Top Car Maintenance Essentials
Regular maintenance of your vehicle can help ensure you car stays running at its best in between services, saving you both time and money. So here we take a quick look at some top car maintenance tips, and checks, for safe, hassle-free driving.
Tyres
The tyres of your car play an essential role in the safety and handling of your vehicle. Hence checking your tyres regularly can save you a lot of hassle, and prevent you from running into trouble. You should aim to check the pressure of your tyres at least every fortnight, using a high-quality gauge, making sure they’re cold first.
It’s also important to check the tread on your tyres too. There are legal minimum requirements for the tread of your tyres, and the tread depth of your tyres should not fall below these. You can make a simple visual check of the tread depth of your tyres, by looking at the wear indicators, located in the grooves of your tyre’s tread pattern. However, a more reliable method of measuring the tread of your tyres is to use a depth measuring gauge, which will typically give you a more accurate measurement. Uneven wear across the surface of your tyres, could indicate problems with your car’s steering, or suspension, so it’s important to get this checked out. Remember to check your spare too, so you don’t get caught out!
Oil
Check your car’s engine oil very two weeks or so, and before a long journey. Most experts also recommend you replace the oil and oil filter in your engine at regular intervals too.
Body Work
It’s important to deal with any damage to your car’s body work quickly, to prevent the development of any further damage or rusting. Here at Smartway, we’re experts when it comes to car body repairs and can ensure your vehicle gets back to looking its best.
Lights
It can also be a good idea to check your car’s lights every week too, including the indicators, and brake lights, especially during the darker winter months. Cleaning your lights regularly can also ensure they stay in good working order, and help you to identify any potential problems.
Windscreen
Keep an eye on your car’s windscreen for any signs of damage, even relatively small chips can develop into large cracks, however, luckily, many of these can be easily fixed.
Engine Coolant
Engine coolant helps to regulate the temperature of your car’s engine. If the coolant levels in your car’s engine are too low, this could lead to overheating, which can cause significant damage. To check your car’s coolant levels, simply locate your car’s coolant tank. Then make a visual check to make sure that the coolant level is between the minimum and maximum marks, which should be clearly indicated on the tank.
Whatever car you own, hopefully these basic maintenance tips will help ensure your car keeps looking, and running at its best. Here at Smartway we’re a specialist provider of car body repairs in Wimbledon and the surrounding areas. For more information about our services, please don’t hesitate to contact us today, by giving us a call on 07732 542 500, and a member of our expert team will be happy to help you with your enquiries.