Articles

CAR CARE TIPS

by Kaixin Qiche Used Car 250

Cars are no longer a luxury owned by a few individuals. For many, it has become a quintessential part of life, and it’s very important that for the car to have long and trouble free life. It must be maintained properly. Apart from sending the car to service centre for quarterly or monthly service, it’s very important that we ourselves also take care of small things as and when possible. Here we are listing some tips to take care of your car for a hassle free life for you as well as for your car. The care for your car should start from the day you get it in your house. Let’s see some important tips as below---

CARE FOR ENGINE

1.   Never overlook the instructions provided by the dealership on the day you purchased your car. Never drive your car at speed more than the prescribed speed limit by the car company. When the engine is new, it needs a break in period to adjust to the new conditions of traffic, road, etc.

2.   Do not let your car to just sit idle in your garage for long time. It can just retard your engine. IF you are going out of the town for a long time, it’s always a good idea to service your car before you go out. If you have someone whom you can trust with your car, nothing likes that. Or at least you can ask your neighbour to start the car for a little while once in seven days. It will make the engine run and pump the oil to all parts of the machine.

3.   On normal days, when you start your car in the morning, do not race the engine. Let it heat up slowly. It will prevent the engine life for a very long time. Even when you start driving, accelerate slowly. Do not change gears rapidly.

4.   At traffic signal, either put the car at neutral or if it’s a long signal, switch off the car. By doing this, you will prevent extra load on engine when the car is not moving. The amount of extra heat generated during a running engine hampers the performance. It’s always better to let the engine rest for a while at long traffic signals.

5.   Always use genuine engine oil as recommended by the automobile company. Using cheap engine oils or any other brand picked randomly can be detrimental for the engine and will eventually spoil your car.

6.   The coolant system must be flushed and changed at least once in a year or depending upon the usage. A proper mix of coolant and distilled water does miracle to the engine adding those extra years to your car’s life.

7.   The transmission fluid should also be changed regularly. Always use the oil as prescribed by the service centre because like engine oil, the gear system of your car needs fluid with a particular composition of chemicals and viscosity. Any deviation from that can do severe damage to the car and can lead to frequent break downs.

8.   As much as possible, when you refuel the car, make sure that you keep a little space for the air in the tank. It helps to have a proper pressure on the fuel and also helps to enhance the engine performance. Try to take gasoline from reliable pumps as adulteration in the fuel can be the most harmful thing that can ever happen to your car. It can spoil the engine beyond repair.

OVERALL CLEANING AND SERVICE

1.   Like engine, cleaning of the upper body is also very important. Ever wondered how your neighbour’s fifteen year old car makes heads turn when it comes out on street for a spin. Well that my friend is because of the good care the car has been receiving. With engine care, you must also make sure that the upper body of the car is also spic and span.

2.   Every day when you take out the car, at least dust the car once. It’s been lying since you drove back last night gathering dust. A little dusting is always a good idea to make the coat shine. Especially during rain, make sure that the cleaning and dusting is done regularly.

3.   Give a couple of hours of your Sunday to your car. Dust it thoroughly and rub it with a nice wax. A shining car is always looks good.

4.   Apart from shining the upper body, also check for the mud stuck on the tyre flaps. This dirt and mud if not cleaned and washed regularly can corrode the inside of your car. This is very bad for the car as once the metal inside the car corrodes, it starts damaging the car. Always make sure that you use a water jet to clean off the mud and slush.

5.   A regular check of the windshield and vipers is also very important. These are important safety features. Once in a while, you must also check if the vipers are working properly. Also keep an eye on the condition of windshield. If you find any sign of warping or crack in the windshield, it should be brought immediately to the notice of the service centre. It’s always better to get them changed immediately.

6.   Like exteriors, the interiors of the car should also be cleaned on regular basis. Most of us have the habit to litter inside the car. You may always find those bread crumbs or paper pieces in the car. Leftover food, garbage and bad smell of the car leave a very bad impression on someone who sits for the first time in your car. It also affects the performance of the air conditioner of your car. At first place, one must make strict car rules, like no eating in the car, no littering, and strictly no smoking. But still if sometimes you tend to eat in your car or there is garbage in the car, make sure that you clean the car on immediate basis. Keep a small garbage bag if required to put that extra piece of paper or the littered bread crumb or that coffee cup. It’s a must to have a good car perfume so that the car always smells fresh and nice.

7.   Keeping windows open once in a while is important to get fresh air in the car. It helps to keep the interiors dry and devoid of any moisture. This also helps to reduce the strain on the car air conditioning.

8.   Keep a small piece of cloth inside your care to give a gentle wipe on the dash board, steering wheels and seats once in a while.

