General Haynes Manual

I've recently taken an interest to cars, car maintenance, etc. and I know very little about how cars operate or how to repair them. I was wondering if Haynes put out a more general car manual or perhaps you guys could point to a specific make/model that would be a good place to start.

By "general" I mean a volume that isn't specific to 1 make/model but is informative on cars in general.

I've recently taken an interest to cars, car maintenance, etc. and I know very little about how cars operate or how to repair them. I was wondering if Haynes put out a more general car manual or perhaps you guys could point to a specific make/model that would be a good place to start.

I don't know that Haynes ever produced a 'general' repair manual, but others have. Petersen had one back in the '70s. It wouldn't cover today's cars, but you'd probably get a lot of the basic concepts. You can find them here at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Petersens-Basic-Auto-Repair-Manual/dp/0822701111 The information on new cars is so model-specific, I doubt that you'd find a general manual printed lately. IMHO, the best way to learn would be to pick a model that you own or would like to own and sign up in an on-line technical forum. There's also YouTube... you can search for various repair projects and watch as the mechanics repair the problems. Dave B.

Maybe manuals and books might help you. You need to boost your idea about cars. However, saving cash to purchase a brand new vehicle is not the easiest thing you can do.