Your vehicle just won’t start. You turn on the ignition, and all you get is the telltale clicking noise. Possibly followed by competing pronouncements of “Your battery’s dead” and “It’s your alternator” from anyone within earshot.

The check engine usually indicates a need to replace one or more parts of your engine or exhaust system: the oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, mass airflow sensor or spark plugs and wires. It can also indicate a loose or faulty gas cap, a vacuum leak.

Your steering and suspension systems work together to keep your tires on the pavement and your vehicle under control – until a power steering problem makes your steering wheel hard to move, or a suspension problem makes you whole vehicle hard to rein in.

You get used to your brakes. Brake pads and rotors wear out from the immense friction and heat they encounter. Air gets into brake lines. And your brake system has dozens of other components that can wear out at any time.