With the recession dilemma, many people don't have the extra budget to buy a new car when something goes wrong with their existing one. And auto body repair costs can also rather be expensive. For these reasons, it makes a lot of sense to know how to take really good care of your car.
Here are some basic car maintenance tips that will ensure your car keeps running in tip top shape for a long period of time:
Change the oil regularly. Habitual oil change will most probably help extend the life of your vehicle. It is also an essential step before you head out on long road trips. Clean oil does not only keep your car running but contributes to better gas mileage as well.
Always check your brake pads for wear. More often than not, it is only when people hear grinding noise coming from their breaks that they realize that it's time to do something. Well, this is when it's actually too late. At this point frequently, you would need rotors and rotors cost more than brake pads.
Clean your car engine. Consult your mechanic on the proper ways to keep your car engine area clean. Many auto engine repairs could actually be avoided just by having a clean engine. You see, the layer of grime can cause engine overheat. And an overheated engine tends to break much faster.
Keep your tires properly inflated. Ensure that your tires are at the correct pressure at all times - neither over nor under inflated. And as recommended by the U.S. Department of Energy, keeping your tires at the correct pressure may help improve gasoline mileage. Not to mention that proper air pressure is vital for safe and optimum driving performance.
Watch your driving. Vehicle experts advise that there are little but critical things you can do while driving that will help maintain your car in good shape. First, be gentle and avoid accelerating too fast or breaking too hard.
Secondly, to avoid future auto body repair costs, warm up your car on cold days before driving. And third, do not take short, particularly trips under 10 minutes. Such short drives can be hard on your engine as it can never get up to its optimal operating temperature.
Use quality gasoline and avoid running on empty. As brought about by the struggling economy, many consumers have switched to low-quality gasoline. However, gasoline with lower quality leaves behind carbon deposits, which in turn reduce gas mileage.
And running your car on empty is also not advisable, as gasoline sediments settle at the bottom of the tank. And if the gas level runs really low, your car will actually use the dirtiest gasoline in its gas tank.
It's often easy to take a car for granted, however, understand that in order to save your car and wallet in the long run, you need to take good care of your car starting today.
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