Pages

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Automotive Maintenance For The Diligent Vehicle Owner

By Maia Descartes

Every car owner should realize one thing: except for his house, his car is most likely the biggest investment he will make in his life. Given that most people earn a number of cars during their lifetimes, their cars could easily in the end form a much bigger expense than their houses. This is why automotive maintenance should be very important to the diligent car owner.

When it comes to motor cars, as in so many other fields of life, here prevention is also much better than cure. If you allow your car to be exposed to sun, wind, rain and snow day after day, it won't take long for the paintwork to become faded and dull. Soon the seats will be cracked and before long you will have to replace one or more tires.

Even if you don't have the luxury of your own garage, you should therefore try to find some sort of protection for your car. A carport is a viable alternative, as is a tarpaulin car cover. All these will at least keep the car out of the harmful UV rays of the sun, which does the paintwork no good. Frost and morning dew are two other culprits that can wreak havoc with a car's paintwork.

Your maintenance plan should also include having the car washed and polished on a regular basis. This is not just about driving a beautiful, shiny car - if the car is never washed, harmful chemicals and other residue will collect on the paintwork, eventually damaging it. A good car polish provides excellent protection against such chemicals as well as against the damaging UV rays of the sun.

Another important preventative measure is to rotate the wheels of the car on a regular basis. This will ensure equal wear and tear of the tires. Not doing so could result in one or more of the tires wearing off on one side only and having to be replaced long before it was necessary.

You should also have your car's break pads tested on a regular basis. To replace worn brake pads doesn't cost a fortune. If you wait until they are completely worn out, the brakes will build up a lot of friction and therefore heat, damaging other parts that will then have to be replaced.

If your car has to stand in the sun for long hours every day, such as at work for example, best is to treat the instrument panel (dashboard) and seats regularly with a good polish specifically designed for this purpose. This will add years to its lifetime and ensure that the interior of your car remains looking good for a long time.

Something else that you should do regularly is to check the oil levels in your car's engine, power steering and gearbox. Driving a car with an empty gearbox or engine will undoubtedly result in costly repairs. If you spot an oil leak, have it fixed before the engine runs dry and you end up with a massive repair bill.

Preventative automotive maintenance will usually not cost you a lot of money. It will, however, in the long run save you a small fortune. If you treasure one of the biggest investments you will ever make, you won't be negligent when it comes to this.

About the Author:

No comments:

Post a Comment