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Cars represent a hefty cash investment and repairs aren’t cheap, so it makes sense to take the best care of it you possibly can. Of course, you cannot avoid the essential costs that come up when things simply wear out, but by giving your ride some regular love and attention you can certainly help keep it healthy and running well for much longer.
Take a look at these simple tips on how to do this, and then make yourself a schedule to get into this routine and stick with it.
Keep it clean
Whether you do it yourself or take it to a car wash/valet service outlet you should clean both the outside and inside regularly. Exactly how often depends partly on where you live and where the car spends a lot of time, as sun, rain, bird droppings, salt, bugs and tree sap all contribute to corrosion of the bodywork over time.
The more exposure to these things the more often you need to wash it – so on average that would be 2-4 times a month. Clean the inside at the same time to maintain the car’s value and not feel like a slob if you need to give someone a ride!
Check tire pressure regularly
Doing this every couple of weeks helps keep you safe as cars handle better with correctly inflated tires, and there’s less risk of a blowout. It also saves you money as driving on soft tires vastly reduces their lifespan. Information on the correct tire pressure for your car should be on a sticker inside the driver’s door.
Now there are a couple of car care myths out there, one including how you judge the correct tire pressure for your tires. Some believe that the correct measurement in stated on the side of the tire expressed in PSI (pounds per inch). This is actually the maximum amount of pressure the tire can hold, not necessarily what you should fill it up to. The correct amount will be found in your manual.
Don’t forget the oil and water
You can do this at the gas station when checking your tires –a five-minute job that could save your engine sizing up suddenly. Complete oil changes are done at certain periods, ask your local garage for advice on how often yours needs to be replaced.
Other things to check and change periodically
Windshield wash should always be available, brake fluid should be checked regularly, air filters generally last around 30,000 miles and spark plugs twice that. (Make a note somewhere of when things are checked and changed.)
Wax twice a year
This is a straightforward and very useful way to keep your car’s paintwork looking great as the wax provides a good seal. Do this after washing and drying the car thoroughly, around about every six months.
Deal with dents and rust straightaway
Leaving things alone generally just makes them worse over time – so don’t be an ostrich and tackle this kind of issue straightaway.
Cars are a lot like children, they need you to keep one eye on them at all times and make sure they keep important appointments scheduled to test or monitor their general health. In both cases it pays to be organized and on top of things to avoid small problems developing, or having those morph into something bigger and more complicated.
