Car Maintenance: 5 Top Tips
Maintaining a car can often be an expensive exercise. However, keeping control of your maintenance can help greatly reduce costs and pro-long the life of your vehicle. This doesn’t necessarily mean engaging in technical feats of engineering, it could be as simple as making sure you take your car in for a service at the appropriate intervals. There are many more aspects to car maintenance than could be discussed in one article, but I’ve decided to round up the top five things to regularly keep your eye on.
1. Tyres
Keeping your eye on the condition of your tyres is crucial for both your safety and your future bank balance. Letting the air pressure to fall too low will cause the tyres to wear out quite quickly. Having low tyre tread will earn you points on your licence and is also very dangerous. I’d recommend having a look every week or so to make sure you don’t run into unforeseen problems.
2. Oil and Fluid Levels
Engine’s rely on lubrication and this is where the engine oil comes into play. For all the parts to move around and function properly, a sufficient amount of oil must be in the engine at all times. To check the oil, regularly look at the dip stick to ensure the amount of oil never falls below the minimum level. Also, carry out regular checks for pools of oil and fluid on the road under the car. The same rules apply for other fluids such as radiator fluid. Check the levels regularly and always be on the look-out for potential leakages.
3. Brakes
Brakes are a little harder to check yourself, but well worth considering as they probably save your life on a daily basis! If you’re not a qualified mechanic (most of us!), you need to focus on trying to spot potential braking issues. If your brakes feel ‘fluffy’ or give out a metal on metal grinding sound…go have them looked at as soon as possible. Most garages will provide a brake checking service, and some will even do this free of charge.
4. MOT’s
This sounds really simple and obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people miss their MOT expiry date. Not only is this dangerous, it will also invalidate your insurance policy. MOT’s are the national, legal check carried out to certify the road worthyness of the car, and provide proof to the authorities that your car is fit for use on the road. However, within the year, items on the list may fall below standard and it is your responsibility to ensure this doesn’t happen.
5. Servicing
Regularly servicing your vehicle will keep it on the road longer, and hopefully keep you and your wallet out of the garage for longer. Giving all aspects of your vehicle a good old clean and tidy at the appropriate intervals should mean the parts last a lot longer than if they were simply left to get on with it. Remember though that all cars have their own servicing schedules so when you acquire a new car, ensure that you are update on the servicing requirements.
1. Tyres
Keeping your eye on the condition of your tyres is crucial for both your safety and your future bank balance. Letting the air pressure to fall too low will cause the tyres to wear out quite quickly. Having low tyre tread will earn you points on your licence and is also very dangerous. I’d recommend having a look every week or so to make sure you don’t run into unforeseen problems.
2. Oil and Fluid Levels
Engine’s rely on lubrication and this is where the engine oil comes into play. For all the parts to move around and function properly, a sufficient amount of oil must be in the engine at all times. To check the oil, regularly look at the dip stick to ensure the amount of oil never falls below the minimum level. Also, carry out regular checks for pools of oil and fluid on the road under the car. The same rules apply for other fluids such as radiator fluid. Check the levels regularly and always be on the look-out for potential leakages.
3. Brakes
Brakes are a little harder to check yourself, but well worth considering as they probably save your life on a daily basis! If you’re not a qualified mechanic (most of us!), you need to focus on trying to spot potential braking issues. If your brakes feel ‘fluffy’ or give out a metal on metal grinding sound…go have them looked at as soon as possible. Most garages will provide a brake checking service, and some will even do this free of charge.
4. MOT’s
This sounds really simple and obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many people miss their MOT expiry date. Not only is this dangerous, it will also invalidate your insurance policy. MOT’s are the national, legal check carried out to certify the road worthyness of the car, and provide proof to the authorities that your car is fit for use on the road. However, within the year, items on the list may fall below standard and it is your responsibility to ensure this doesn’t happen.
5. Servicing
Regularly servicing your vehicle will keep it on the road longer, and hopefully keep you and your wallet out of the garage for longer. Giving all aspects of your vehicle a good old clean and tidy at the appropriate intervals should mean the parts last a lot longer than if they were simply left to get on with it. Remember though that all cars have their own servicing schedules so when you acquire a new car, ensure that you are update on the servicing requirements.
ความคิดเห็น
แสดงความคิดเห็น