Prince Memorial Library in Cumberland hosted its first-ever Car Care for Teens event last Thursday. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster

The sun sank behind the trees of the parking lot of the Prince Memorial Library as 12 teenagers grouped around a spotless green 2018 Subaru Forester.

“Running out of oil is the absolute worst thing you can do for your car,” began longtime auto professional Matt Almy. Almy then showed the group how to find the dipstick under the hood in order to check the oil.

Over the next 50 minutes Almy covered a lot of ground: understanding the lights on a dashboard, checking tire pressure, identifying the car’s VIN, keeping an eye out for rust, using YouTube for car help, and changing a tire. There was plenty to learn even if you’ve been driving for a number of years.

But this audience was made up of novices – local teens who are pursuing their licenses and trying to get a handle on maintenance fundamentals.

“Other than rust, the thing that does the most damage to cars around here is rodents,” he said. Turns out critters like mice like to eat the wires and other car components. Almy recommends putting peppermints in the glove box, or even peppermint oil on a cabin air filter, which he said repels the pests.

Matt Almy of Maine Street Auto shows a group of local high schoolers how to check a car’s oil. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster

Along the way he shared common sense wisdom that everyone needs to hear every once in a while. “Make sure everyone in your car is wearing a seat belt. You could be doing everything right, but one person doesn’t have a seat belt on – that’s a lot to live with.”

Safety is a top concern for young drivers. The Center for Disease Control says the risk of motor vehicle crashes is three times higher for drivers between ages 16 and 19 than any other age group.

Almy, who sells and details cars at Maine Street Auto in Cumberland, was at the library to teach its first-ever Car Care for Teens session, a chance to learn the basics.

He worked at a big dealership for almost two decades and would lead the business’s new owner clinic. “We would invite everybody that bought a car back in, and my boss was terrified of public speaking, so I always did them. I just like talking about cars,” he said.

Cameron Vietch of Yarmouth, 16, doesn’t have a car yet, but he’s a self-described auto enthusiast. He came to the session, he said, because there are “a lot of reasons why people have to send their cars into dealerships that I think would be easier and quicker to be able to do by yourself at home.”

“Since I’ve been young, I have friends who are really into cars, and I’ve just always kind of shared that interest,” he said. His dream car is a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or a Nissan Skyline GT-R, he said.

Breton Weissner of Cumberland, also 16, said prior to the session he thought he would know a decent amount of the information that Almy would share because his dad had taught him a couple of things.

“I generally enjoy cars,” he said. “And my brother knows more and modifies his car, so I kind of follow along with him.”

Not everyone showed up that day because they are excited about cars. When Almy asked the group how many had come because their parents insisted, the vast majority raised their hands. Over half of the group was in driver’s ed, one had their license and another was waiting on their license, according to Almy.

Prince Memorial Library consistently provides creative programming for kids and teens – drop-in chess sessions, book clubs, story time – but inspiration for this particular session struck when Youth and Teen Librarian Jennifer Benham recently got a flat tire after a conference.

“I hadn’t changed a tire in 25 years, but it all comes back to you,” she said. “But I thought, ‘You know what? This is something teens need to know,’ because you never know when you’re going to get a flat tire, or you need to know how to change your fluids.”

Fergus Tan, 15, said he found the instruction on changing a tire most helpful. “If I’m going to be driving by myself, I need to know what to do if I’m alone.”

Tan, a rising sophomore at Greely High School, has his permit. He said he’s looking forward to having his license and being able to drive from place to place.

“I’m a musician and a sailor, so to get to and from Portland and get instruments around (is tough),” he said.