When people buy a car nowadays, no matter if it is new or used, they tend to leave all of the car maintenance up to the garage where they bought it, or with the local mechanic. However, leaving it with these people means that you can look forward to ongoing bills, throughout the lifetime of owning your vehicle. Many essential maintenance procedures are pretty straightforward, and there are things that you could do yourself with just a little bit of thought and time. Trying to do it yourself can actually save you thousands of dollars and you will have the peace of mind knowing that you did it correctly.
Table of Contents
Easy To Do.
For many of the jobs, all you need is a set of spanners that you can buy in most stores and a screwdriver. Once you have these, you are quite well equipped to perform the functions that will help to keep your car’s engine running smoothly. You can take care of the engine, the exterior of the car and also the interior, so it runs like new for longer. If the time does come that there is a job that is just too big for you to do, then that is the time to take your vehicle into a mechanic that you trust. A number of Canberra car dealers offer this kind of after sales service, so their work doesn’t stop once they sell you a car.
The following are some of the things that you can perform yourself, or look out for when it’s time to get them serviced.
- Tyre upkeep – The tyres on your vehicle are probably one of the most important things that you need to take care of. They are the very things to keep your car safely on the road in the rain and snow, and in the event of an accident, it is their job to help you to come to a safe stop. You should make sure that your tyres are in good condition by checking the thread wear, the depth of the thread on the tyre, and making sure that the tyre walls are strong and don’t have any tears or bulges.
- Rotation – The tyres on your car need to be rotated at regular intervals, and this is something that you probably can do yourself. You want all of your tyres to have even wear, and this means moving the back tyres to the front and vice versa. All you need is a jack, a wheel brace to remove the nuts, and some free time to get the job done properly.
- Check the spare – Many car owners neglect to check the spare tyre that can be found in the base of the boot, or directly underneath the car. Your spare tyre is your only backup if you get a flat tyre out in the middle of nowhere, and if it is flat, then you are in a world of trouble. Be sure to take it out and check that the correct tyre pressure is in it and that it still has good tyre tread depth.
These are a few of the things that you can do to keep you and your family safe on Australia’s roads. They are quite simple to do and when you do them yourself, you can save yourself some money that you would otherwise have given to a mechanic.