like your own body, you have to make sure you check it regularly, fuel it with the best stuff, and patch things up when they break or fail.

Having an app you regularly use on your smartphone can make owning and maintaining your vehicle easier.You don't have to worry about flipping through paper records in your filing cabinet because everything is on your phone!