Basic Car Maintenance Tips Every Driver Needs to Know

Owning a car is about much more than just driving it places and taking it to the carwash. Many people spend thousands of dollars each year having other people work on things for them related to their car’s upkeep that they could do for themselves if they learned how. This can really add up over time and you might also find that not everyone’s work is as good as you might hope it would be.

Annual maintenance costs vary per make and move of your vehicle, but you can plan on the cost associated with oil changes, tire rotations, and replacement fluids of various kinds each year no matter how old your car is. Older cars will cost more to operate because they will likely experience more issues over the course of a year as parts age and break down.

If you would like to learn more about how to take care of your own car maintenance needs in order to save money and time every year, read on for some ideas about the kinds of car maintenance that you should know how to do no matter what.

Basic Car Maintenance Tips Every Driver Needs to Know

1. Proper Car Washing and Waxing

This is often an overlooked part of car ownership. Washing and waxing your car takes time and people often want to put off the process of washing their car by hand as long as possible. The problem with avoiding these two necessary tasks is that car washes can damage your paint, and neglect of waxing and proper cleaning can lead to ruined or etched paint that must be repaired or redone.

This is particularly true if you live in a location that gets a lot of snow.  If you do not remove the salt used on the roads to prevent ice, you will find that your car will rust and the paint will be damaged.

However, if you live in a region with intense sunlight, the damaging effects of UV rays on your car’s interior can be significant. By installing auto window tint, you can mitigate the impact of UV rays and preserve the appearance and condition of your car’s upholstery and dashboard. Furthermore, window tint also provides added privacy and reduces glare, enhancing your driving experience and increasing overall comfort.

2.Replacing a Flat Tire

This is a commonly neglected part of the car ownership education process because there are services that can do this for you. However, if you are in an area where there is no cell reception, or located on a small or narrow road when you get your flat, you might be better off just taking care of changing the tire yourself.

This is not a technical process and just requires a little practice to get used to doing it. Always make sure that you have the right tools for a tire change in your trunk and be aware if your car comes with run-flats or if it actually has a spare tire in the trunk. You might also want to keep a hands-free light in your trunk in case you get a flat when it is dark out.

3.Maintaining the Tire Pressure

This skill goes hand in hand with being able to replace a flat. You can avoid needing to replace that flat tire if you know how to properly check and maintain the tire pressure in your car’s tires. To be able to check this for yourself, you will need a tire pressure gauge and some practice at getting the right seal on the gauge to get a good reading.

There are many locations where you can fill up a tire that is running a bit low on air, like gas stations or car washes, but you can also get a small air compressor to keep in your home or a portable one to put in your trunk. Make sure to read the standards in your car’s manual so that you know what the proper tire pressure should be for your vehicle.

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4.Checking the Oil

Regular oil changes are essential to the long life of your car and you should know based on the advice in your car’s owner’s manual how often those changes need to take place. Newer cars will tell you when it is time for an oil change, but with an older car, you will need to know the number of miles that should elapse in between oil changes and keep track of this information.

Checking the oil is a very simple matter and you should make sure to do this before leaving on any kind of long trip or if you think that it seems like it has been a long time since your last oil change. This is an important way to prevent damage to your engine that could have been avoided with a simple check of the engine oil.

5.Changing Your Oil

While you can have someone do this for you, you should learn how to take care of it yourself if you want to save money. You can buy engine oil at places like Walmart, so there is no limit to your ability to access the supplies that you will need. You will just need a level surface to replace your oil on and a container to catch the oil as it is drained out of your car.

Replacing the actual oil is a very simple part of the oil change process and you can watch a few YouTube videos about changing your oil to learn all that you need to know about the process. There is no need to pay someone else to do this simple process and you will be spared having to make time in your busy day for this to be taken care of.

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Basic Car Maintenance Skills Can Save You Time and Money

Brushing up on your car maintenance skills can offer you a lot of time back in your busy schedule and save you a lot of money. Most of the basic maintenance processes that cars need can be handled easily at home and you will come to enjoy taking care of your car on your own time.

Having basic car maintenance skills can save you money and time and make your car ownership experience much better in the long run.

Featured Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels