Maintaining your car
Cars are one of the most common means of transport available to us. They are convenient and reliable, as they take us wherever we need to go at any given time.
Maintaining your car is important to ensure you always experience a safe and enjoyable journey wherever you go. So here are just some of the many tips out there that you should take to make sure that your car is in a good condition, for years to come.
You wouldn’t want to stand out in the hot sun for too long, so why should your car? Reduce the damage of UV light done to your car by parking it in a shady spot or even better, undercover. By doing so, you’ll not only get into a cooler car on those hot days, but you’ll also be protecting the original color of your car to ensure it never loses its shine.
Whether you have fabric or leather seats, at some point, they won’t be so new anymore. Unfortunately, with all things, they can deteriorate over time. By protecting your seats, you can make sure that doesn’t happen to your seats so quickly or easily.
For fabric seats, use a vacuum cleaner before applying an upholstery cleaner to scrub off any dirt or stains, and thereafter, you can wipe away excess moisture with a microfiber cloth. Leave your seats to dry before re-use.
For leather seats, use a leather cleaner to remove dirt and stains. Thereafter, use a leather protectant (with conditioners suitable for car upholstery) to resist future stains and make it easier to clean the next time.
- Wash through every season
Whether it’s spring, summer, autumn or winter, keeping your car clean helps prevent corrosion. Corrosion occurs faster when the temperature rises and falls quickly below freezing. A build-up of sand and ice also contributes to corrosion, therefore, it would be a good idea to wash your car thoroughly. Another way you could prevent corrosion is to wax your car after every wash.
Mr. Miyagi did an excellent job by keeping his car spotless and with all the knowledge he had, he probably knew that waxing his cars, preserved the paint by slowing oxidation and forming a barrier (even from bird droppings!). If you haven’t seen the original Karate Kid, here’s how to do it:
- Apply a thin layer of wax (preferably a paste wax for a long-lasting finish) using a damp sponge.
- Use a microfibre cloth to avoid any scratches and remove the wax once it has dried.
- Maintain proper inflation
A tyre salesman’s best friend is over or under-inflated tyres as that can wear out your tyres faster. To get the most out of your tyres, keep your tyres inflated at the recommended pressure reading. A good tip is to check your tyre inflation at least once a month. In that way, your car will be more stable, and you’ll prolong the life of your tyres.
Did you know that rotating your tyres help distribute tyre wear and helps you get the most out of all your tyres? Well, it is a fact! For example, if your car is a front-wheel-drive (which most cars are), it would be a good idea to rotate the back and front tyres as your car would wear out your front tyres more quickly. When should this be done? Generally, you should rotate your tyres after every 6 months but, as all cars are driven differently and on different types of roads, it would be best to check your tyres first before you rotate or replace them.
If your wheels are not properly aligned, this may shorten the life of your wheels and cause poor handling. You can tell if it isn’t as your steering wheel becomes stiffer than normal or your car pulls to one side. It is recommended to do wheel alignment in your car, every time you replace or change your tyres. Although, if you drive in an area where the roads could do with some more pothole repair, you may want to check it more often.
If you have purchased a new car and you have a service plan, it will ensure your car is covered for as long as the service plan is active, and you may even be able to choose an extended plan as well. You can keep up to date with the latest and upcoming services for your car in your service book or you can contact your nearest Renault dealership.
If you do not have a service plan for your car, it is your responsibility to ensure that your car is serviced properly every year. Here are some of the components which may need to be replaced in your car for the service:
- Oil
- Oil filter
- Coolant
- Brake-fluid
- Spark plugs
- Cam-belt
After a good service, your car should perform better than it did before. As car services are done to ensure that your car is running at its optimal level, getting your car serviced with a qualified mechanic will help you ensure that.
If you are going away and leaving the car behind, maybe for a week or two (if not longer), it would be recommended to do the following before you go:
- Disconnect the battery- whether you will be able to do so or not would depend on the tracking system you have in your car (if you do have one), so rather check with the company you have the tracking device with before you disconnect any terminals.
- Over inflate your tyres- coming back to flat or nearly flat tyres would just be sad!
- Cover your car- while you’ll be off relaxing, it would be nice not to be leaving your car behind collecting dust.
This may not be completely necessary, but it would be a good thing if done correctly. Using a high-pressure hose pipe is definitely not recommended as by doing so, you may get water into sensitive engine components such as your electricals. However, using a damp cloth to wipe your engine and around those areas can help your engine run cooler and you would be able to notice oil leaks more easily.
Car maintenance is all about extending the life of your car and with these 10 tips, your car can go a long way.
For any assistance regarding services or parts, you can contact us on 010 045 2682 (Johannesburg) or on 031 045 0500 (Durban). You can also send us an email at [email protected]
Carter, your car buying and owning partner! 😊
