Being a car owner brings along with it a lot of responsibilities and duties that you might not realise at first. These include things like being aware of where the next fuel station or charging point is, and knowing how far you can drive before needing a top up. It also includes learning how to correctly perform a number of car maintenance tasks, such as topping off the oil, checking your radiator’s water levels, and keeping an eye on your tyres’ inflation levels and tread depth, amongst many other, relatively minor, tasks. Let’s have a look at how best to do this: some dos and don’ts of car maintenance for you.
Regular Schedule
As soon as you buy a car, get into the habit of performing your basic can maintenance tasks on a regular basis. Set a recurring reminder in your phone or write it in your diary, if you use one, and soon enough it will become a habit. Visually inspect your tyres weekly or fortnightly; check the inflation levels every three or four fuel refills (electric car owners will have to use a different yardstick!), check the oil levels and your radiator water weekly. Also get into the habit of slowly examining the vehicle at least once a month – knowing what it looks like when it is in great condition will help you to spot when something begins to go wrong. If you think you see something subtly different, take a photograph of it each time you check it then compare two or three weeks’ worth of photos – this should help you to see the change more clearly. If your car is older than three years old, it will need an annual MOT test on or in the month before the anniversary of its registration date: Reg Greenwood offers MOT in Pontefract.
Don’t Rush
The word ‘slowly’ in the previous point is used with purpose: rushing a car check is a good way to miss something, especially those subtle warning signs as mentioned above. Set aside a good hour to spend on your weekly check, and use as much of it as you need. If you are distracted, watching the time tick by, or otherwise in a rush, it is all too easy to dismiss small niggles or even not see small problems that could suddenly worsen when you drive the car.
Know Your Limits
Finally, while you will easily be able to top up the water and oil, change or patch up a tyre if necessary, and tighten the many lightbulbs to be found in modern cars, do not attempt any serious mechanical work unless you are qualified to do so. Instead, book your car in with your local garage and let the professionals use their expertise on your vehicle.
