How to Care Your Car

People who own car must maintain it regularly to get good benefit by it. Many people care their car well by taking it to car wash, every two weeks or if the car had driven more than 3000 miles. Besides washing your car, it is also necessary to maintain its paint, parts and fluids.

Here are some tips to care your car:

Brakes:

Brakes is the one of the most significant parts of the car. Many people will check the master cylinder only when there is a brake failure. But inspect the master cylinder periodically. If there is any sign of brake fluid, tighten the fittings by a line wrench on brake-line nuts to stop against rounding off their shoulders. Inspect brake shoes and caliper pads regularly. For car that uses disk brakes, replace the pads regularly with the manner recommended by the manufacturer.

Belts & Hoses:

Before going for a long trip check all the engine’s accessory belts. If the belts have any visible damage or abnormal wear or small hairline cracks, replace it immediately. And periodically check your upper and lower radiator. Also check all hoses for any wear, hairline cracks and soft, bulging spots. It is better to change the heater hoses for every 50,000 miles.

Glass care:

Clean your car windshield every day this helps keeps the new look of the car. Various products are available in the market, to wash the windshield properly. Use paper towel to wipe the windshield. Glass polishing products can be used to make your windshield look new, even it has mild scratches.

Interior:

Interiors should be cleaned regularly and maintained properly. To keep your interiors clean vacuum the carpets. If it is leather interior, special conditioners are required to keep the leather soft and bendable.

Joints:

All joints should be checked and lubricated regularly for every few months. Important area to particularly consider is driveshaft U joints and, in front-wheel-drive cars, half shafts and CV-joints. All wheel bearings should be checked and repacked every 20,000 miles. Also check car-fuel lines and brake lines.

Lights:

Lights are very important and it should be checked periodically. Turn on the emergency flasher and check whether all four lights flash. Then independently check whether the right and left turn signals are working front and back. If any of the lights are not working properly, replace the bulb immediately because is very dangerous to drive a car without lights or with faulty brake lights.


Tire care:

Try to check the sidewall bulges and air pressure at every gas stop because a tire pressure gauge is cheaper than a new set of tires. Correct inflation pressure keeps the tires life longer and it also improves the fuel economy of the vehicle. Cheap tires can last for 30,000 miles while expensive brand tires can last over 50,000 miles.

Wipers & Washers:

Wipers and Washers are also important parts of a car and so they need regular maintenance. Windshield wiper blades should be replaced every year to maintain a perfect stick against the glass. Windshield washer tank should also be checked and filled with a cleaning product, not just water.

Wash & polish:

Paint manufactures have to follow EPA standards. New cars are mostly painted with urethane products and many factories use two to three stage paints. So choose a correct car-care produces that are designed for these finishes. Read the label before buying the wax or other surface treatment to assure paint compatibility.

Wheels:

All new cars are factory-equipped with alloy wheels. All Alloy wheels are coated with disc-brake dust and road grime. It’s important to select a correct cleaner that is designed for your wheel type. For example, clear-coated wheels should be cleaned with a different cleaner and natural-finish alloy or steel wheels should be cleaned with different cleaner.