Jacks are awesome for more than just playing with. When you need to work on your car, a jack and a set of jack stands are some of the best friends you can have. Whether you’re draining out oil, changing a flat tire or even rotating your tires every five to 10,000 miles, a jack will help you out in the best possible ways.

For one thing, a jack means you don’t have to stand on the side of the road trying to play Incredible Hulk. While some especially macho types might find it enjoyable to stand around flexing and trying to lift one side of their car, this is generally about as effective as trying to leap tall buildings in a single bound — or even in any number of bounds you’d like to take. You probably don’t have super powers, so trying to do something that requires them won’t do you any good.

For another thing, a jack frees you up to do the skillful portions of vehicle maintenance. While you might be able to somehow wedge up your car, doing this while you rotate your tires could end up causing you serious injury or doing serious damage to your car. So when you want to hold it up in the air for awhile, using a jack is just the smartest option at your disposal. In other words, jacks are your friends when it comes to properly maintaining your vehicle and making it last for a long time.