How to Take Care of Your Vehicle So that It Operates at Peak Efficiency
As a car owner, you probably know you must provide vehicle care. You must look after your car as best you can so that you can own and drive it for many years. That way, you won’t need a new vehicle every couple of years because your current one isn’t holding up very well.
In this article, we will discuss some ways you can get your car more usable life. By following these guidelines, you can earn a few extra years before selling your vehicle. You won’t have this considerable expense very often.
Have a Mechanic Inspect Your Car Every Year
Some people think you must have a mechanic inspect your car every year. That’s not actually the case, though. In reality, only 19 states have VIN inspections, and only 15 states have a required annual or biannual inspection program.
For instance, you might do a Florida state car inspection by taking your vehicle to a garage so a mechanic can look it over. However, no state law says you must do it. That’s because Florida repealed the annual motor vehicle inspection requirement it once had on the books.
Even if you live in a state like Florida that doesn’t require yearly inspections, though, you should still strongly consider doing it. When you do so, the mechanic can look at things like your car’s seatbelts, tires, windshield wipers, head and tail lights, airbags, horn, and brakes. All that happens during a routine inspection.
If you do this, you can usually increase your car’s usable life. The mechanic can catch any issue before it gets worse and costs you more money.
If you reside in a state that does not legally require annual or biannual inspections, you can still mark on the calendar when you should take your car to a garage each year. Don’t skip that date, and you should keep your vehicle running better for longer.
Keep Your Car in the Garage
Depending on where you live, you might get severe snow and ice in the winter. You may get blazing summers with days over 100 degrees. You might also get pounding rainstorms, sleet, and hail.
Occasionally, you must drive in severe weather conditions, but that does not mean you should leave your car sitting out in the driveway or on the street where the weather can impact it. Any of the weather conditions we mentioned can harm your vehicle.
You probably understand how hail or sleet can hurt your car, but the bright sun can hurt it as well. The sun pounding down on your vehicle day after day will eventually damage the paint job.
To combat this, you can put your car in the garage and keep it there as much as possible. If you don’t own a garage, you can consider building one if you have space for it.
Building a garage represents a significant expenditure, but it’s worth it. You can protect your car, and it will last longer that way. When you do this, you also stop birds that might target it with their droppings. You can stop squirrels that may drop nut shrapnel on your vehicle.
Get Your Car Tuned Up Before You Go on Long Trips
You might also get your car tuned up before you go on any long car trips. Maybe you have not gone on any lengthy road trips for the last couple of years. Some people have not taken the family on vacation in their vehicles or visited relatives for a while.
The pandemic made some people stay off the roads. Now, however, with Covid-19 not such an urgent threat, some families and individuals have longer road trips planned for 2023.
When you get a tune-up, the mechanic looks at your car’s engine. That engine should run well and have no obvious issues. The mechanic identifying anything wrong can save a breakdown when you’re out on the road in a different state or city.
They will clean any gunk off the engine, replace anything that needs it and make any minor adjustments as well. They will check your spark plugs, distributor caps, fluids, rotors, filters, and also your hoses and belts.
During a tune-up, most of those only require a visual inspection or a simple test that makes sure they’re operating correctly.
Check Your Fluid Levels Regularly
You should also check your car’s fluid level regularly. Every month should do fine. You can check the windshield wiper fluid, transmission fluid, power steering fluid, brake fluid, coolant, and engine oil.
When you do that, you make sure all the car’s vital parts stay lubricated. That can save breakdowns, and you can do this yourself. You can watch videos that show how you can do it, or you might read the car’s manual. If any levels drop lower than they should, you can top them off.
Keep the Car’s Gas Tank Full
If you have a gas-powered car and you have not bought an electric vehicle yet, you should keep the tank full as well. At a minimum, you should not let the car’s gas tank drop below a quarter tank if you can possibly avoid it.
If your car’s gas tank drops below a quarter full, that can damage the vehicle if you do it too often. If your gas tank level drops below one-quarter full, you can easily compromise your car’s fuel system.
When you refill the tank, you also add sediment and particulate matter that settle at the tank’s bottom. By refilling the tank, you disperse that sediment and those particles, which helps keep your car operational.
By doing all of these things, you will likely own your car for some additional years. When you do that, you won’t have the large expenditure that comes when you trade in the vehicle and get a newer model. You must do that eventually, but you’d probably prefer putting it off till you have no alternative.
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