Car Maintenance - When Did You Last Check the Basics?
Checked it?
This news article deals with the issue of car maintenance. When was the last time you gave your car a good going over checking the basics?
Wiper Blades
Yes we know that you can still see out of the window (just) but a new set of wiper blades can make driving the rain a much more pleasureable and safe experience. Plus the fact that split blades can damage your windscreen, what would you rather replace, an £8 wiper blade or a £150 windscreen?
Tyres
We all do it, we never check our tyres and then it comes around to MOT time and the garage tells you that your tyres are bald. When you get out of your car all it can take is a glance to see if a tyre is becoming worn, of course you'd be better off getting down and actually checking that the tyres are okay but something is better than nothing.
Wiper Fluid
How often do you find yourself without any wiper fluid? If the answer is all the time then perhaps you should think about going out and getting yourself some wiper fluid from the garage or local car shop. Whatever you do DO NOT use washing up liquid as it can damage the paintwork on your car. Plus if you get proper washer fluid, it should mean that it won't freeze unless it's really cold.
Anti-Freeze
We can't stress how important this part of the car is. In case you don't know, antifreeze can stop the engine block of your car from cracking if there is a very hard frost. As water expands as it freezes, this can be a very costly mistake for something that would have cost very little if you'd checked it. Now if the perfect time to check that you have enough in before the winter arrives and it's not going to be long before we start to see the first really hard frosts.
Oil
If you've not checked your oil recently then go and do it right now. If you don't put any oil in your car then it's a case of when will it have a catastrophic problem. If you're lucky you might be landed with a small bill but if it gets to that point you could need a whole new engine. DON'T LEAVE IT UNTIL LATER!
At the end of the day, tyres are the only thing on this list that are expensive the other items could be had for under £50.00. Is your car worth more than £50 to you?