New Year - Car Maintenance

Courtesy of askmen.com

Many people go into the New Year with several resolutions, none of which they’re likely to keep. However, there are a select few who like to stick to their resolutions – and the one we’re suggesting to you today will ultimately save you a fair bit of money... Like the sound of that? Keep on reading.

The whole ‘New Year, new you’ thing is a bit overrated and quite frankly, overdone. Thousands, if not millions try this every year and as January comes to an end (if they even make it that far) it’s almost guaranteed that 99% of people will have given up on their resolution. Whether it was to eat healthier, go the gym more often or stop smoking – chances are not many will follow through with their self-improvement.

So, this is aimed at the people who want to stick to a realistic resolution; you won’t need sheer will power to overcome smoking or anything like that. All you’ll need is a bit of common sense, some patience and probably a few tools (we’ll direct you to a place that has a decent range of tools if you haven’t got any, don’t worry!)

What we’re proposing in the New Year is that you start to look after your car yourself – sounds scary, but it really isn’t. We don’t expect you to start changing the clutch or anything that drastic, but just getting a basic knowledge for your car so you can carry out routine maintenance yourself. Interested?

Fed Up of Car Garages Taking You For a Ride?

When you realise you can change your brake pads for just £20 and your local garage is quoting you £90+ you start to see just how much money you’re wasting. Add up all the basic car maintenance tasks that are required every year and you’re likely to save in excess of £150 just from a basic service. Learn to change your brake pads and discs and the savings shoot up even more... Before you know it, everything starts becoming addictive and you won’t want a garage to touch your pride and joy for any reason.

Where to Begin?

First of all, it’s a good idea to get a Haynes Manual for your specific model of car (assuming they do one). You can check eBay or the official Haynes website at the following link: http://www.haynes.co.uk

Now, you’ll probably need a basic set of tools; it’s hard to say exactly what a car needs as every model is different and will require different sized sockets and so on. However, the basics you’ll most likely want to get include a car jack (trolley jack preferably), axle stands and probably a small socket set (consult the Haynes Manual for your car to see what common socket sizes you need).
If you have a problem prone car, it may be a good idea to invest in a diagnostic fault detector device as this can seriously cut down on the time & money spent trying to rectify issues.

Note: Your tool set will gradually increase as your knowledge for car maintenance grows; however, don’t be worried about the outlay of these necessities as it’ll be worth it in the long run. And you also get the satisfaction of knowing you’re doing everything yourself to a high standard and not creating more problems (as some garages have been known to do).
Sadly, we can’t run you through individual tasks to carry out, simply because every car is different, but here are a couple of things you should be doing from the start:

·         Checking oil, coolant and other fluid levels every week or fortnight

·         Checking tyre pressures at the same intervals as the fluids (incorrect tyre pressures can increase tyre wear and reduce fuel efficiency).

·         When carrying out any work on your vehicle, save all the receipts for parts you’ve purchased (this comes in handy when selling the car at a later date).

·         Become a member of your car owner’s forum as there are people with a lot of knowledge and experience who will be able to help you with simple maintenance tasks.

Well, here’s to trying a different New Year’s resolution... *raises glass*. Best of luck!