Guide for Car Care

Why need car care?
Be it a loan car or an own car, everyone does care for their car. Maintaining a car, in addition to keeping it in a good condition, reflects the attitude of the individual towards the car, how aware he is about sustaining the reliability and appearance of the car. Car care doesn’t necessarily mean getting it serviced in the garage. Here are a few basic tips to make sure that your car has a smooth, long life.

Subduing Summer
Car battery problem has been reported as the most common phenomenon during hot weather conditions. The factors that attribute to the reduced life of a battery are over heat and surcharging. It has been found that the interior battery structure gets deteriorated when the battery is exposed to excessive heat, owing to the fact that the fluid that constitutes the battery gets evaporated. Likewise, while overcharging, the components present in the charger tend to shoot up the charging rate, thereby, damaging the battery.

Hence, to have a long battery life, the following points are highly recommended:
As far as possible, the battery is to be kept clean, because even minute dirt, as a conductor, tends to run out the battery power. Distilled water is to be added on a regular basis for batteries that need to be topped off. Whenever replaced, batteries are to be replaced with the ones that are at least of the same standards or higher. Battery terminals are to be checked once a month to ensure that they are free of corrosion. And the most important point is to have the battery charged at the right rate, neither overcharging nor undercharging it.

Winterizing your Car
Most of the people are not even aware of what winterizing the car means. It is having your car prepared for the rough winter weather. The following task is very feasible for the individual himself who owns the car, if he has a couple of hours to spare for the same. Others can have this task done by a car-mechanic:

Battery and the exhaust system are to be checked once a month. The coolant is to be purged and replenished every eighteen months. For every 5000 km, the oil is to be changed. The deicer and the heater are to be checked for good working condition. The gas tank is to be kept half-full at the least so that the possibilities of moisture formation are remote. Tire pressure is to be checked every week, remember that correct pressure increases the fuel efficiency, or at least keeps the fuel efficiency in tact. Wiper blades are to be replaced twice a year.

When must I service my car?
It’s advisable to have your car serviced by an automotive technician if one or more of the following condition exists:

• There are periodical clinks from the wheel, the bearings have worn out.
• The car backlashes while driving.
• The fuel outlet is clogged which can be detected from the fuel odor.
• There are variances in the power steering liquid.
• The oil oozes on the shock absorbers.
• There is a moldy odor in the car, which can result from water being trapped under the rugs.

Other Tips
Almost 95% of the cars have air conditioners and hence cleaning up the same has become a basic task. It is essential to get the AC serviced every year because the leakage of the gases in the AC could damage the compressor. Other tasks include cleaning the condenser, avoiding the frequent usage of brakes as considerable fuel gets consumed while brakes are applied, waxing your car to give it a brand new look and tuning up the car engine. In addition, it is not sensible to leave the car in the garage overnight since there are chances that an unfamiliar mechanic might use up the fuel or bill you more for a small task.