Car Maintenance Tips
The world of cars can be incredibly confusing – especially if you don’t have a passion for automobiles! You may have noticed that I’ve recently bought my first car and despite a 6-month stint working in car insurance, I know very little about them. So as I’ve brushed up on my own knowledge, I thought I’d share my tips & tricks (and things to be aware of) on all things car maintenance!
Access past MOT history
As my car was bought second hand, when we were looking at cars, we checked the MOT history for each car. Because MOTs are a government regulation, all the past history is uploaded online and can really be worth looking at. By checking MOT history, it meant that we were able to identify that my car had tyre issues a couple of years ago and therefore requested that the tyres were changed before we bought it! This is particularly helpful if there are any serious issues to do with brake pads or steering.
Regularly check tyres.
There’s a very good reason that you’re taught to check your tyres in your driving lessons – because it’s so important. I genuinely think that sometimes it’s easy to forget about tyres and just assume that they’re fine, but it’s really easy for them to be damaged – especially if you park on a curb or drive in the country. I’d suggest not only checking them yourself and making sure the tread is good, but also changing them before winter. Although the UK is not famous for the type of blizzards that other places get, we’ve recently had so much snow that poor tyres could place you in a lot of danger! You can buy cheap tyres in Northampton at Calmac Tyres Autocentre.
Check your car fluid levels.
This is a bit of an all-encompassing point but you should regularly be checking your oil levels, windscreen wiper fluid and coolant levels. These are easy to check and shouldn’t be a problem but are worth checking before any long journey! There’s no worse feeling than breaking down because of something you could have avoided!
Keep your windscreen clean.
Keep it clean? Why? The dirtier your windscreen is, the harder it is to notice whether you’ve got a chip or a scratch. Not only does a dirty windscreen seriously impact your visibility but you may not be aware of a bigger issue!
Check your lights.
One of my pet peeves is driving behind someone with a broken brake light or no lights at all. Not only is it incredibly dangerous but in most countries, you can receive a fine! If you drive regularly in the dark or dusk, I’d suggest checking your lights every week or so. It’s a quick check but alerts of you of any issues and can ultimately avoid a hefty fine! (Plus, a car accident is not something you’d ever want to risk – think of the insurance claim!)
So these are my beginner friendly car maintenance tips! What are some of the things you regularly check?