For many, owning a car is essential but it can really eat into our finances. As well as the initial investment, you’ve got annual insurance, regular servicing, and fuel top-ups to factor in.
One of the best ways to reduce the running costs attached to your vehicle is to perform essential car maintenance on a regular basis. Keep reading to explore more about the important checks and how these help to save you money.
How does maintenance reduce running costs?
Leaving long gaps between car checks means that you run the risk of small problems becoming serious issues. Regular maintenance will help you to get familiar with the inner workings of your car so you can identify issues quickly and solve them before expensive damage is done.
Doing some essential maintenance tasks yourself will also minimise your car service bills, although your MOT test (which is a legal requirement) will stay at a steady price.
Important car maintenance checks
- Tyres
Given their constant contact with the road, your tyres suffer a significant amount of wear and tear. You’ll need to check the general condition of each tyre frequently, especially at the start of a new season.
You can use car lifting equipment like bottle jacks to raise your tyres off the floor. This removes the pressure on the tyres and allows you to check underneath for any issues.
Common signs of poor tyre health include out-of-shape bulges, punctures and a loss of air pressure, and in extreme cases rips and tears.
- Oil
Oil acts as the lubricant in your engine, keeping the system running smoothly. When your oil levels become too low, there’s a danger of the separate parts grinding against each other. This could cause irreparable damage such as snapping the rods.
Thankfully it’s easy to check and top up your car oil yourself without the need for a garage visit. Just open the bonnet to access your oil gauge and check the level using the in-built dipstick. Make sure that the oil line is within the optimum zone and pour more in if necessary.
- Cleaning
It’s more pleasant to drive a clean car, but there are knock-on benefits of regular cleaning too.
Removing dirt and dust prevents these materials from ruining your paintwork and corroding the car body over time. Invasive damage can be extremely expensive to fix!
Keeping the exterior of your car looking as good as new will also boost the resale value, helping you get the most money back on your investment.
- Air filters
Finally, don’t forget about your air filters. These can become clogged during your ownership of the car which leads to reduced fuel economy, reduced engine life, and poorer performance.
You should check your engine air filter at least once a year to ensure that it’s in good working order. Once you’ve removed it from the car, you can clean it with a cloth and soapy water or rinse it through with clean water.
If this fails to fix the problem, you should seek professional assistance to fit a new one.
