Regular car maintenance is important for every car as a well-maintained car has many advantages over one that is not maintained at all or only very rarely. You can actually reduce fuel consumption through regular maintenance. The whole point of regular car maintenance is to ensure your car continues to run well because if you do not do the things suggested in your car manual your car’s engine will wear down quicker than it should and cause damage to other car parts.

Life has become so expensive these days that regular car maintenance is something that people can’t afford any longer. However, if you have the money, it is important to service your car on a regular basis just to ensure it keeps running smoothly. Even something as simple as checking your car’s tire pressure regularly can contribute to your car lasting longer.

Never Leave Your Car Standing For Weeks

Before you buy a new car, think of your lifestyle. This is because a car is not meant to be unused week after week because of your lack of need for it. If you are going away for a long time or you would not be using your car a lot, it can deteriorate. When you eventually use it, you may find it would not start and that there are other issues once you do get it started.

Brakes are a part of your car that you might find are not up to scratch. Brakes can deteriorate quickly if they are not used regularly and the discs can rust. The brakes can seize and the handbrake will be stiff to use. Serious brake damage will require a professional working on them which can amount to expensive repairs.

People who know cars well will say that regular car maintenance can be lowered if you know how to do that. They advise people to –

• Change their air filters every 20 000km or do it once a year.
• Change your oil and oil filter according to the manufacturer’s handbook.
• Go through the owner’s manual and take note of the prescribed service maintenance schedules. This includes using the oil brand that your car’s handbook tells you to use.
• Choose a good motor insurance policy to prevent having to pay massive repair costs should your car be involved in an accident.
• Take care of your car’s exterior too and wash it with good products. Use things such as a rubber protector on the door and windows to keep them supple and soft. Check your windscreen wipers. It can be dangerous if you have not used your car for a while and if you are caught in a heavy downpour it can be hazardous trying to drive with malfunctioning windscreen wipers.
• Avoid speeding over traffic humps as this just leads to component stress.
• Many people have their car keys on a keyring that is loaded with many other keys. This weighty bundle of keys can lead to ignition switch failure. You can avoid repairs to this car part by driving with just one ignition key.

Details Of Regular Car Maintenance In The Owner’s Manual

Unfortunately, the excitement of getting a new car causes many people not to bother with looking over the owner’s manual. But the owner’s manual plays an important role in recommending the car’s service and maintenance schedule.

If you take the time to actually follow the schedule set out by your car’s manufacturer, it can help to ensure your car’s longevity and reliability. The manual may be boring but it does hold important information that includes a maintenance schedule covering all the parts and fluids that the car will need to have checked and possibly replaced.

It will tell you which type of oil your car runs on and when it is time for a change. It’s important to check the engine oil in your car. Synthetic oil lasts longer and is considered more efficient than regular oil which means you can go for longer before you need to change it. Your car runs on other fluids too such as washer fluid, antifreeze, and engine coolant among others.

If you neglect to follow regular car maintenance and just continue to drive your brand new car because it is not giving any trouble, you can contribute to it not performing properly later on. Performing preventative maintenance is as important as following your car’s recommended service schedule.

Scheduling regular car maintenance is an irritating task but it is just something that has to be done. According to the manufacturer’s recommendations, a regular car maintenance schedule will include things such as checking brakes, spark plugs, batteries, coolants, and oil changes.

Rather Have Just One Well Maintained Car

Following a scheduled maintenance plan is an expensive thing, and it is better to have one well-serviced car than 2 or 3 cars that are not maintained. It would be a wiser move to get rid of them and to rather see that you have one trustworthy reliable car to use. The last thing you want is for something to go wrong with your car because it was not maintained and the quote to repair it is too big for you to consider.

It takes time to make sure your car is running smoothly and safely, but the last thing you want is for something to go wrong with your car when you need to get somewhere urgently. The quote you receive to get your car fixed could be so much that you opt to rather not fix it as you do not have the money.

That is why if you have the money, you should pay for regular car maintenance to avoid huge costly repairs.

The whole point of taking care of your car and seeing that it has regular car maintenance is to keep it running well. Without regular car maintenance, you may well see car warning signs that something is wrong sooner than you’d like. And with the terrible price of fuel, you may also be getting lower gas mileage than you should be getting. It is better to get things fixed before they become major issues.