9.   Always use good quality upholstery for your car. It makes the car look good and also adds life to your car.  

TYRE CHECKUP AND PRESSURE MONITORING

1.   Tyres are like the legs. Their maintenance is very important. First of all, we must choose the correct tyre for the car. Right dimension, correct tyre pressure is very important. It’s also very important that the tyres have good grip so that you have a good control on road during high speed or monsoons or bad roads.

2.   Before any long weekend ride or at least once in a week, it’s very important that you check the tyre conditions and the air pressure. Depending upon the car and the tyres, and as advised by the mechanics, one must change the tyres once they have run the prescribed distance. Overlooking the advise can lead to fatal results, even death.

BRAKES AND LIGHTS

1.   Good working condition of brakes and lights is very important before we take out our car for a drive. Loose brake cables or old brake fluids can lead to accidents on the road. Brakes must be checked for the cables, brake plates and the fluid. They must be changed once the car runs the stipulated distance. There should not be any procrastination here. Similarly, the lights of your car are like the pair of eyes. The front light helps you to navigate in the dark streets. The side lights indicates if you want to turn and the back light makes your presence realized on the road to vehicles behind you. It’s important that you check these lights on regular intervals to check if they are fused or their light is dimming. One cannot drive on the roads properly if the lights do not function.

UNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF DIFFERENT WARNING LIGHTS

1.   These days almost every car comes with a lot or electronic system, loaded with warning systems if anything is wrong in the car. During the car delivery, as per the normal SOP, the engineer at the showroom explains us about the different codes. If anything is wrong like the brake fluid level is low, or the ABS is not working, or the engine oil is depleting or the car door is ajar, these lights start flickering on the console. One must never overlook these warning lights. If you still cannot figure out the problem, do not hesitate to take it to the service centre or call the road side assistance. Persistence of these problems affects the performance of the car.

 

 

REGULAR SERVICING OF THE CAR

1.   No matter how good is your knowledge regarding car maintenance, that quarterly servicing is very important. There are lots of small snags in the car which we tend to overlook because sometimes you cannot see everything. There can be rust gathering on the inner bolt of tyres, or the front forks might wear out. The fuel tank might be gathering small dirt particles which we cannot see by naked eyes. It’s important that even though you take good care of your car; please do not forget to send it to the service centre. Please make sure that you just do not send it to a random mechanic. Make sure that the car is sent to the service centre advised by the showroom from where you have purchased the car.

2.   During servicing, make sure that any parts if need to changed, are replaced by the genuine part. Cheap replacements can damage the car.

3.   Engine oil, brake fuels, filters etc are changed during every servicing.

4.   Wheel alignment is very important and you must ask the engineer to check the same. While driving, the alignment tends to go out of sync and it affects the overall balance of the car. It must be checked and tuned to avoid accidents on road.

5.   Tyres must be checked as they bear the most amount of wear and tear on roads. If you get any doubt regarding their performance, please get they changed immediately.

6.   You must also get the car keys checked. These days most of the cars have central locking system and they operate on an internal cell. With time, the cell tends to get weak and so does the key. Sometimes it might just not open the car. So please get it checked at least once in a year to take care of it. If required, change the cells so that they can function accurately.

7.   Any dent or corrosion should be addressed immediately. If overlooked, they can damage the surrounding part as well and eventually it becomes a big problem. The patches also make the car look bad. Every genuine service centre has the colour code of your car. Get the part repainted immediately or get the panel changed if the damage is on the bumper or the sides.

As we can see above, a car is just not a machine or a fancy engine assembly. It needs a lot of care on a regular basis so that it can perform properly and can runs for years to come. The periodic maintenance and adhering to some basic rules can save us a lot of time and energy which gets wasted when the car breaks down. This self discipline of checking our cars once in a while is much cheaper than wasting money on expensive repairs. If we keep these basic rules in mind, we can take good care of our car and make it run for years to come.

There is no questioning the role cars play in today’s society. Cars have become an integral part of man’s day-to-day life not only regarded as a means of transport from one place to another, but are equally used as homes, mobile homes. Irrespective of their primary purpose, cars have become an important component in determining the economic and social status of an individual, and are without a doubt, here to stay. Because in many circles, the cost, make, model, and state of a car says much about its owner, it is exigent to maintain your car at its best to fully exploit its benefits.

Why care for the car?

With the near-overwhelming daily schedule, there is the question of why bother with car care? There are several reasons why it is important to exercise car care, some of which include”

-         It minimizes your costs of repair in the long run.

-         It increases the performance and durability or longevity of your car.

-         It minimizes the risks of accidents and breakdowns and improves safety.

-         Finally, in the event that you intend to resell, a properly maintained car stands a higher chance than a poorly serviced car.

