Car Care Tips
Car Care Tips are essential knowledge for every car owner or keeper. With a car to assist you today with travel and transport requirements, you may face a number of expenses related. Having to change ties, oils and other liquids, fuel costs, windshield cleaning, and many more expenses come up from time to time. Most of them come unexpectedly. Therefore, you have to spend a large portion of your income on car repairs. These expenses are one reason that some people are reluctant to buy a car. However, keeping up with your car maintenance is vital and timely maintenance can reduce or prevent most of the future costs that occur unprecedentedly.
Today we’re going to enlighten you with 12 useful car Care tips that help you to extend the lifetime of your vehicle. We are pretty much sure that you can reduce the payment for a big fix if you align with the car Care tips we bring today.
For ease of readability, we have summarized the detailed description of tips in the following table. Then we are going to elaborate on each item in detail.
| Item | Car Care Tips |
| Tire | Check the pressure in the drive tire and spare tire once a month. |
| Oil | Change the oil every 5,000 miles or follow your vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations. |
| Terminals | Spend enough money to buy a $5 wire brush and keep your terminals in style. |
| Brake Fluid | Check your brake fluid at every oil change to make sure it’s not blackened. If so, sooner or later the braking system will need to be replaced. |
| Air Filter | Replace your air filter every 12 months or 12,000 miles. Windshield wipers should be inspected each season and replaced if necessary. |
| Milage | Replace tires every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. |
| Shocks and suspension | Check your shocks and full suspension system every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. |
| Coolant | It is recommended to check the coolant twice a year, before it gets too hot and before it gets too cold. |
| Spark plugs | Inspect and replace spark plugs approximately every 30,000 miles. |
| Car inspection | Don’t forget to have your car inspected once a year. Check with your local motor vehicle authority for specific requirements in your state. |
| Timing belts | Timing belts should be replaced every 60,000 miles and V-belts every 40,000 miles. The hose he recommends replacing every 4 years or whenever it shows signs of wear. |
| Battery | Test the car battery twice a year. |
Tire – Checking the Spare Tire
We can not predict when we are going to need the spare wheel. But it is always important to make sure that your spare wheel is readily available. Therefore, keep the spare wheel inflated, and do not try to be disappointed by seeing a flat spare wheel when you pull out the jack. Then, you will need to contact a tow truck that can cost you hundreds of dollars. But spending a dollar on an air pump is easier and cheaper than paying for a tow.
Tires – Rotate tires
This is an interesting piece of news for many of you. How often do you change the tires of the car? It depends on the speed, road, and distance you drive. And all four tires do not wear down at the same time or in the same way. But did you ever know that you can easily extend tire life by rotating them? As the four tires show different rates of a lifetime, you can rotate the tires to extend their life while saving up to 400 – 8—dollars. You can do rotating tires every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.
Oil – Changing the oil
Oil is an essential liquid for the performance and maintenance of a car. Therefore, the amount you have to bear for oil problems is definitely a cost. Spinning around 25 dollars to change oil can make a big difference. If you are delaying the oil change and waiting until the engine problems to give you the signal that it is time to change the oil, it is a big issue. Avoiding a cost of 25 dollars can make you suffer with a lot more money to spend on engine issues.
Therefore, make sure that you change the oil every 5000 miles so you can follow the recommendations of the manufacturer.
Battery – Cleaning the battery
You will see white or bluish powder when there is a sign of corrosion on the terminals of your battery. Corrosion is a result of a lack of cleaning and timely service. The battery can develop a crack leaving you stranded in the absence of improper cleaning.
Therefore, it is necessary to test the car battery twice a year and make sure that it is not corroded. You can clean the battery using a $5 wire brush and stop paying for another quality car battery and for a tow which can cost more than 100 dollars.
Brake Pads – Replace the brake pads
Are you used to checking brake fluid when you change the oil? Maybe you are doing it already. But if you don’t, you can start doing so. If the oil color is dark, it signals that brake system replacement is at hand. If you hear squeaking sounds when you hit the brake, that sound is also a bad sign that you have to do the replacement sooner.
However, a new set of brake pads can cost around 300 dollars or more when you add the labor cost for the professional who undertakes to do it. Even though the price tag is hefty, you can stop there before rear-ending in front of you.
Air Filter- Replacement of the air filter
The air filter of a vehicle contributes to filtering pollutants coming through the vents which is an important function. Therefore, it is your job to keep the items that serve to perform important tasks updated and timely maintained. Continuing to keep an old air filter that has been used for a long time, may give rise to several major issues or damages to your air conditioning system. In comparison, replacing an air filter costs less than replacing an entire unit of the air conditioner.
Replacing the air filter every 12000 miles or 12 months is one of the best car maintenance tips to save 1000 to 4000 dollars cost for a full AC unit replacement.
Windshield- Get new windshield wipers
The windshield is one of the most important parts of a car and the cost of it varies depending on the model and the make of your car. If you are planning to buy new windshield wipers, it can cost you from $30 to $50 for the pair. I know, you may wonder why you should spend that much on a petty pair of windshield wipers. But it is essential to have a properly-working pair of windshield wipers because they clean the windshield dirt. Having inefficient wipers can trouble your view and you should not take the risk of driving especially during heavy rains if you can not properly see the road.
So, spending some money on a pair of new windshield wipers is kind of an investment. Because that cost is lower than that of a brand-new windshield ($100 to $500). If you cannot decide the exact time to change your windshield wipers, get advice from your service station.
Coolant – Check your coolant
Coolant is helpful for several items inside the car namely the heater, radiator, air conditioner, and pump. Due to corrosion risks, you need to change the coolant appropriately.
As coolant has an impact on many parts of the car, it is essential to do the maintenance timely. You can check the coolant twice a year especially before cold weather swoops in and once before the warm weather hits.
Suspension System – Check the shocks, springs, and struts
As an intricate part of your car, the suspension needs a check-up every 15,000 to 30,000 miles. But many of us ignore treating it properly until it stops the job it does. One more thing to consider is that you have to replace all four of them once you find an issue with one of them.
Emissions Inspection
Inspecting emissions once a year with your local department of motor vehicles is important to know the specific requirements in your state. These requirements may vary according to the state or country where you live. The reason why you need to do an emissions inspection is that it guides you on several fixes and risks. The emissions facility reveals what needs to be fixed and what failed in order to fully pass the inspection.
Spark Plugs – Check your spark plugs
Spark plugs can be one of the main reasons for engine troubles. You can prevent bigger damage and cost of 3,000 to 7,000 dollars by spending 15 to 30 dollars on spark plugs. For the best performance of $3,000 to $7,000, check them every 30,000 miles.
Belts and Hoses – Inspect your belts and hoses
Worn-down belts may damage essential components of your car. And a weak radiator hose could make it worse by causing the engine to overheat and not run at all. Therefore, make sure you replace the timing belt every 60,000 miles and your serpentine belt every 40,000 miles. And also it is worth changing your hoses at least every four years or whenever one is likely to wear them.
Final Word on Car Care Tips
Maybe you are waiting for the service update to come. But it is not always the correct way to maintain your car. If one of the items in your car shows signs of malfunction, you can attend to it soon without waiting to go for an entire service. Furthermore, you need to have a proper insurance policy as well. So you can reduce the financial burden on the upcoming fixes due to malfunction and accidents. We hope you find these car care tips useful and add your views in the comments section.
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