In the modern world and in all developed nations, what is the best mode of transportation? Well, the most convenient means of transportation everywhere is cars and average citizens own at least one car per family. We don’t need to emphasize the need for having a car. We use cars daily to commute to work, shopping, pick up our kids, kids’ classes and you name it. The average person drives about 10k – 15k miles per year. We do not have to emphasize the need of a reliable car in our daily lives, the last thing you want is your car breaking down on your way to an appointment or even worse when there is an emergency or on your way to work. We have all been in one of these scenarios and had to call a friend or the vehicle insurance company to our rescue. Even though these days we get a faster and better response to problems like this, it is still an inconvenience that we don’t want to be in.
Why is it important to properly maintain your vehicle?
The other thing to think about is our vehicle is a property and it is a depreciating asset and the value of the cars run down fast. In order to resell your car and also to have the best performance in your car, it is very important to keep your car in a pristine condition. The only way to get some value out of this depreciating asset is to maintain it well so that there are no mechanical or cosmetic issues with the vehicle. If you look at these car valuation services websites and enter your car condition, there will be a considerable difference in the price of the vehicle, we are looking at up to a couple of thousand bucks. So the better you maintain your car the better you save in the future. The automobile manufacturers are doing their best to make the cars low maintenance and highly reliable.
So how do we go about maintaining your car what is the best and easiest maintenance that you can do to keep your car running over hundreds of thousands of miles and when you resell the car how about getting the best price on your car. Here are some tips:
Regular Car Maintenance
Do regular manufacture recommended service on your car, depending on your car, you may need to do this every 3000, 5000, 6000 or 10000 miles, and certain intervals like every 3 months or 6 months 10 months etc. whichever comes first. It means even though you are not using the car, get the service done based on the time interval that is prescribed.
Milestone maintenance i.e. maintenance at 15k, 30k, 45k etc. is also very essential. Typically, these maintenances check for engine oil, brake fluid and all other fluids, breaks, tyres etc.
Tyre Maintenance
Similarly, check on the tyres regularly. Most of us don’t know this, but the engine performance is impacted by all other components on your vehicle including the tyres. Regularly check the tyre pressure and if you have one of those fancy electronic pressure gauges on your dashboard it is even easier to maintain it. I do not have to reiterate the importance of maintaining tyres. Keep all tyres properly balanced and tyres rotated every other service. This keeps your tyres wearing evenly and maintains the engine health as well. We don’t want to run into a flat tyre situation after all, with a bad tyre. Also, change the tyres regularly. There are many places for tyre sales but prefer to look for the best tyres and service.
Break Maintenance
Regular break checks are very crucial as non-functioning or poorly maintained breaks can lead to other problems in the engine. And mind you, brakes are very essential, and they avoid any accidents due to sudden braking and we have all run into these situations before.
Engine Maintenance
I do not have to stress on the importance of the maintenance of the engine oil levels and servicing regularly. You do not want to end up with thousands in expenditure when the engine breaks down. I recently had to shell out a couple of thousand bucks to fix an issue with the engine when the car broke down and moreover my car had to stay in the shop for 2 days that is another inconvenience. Also, remember to change the drive chain/belt as recommended if your car comes with one.
Drive Train Maintenance
Drive train and transmission is another crucial and important part of the vehicle that needs to be maintained regularly for effective health of the vehicle. Make sure to get this checked every other service or at the milestone services. Transmission flush needs to be done based on the manufacturer’s recommendation to avoid breaking down of the transmission which is another expensive part to replace.
Body
Vehicle Body It is also important to maintain i.e. paint, wiper blades, glass windows, doors etc. Usually these last very long. Maintaining with regular car washes and keeping the body from any dust and debris would maintain the shine and avoid any scratches. Regularly washing the undercarriage and wheels enhance the looks and the durability of the vehicle.
After all, we want our family to be safe and hassle-free. We spend a few hours every week in our vehicles so they deserve to be maintained well for not only our safety but also for avoiding any unforeseen expenditure.
