As a driver, we often get quite blasé about our car and the maintenance that it involves. We take it in for its regular MOT checks and hope for the best but don’t really check it beyond that. For that purpose, we have found some of the top five things that should be checked relatively regularly on your car. If you find any problems with any one of these then you should get in touch with your local garage and see if they can help you out. Try and check these out and get them fixed asap. Better pay £100 for new tyres than £10,000 for a new car when you write it off. There are other things you should check so consult your garage or manual for many others.
Read on and find out five things that should be regularly checked on your car.
1. The Tyre Pressure
The tyre pressure is easy, and sometimes free to check by yourself. You just need to find a local garage with the facilities to check this. Tyres can lead to blowouts which can cause serious accidents. The wrong level of tyre inflation can also affect your fuel efficiently quite negatively. Check your manual for the optimum tyre pressure for your car.
2. The Brakes
Obviously one of the most important factors in a healthy car is having good brakes. Make sure to get a professional to check these regularly if you don’t know how to test them yourself. You can test them by putting on the handbrake, putting your foot down on the footbrake and letting the handbrake go and seeing if the car moves. Make sure you have the room to test this.
3. The Alignment
Your car should always move directly forward when your steering wheel is in a neutral position. If this is not the case then you will need to look at your alignment. This will help your car react better when you want it to.
4. The Antifreeze/Coolant
It’s important to keep your car and windscreen washer topped up with antifreeze to ensure that your car keeps running smoothly even in the colder weather. On the flip side, hot weather can also affect your car negatively so make sure you have enough coolant so your car does not overheat.
5. The Lights
What is the point in driving safely if other road users can’t see you in rain, fog or darkness? Even worse, what if others, including pedestrians, cannot judge your actions safely due to your indicators not working. Make sure to test your lights regularly. Turn them all on and take a walk around your car to make sure everything is in order.