Just bought a car and don’t know the windscreen wipers from the wheels? Had a car for years but still can’t manage to keep the damn thing clean? Need a dummy’s car maintenance guide? Then aren’t you lucky that Confused.com is here to give you some top car maintenance tips…
Tyre Maintenance
- If you don’t know how to change a tyre, it’s a good idea to learn. Punctures and other tyre-fiends always seem to come at the worst time, so it’s better to practise on your drive rather than be forced to learn on a dark and cold roadside.
- Watch out for kerb impact – it can cause leaks by damaging sidewalls and wheel trims.
- If you have any scrapes, check your tyres over. It’s a good idea to check your tyres at least once a week anyway to make sure the tread depth (which has a legal minimum of 1.6mm in the central three-quarters of the tyre width) and tread condition are up to scratch.
- Make sure your tyres are properly inflated. Get a digital tyre pressure gauge to check they’re pumped up properly or use the one in your local petrol station (the correct inflation pressure for your car should be stated in the handbook).
- And it’s better to be safe than sorry, as being caught with illegal tyres could result in you paying a nasty fine of up to £2500, plus 3 penalty points per tyre (yes, we did say per tyre!) on your license.
Check Your Oil
- Don’t be a dipstick - regularly check your car’s oil level. All you have to do is pull out the dipstick (best done when the car is cold), wipe it off, replace the stick in the engine, pull it out again, and make sure the oil mark is between the minimum and maximum level. If it’s looking low, fill her up!
- Make the effort to change your engine oil every 3000 miles.
- If you’re dedicated to looking after your car long term, the best thing you could do is to ensure you don’t miss any oil changes – after all, the cost is much cheaper than the cost of replacing a seized engine.
Fuel Tips
- Imagine the embarrassment of having to tell the recovery guy on the motorway that you’ve broken down because you ran out of petrol… red-faced already? Avoid the shame and make sure your car is filled up with enough fuel to make the trip. It’s also a good idea to check your level of breakdown cover to see where you stand. Bear in mind that some car insurance policies will have breakdown cover as standard, so read the small print!
Give your car some toasty TLC
Everyone knows that our four-wheeled friends don’t like the cold, so when the winter sets in it’s important to give your car some extra TLC.
- If possible, it’s a good idea to keep your car in a garage to stop damp getting into the electrics and to protect your batteries and wiper blades.
- Top tip: If you don’t have remote locks, stop your car door lock freezing in the frosty weather by sticking a fridge magnet over it. This trick works better if you put the fridge magnet on in the early evening; just remember to take the magnet off when you drive the next day!
- If it’s been particularly cold over the weekend, allow yourself a little more ‘getting ready’ time on Monday morning to scrape ice off the car and warm the car and engine up by idling the motor with the heaters on for a few minutes.
- It’s also best not to drive your car flat-out hard while it’s still warming up. Drive gently for at least 10 minutes to give the engine oil time to reach its optimum temperature so it can more effectively lubricate all the essential parts.
- Don’t just put water into your windscreen washer - mix it with screen wash.
- Why not keep some comforting essentials in your car in case (and let’s hope not!) you breakdown, such as a blanket, gloves and choccies. You can then wait for the cavalry in comfort - just don’t eat the chocs before the event occurs!
- About to breakdown? Pull as far off to the side of the road as possible, or in the case of motorway driving - the hard shoulder. Whilst waiting for the recovery service NEVER wander onto the road, and if you don’t already have breakdown cover it’s definitely something to consider.
Check out Confused.com’s Top Breakdown Tips for some more breakdown help!
More Car Tips
- The different coloured lights on your dashboard may look pretty to some of you, but it’s important to learn what they mean too. Often, they’re warning lights telling you that something needs to be checked.
- Carry spare bulbs in your car and have the manual too in case you suddenly need to learn how to fit them.
- Don’t leave your expensive gadgets like your GPS devices stuck to your windshield – it’s a thief’s dream come true! Make your car look empty to save claiming on your car insurance.
- Make sure your mobile phone is charged up before going on a long journey – you never know when you might need it.
- Make sure you get your car regularly serviced. Regular servicing is cheaper and less hassle than repairing an engine outright or replacing the car entirely, and it’s much easier to sell your car if it has a full service history.
For more handy tips, read ‘Don’t be a Crash-Test Dummy – Play it Safe on Your Next Car Purchase’.
“Talking about the car wash – yeah!”
Cleaning the car might seem like a huge effort, but it’s pretty important if you want your vehicle looking and running like a dream machine, and clean cars can be safer too. Here are some handy tips to turn you into the Aggie and Kim of the car world…
- Did you know that apparently washing your car using a bucket of water as opposed to a hose pipe will save up to 1,000 litres of water an hour. Be clean and go green – buckets over hoses!
- When cleaning your car, pay special attention to the lights. Clean lights give better vision so people will be able to clearly see you breaking and indicating.
- Waxing your car at least twice a year will give it that dream gleam
- Just bought a hippy-loving 70’s groove bus but can’t get those pesky peace stickers off the body and windscreen? Don’t use a knife or blade to scrape them off or you’ll end up scratching your precious; just use some thinners or WD40 on an old cloth and those stickers will come right off!
- Use a specialist product such as ArmorAll to get your car interior, vinyl and plastics all clean and sparkly
- Applying a product such as RainX to the windshield will make it crystal clear – great for improving your visibility.
- Top tip: Newspaper is a handy tool when it comes to cleaning the inside of your windscreen – it doesn’t smear…
- Be very careful when leaving old empty bottles in the car. They could easily roll under the pedals and stop you from being able to brake.
Find great deals on breakdown cover with Confused.com