The best time to schedule regular maintenance is before problems start showing up so that you do not have huge expenses later on.

When Should Regular Car Maintenance Start?

So when exactly is the right time to take your car in for regular car maintenance to start? It depends on the type of car you have, and what mileage you put on your car each year. So with a maintenance schedule checklist, you can expect certain things to happen with your car.

• Every 6 months you can expect an inspection of your spark plugs, fuel filter, and brake and transmission fluid. Your engine oil will be changed too. Engine oil changes are important as they can impact the lifespan of your engine. If the engine oil level is too low it can cause overheating of the engine and damage to car parts.
• Every 12 months when you take your car in for regular car maintenance, you can inspect everything that happens with a 6-month check-up plus more. You can expect the actual replacement of spark plugs, an inspection of belts, the replacement of air and cabin filters, and an inspection of the battery.
• In 24 months it will be far more that is checked and replaced. For instance, all ignition components will be replaced, exhaust systems inspected as well as wheel bearings among others.

Prepaid Maintenance Plan

If you buy a brand new car, regular car maintenance becomes part of the deal so as to preserve the car’s warranty, and there are some car manufacturers that offer this car maintenance free of charge for a certain period of time.

What’s included in these car maintenance programs varies as some programs only allow for one scheduled visit, while others include other services as well.

A car Maintenance Plan can be bought from various service providers, making it easy to have your car maintained on a regular basis. You get a prepaid maintenance plan that is offered by dealerships to help cover some maintenance tasks. Your car will be maintained during the time of the plan.

Each maintenance plan will vary according to the dealership. Find out what’s covered under the plan. The plan usually ensures that you get skilled technicians working on your car. It pays to do a bit of research when you are looking for regular car maintenance plans as some of these plans offer additional benefits such as free Roadside Assistance.

Where To Go For Regular Car Maintenance?

The bottom line is that you need to ensure regular car maintenance for your car. Many people worry about where to go for car repairs. There’s the dealership service department and there is also the mechanic that someone recommended.

You want to be sure that the technicians who work on your car are specialists and importantly, that they are manufacturer-trained. Most dealerships do have training programs that ensure their technicians keep up to date with the latest repair techniques.

There are car owners that end up buying car service contracts from the dealership. They do this so as to keep the manufacturer’s warranty intact. But these days it is not necessary to take your car to the dealership for regular car maintenance during the warranty period.

Your new car does come with a manufacturer’s warranty and also certain terms and conditions that must be met by the car owner. One of these is ensuring regular car maintenance to keep the car in good condition.

You can take your car to any auto service provider for general maintenance. You can go to any mechanic but you need to make sure the mechanic is qualified to perform car maintenance on old and modern cars. Additionally, you must exercise extra caution when it comes to the maintenance of an electric car

There Is No Such Thing As Your Warranty Being Voided

New regulations have come in that says that owners of new vehicles no longer have to service their vehicles at dealerships. There was a time when servicing a car at a private mechanic would result in the vehicle’s warranty being voided.

Car owners have freedom of choice these days and no longer have to worry about warranties falling away. Also, maintenance plans and service plans will be separate, allowing consumers to have a choice about whether to buy maintenance or a service plan.

It simply makes servicing of cars more affordable but also allows for more car maintenance products for those whose cars are still under warranty.

Of course, you can take your car for a service to the dealership, with prices for these services varying with each service provider. A dealer can’t deny servicing your car because you had it serviced elsewhere.

There are advantages to taking your car to the dealer for regular car maintenance. One of them is that the dealership has all the facilities and equipment to service your car. The dealer keeps records of the maintenance performed. Also, using aftermarket parts also would not void a warranty. Just keep all your service records.

Consider A Basic Car Maintenance Course

When it comes to regular car maintenance, while you are going to need a mechanic for a lot of your car’s repairs, there are a good number of things that you can do on your own. It will be worth learning some basic car maintenance.

You can save yourself a lot of inconvenience and a lot of money by signing up for a basic car maintenance course. These car maintenance courses focus on some tasks such as changing the oil, checking car fluids, how to change a flat tire, how to jump start a car, and how to change a spark plug. You will know how to generally work on your car safely without the need to send your car to an expensive mechanic and can do your regular car maintenance by yourself.