When a car battery fails, it can be a major inconvenience at best. At worst, it can leave you completely stranded, especially if you're far away from home and there's no chance of getting someone else with a vehicle to give you a jump start.

Before you call out an emergency rescue service, you might want to try one of these methods. They might just get your car moving again, which will save you time and money and help you get back home.

Push start

This only works with manual cars, not automatic, but if you have the right type of vehicle, it's usually quite reliable.

You might have some trouble pushing the car on your own, so you'll probably need help from one or two extra people. If you've parked on a hill, you may be able to get the car moving on your own.

First of all, switch to second gear, push down the clutch, and turn the ignition to the 'on' position. Next, you need to get the vehicle rolling, so release the handbrake and ask your friends to start pushing. If you're alone on a hill, you may just begin to move.

When your speed gets up to about 5mph or higher, you can release the clutch, which should start the engine turning over.

Aspirin

Not just good for shifting headaches, a couple of aspirin can actually give your battery enough juice to start your car.

First of all, open the battery up, but be careful doing this if you're unsure, as it can be dangerous. Don't touch anything if you don't know what it is.

All you need to do next is drop an aspirin into each cell of the battery. The combination of the acids will be enough to charge the battery sufficiently, but it might render the battery useless afterwards. You should make a mechanic your first port of call, and tell them what you had to do so they can replace the battery if necessary.

The manual start

If you don't have people to help push your car, you're not parked on a hill, or there's just no space to push, you can get the same effect using a different technique.

This takes a bit more care and expertise than other methods, so always act safely and don't endanger yourself.

First, you need to jack up the car so that the drive wheels are lifted. Make sure the ignition is on, and simply turn one of the wheels by hand. It's not always easy, but if you can get it moving enough, the engine should kick in.