Car care tips

Although there are a wide variety of car types and models, there exist some care tips that apply to them all. Some of these include:

1.   Learn about and try to understand your car – It is near impossible to solve a problem if you cannot identify it. Maintaining your car at its optimum requires that you identify any deviation from standard. To do this, it is important that you read the manufacturers or user’s manual to understand the various indicators and warning lights. By understanding these, it is easier to pinpoint problems and avoid their progression to more strenuous levels.

2.   Verify and change your car oil regularly. It is important to check your car oil levels and change the oil regularly. While there exist some near-conventional rules about when exactly to change your car oils (some say every 3,000 miles while others talk about every 5,000 miles), it tends to vary with how often you drive the car. Nonetheless, irrespective of how frequently you drive, getting regular car oil changes is necessary.

3.   Check and test your lighting daily. Cars are equipped with various lighting systems including the brake lights, head lights, interior lights, tail lights, and even the turn light signals which each have a specific role to play. Ensuring that each of these is functional goes a long way to not only minimize or prevent the occurrence of accidents, but indirectly maintains the car.

4.   Verify your engine coolant. From a tender age, we learned that when faced with high temperatures, we introduce a coolant such as water to the system, hence the trajectory to the refrigerator immediately after exercise. It is the same thing with cars. After generating all of that heat, there is the constant need for a coolant to avoid overheating. It is therefore important to check the level of the engine coolant regularly.

5.   Verify the pressure of your car tires as well as the depth of your tire treads to save your cost on fuel and minimize the risk of accidents on roads in different weather conditions, respectively.

6.   Wash your car as often as possible.

Like everything else, our cars need maintenance from time to time, especially if you don’t want that car to wear out soon. Many parts of the car, from the belt to the air conditioner, can be dirty stuck, and may not even function properly if we are not careful about it.

So, here are 5 things to do for the week when you have time. Keep that car fresh and alive!

1.   Brake

There are many important parts, but the brake is one of the most essential parts if you don’t want to encounter a dangerous situation while on the road. It will be like watching those scary movies where the car’s brake has been cut off, except that you could have checked in beforehand.

Start with checking the brake fluid level, its promptness in stopping and if there are any noises when you pull the brake. Detect anything weird and immediately call an expert to deal with it.

Its Brake Safety Awareness month, so might as well give it a check!

2.   Lights

The lights operate on your battery but there are many occasions when they just fail to turn on after a lot of bumps. Check the headlights and make sure that every level of light is in perfect condition. Don’t forget to also check your stop lamps and make sure they are on when you step on the brake. Your indicators and fog lamps, if you have them, should be checked as well.

3.   Tires

Tires bring your car everywhere and are the things that directly lift the car up and get it going. But over thousands of miles of running, no tires will be able to live forever. You might realize that your front tires wear more than your back, or if you haven’t used your car for that long, now you know. The reason is that your front tires are steered to the left and right that causes them to wear more.

Change the front wheels with the back ones after 5,000 miles and they will wear out at the same time. It will save you more time to change all four wheels at the same time!

Remember to also check the pressure of the wheels every 1 to 2 months. Depending on how often you hit the road, the wheels will lose pressure and with it, its ability to support the car’s weight. Also, make it a habit to give it a visual inspection every once in a while, whenever you get off the car.

4.   Wipers

Hey, that wiper has been getting rid of rainwater, snow and various other things that can hit your windshield from time to time. Might as well see if the rubber is still in a good condition! A wiper that cannot wipe properly can reduce your sight range on the road, which can be dangerous and become a source of the accident.

Sometimes, you only need a simple wipe on the wipers and let them dry. Other times, the rubbers have already worn off and need to be replaced with a new one.

Conclusion

While several of the tips mentioned above may appear to be meant for professionals only, referring to the user’s manual has been reported to be an efficient way to know what to search for as well as when.

Striving to avoid expensive bills from your car mechanic? Well, get the best car care tips to have your vehicle running in a consistently reliable way. Caring your car is a pretty important step that the entire car owner must follow to enhance the life of the car also making it look always brand new.

Regularly follow your car care schedule and don't ignore or delay it in order to keep your car up to highest speed with its best performance. There are several reasons behind the need to employ fundamental car maintenance such as improve safety, enhance reliability and performance, save expensive repair costs, high resale value, minimizes roadside emergencies etc. Learn more about car care tips, kindly click on usedcar520.com




Sponsor Ads


About Kaixin Qiche Junior   Used Car 250

0 connections, 0 recommendations, 12 honor points.
Joined APSense since, September 22nd, 2018, From Denver, United States.

Created on Sep 23rd 2018 04:38. Viewed 267 times.

Comments

No comment, be the first to comment.
Please sign in before you comment.