Whether the learning to drive process was a long journey, or you took an intensive course to pass quickly, the thought of finally gaining independence and purchasing your first car is exciting. Some drivers opt for a new vehicle and others decide to pick up a second-hand car. Either way, it is vital to keep up basic maintenance to ensure your first car lasts as long as possible.
How To Avoid Issues On Your First Car
Unfortunately, some car issues are unavoidable, no matter how careful or safe you are. Cars do not last forever, and some problems are bound to happen with age. However, there are many issues you can avoid. Regular maintenance and following these top tips will not only ensure you can make the most out of the first car, but it also means that when it comes to selling your vehicle, you make a more significant profit.
Keep An Eye Out For Warning Lights
This may seem like an obvious piece of advice, but is a common issue, never ignore a warning light that suddenly appears on your dashboard. It’s recommended to take a couple of minutes when you first purchase your car to read through your owners manual and make yourself aware of the different lights and what they mean. Some warnings are more urgent than others; some issues can be left for a few days until you have a moment to resolve and others need to be investigated immediately. Your car is more clever than you think and will contribute to your decision as to the urgency of the problem; a red light indicates an emergency and orange less severe.
The sooner that you resolve an issue and make any repairs necessary, the more like you are to lower the risk of a bigger, more serious problem in the future. Many warning light issues can be fixed, and the vehicle is good as new if you get them seen to straight away. For a full guide on what each warning light means, take a look at this useful RAC guide.
The Lighter The Car, The Better
Similarly to anything, the more weight carried, the more work needs to be put in to keep on top of the heavy load. This concept is the same when it comes to your car. For those of you who religiously clean and clear all junk from your vehicle, this may not apply to you as much but those who are guilty of hoarding, it is likely to be putting an extra strain on your car. The more weight accumulates within your car, the more the internal factors are forced to work, this means they are more likely to wear at a faster rate.
Keep It Clean
Cleaning your car is a lengthy job, especially in the colder months. You wonder is braving the cold with a bucket of water and a sponge worth it? However as much as it’s a nuisance, it is vital to keep your car clean. Not just so it looks presentable, but also so your paintwork lasts longer. Things such as bird droppings are unavoidable, but if not cleaned immediately, the acidic ingredients will start to work its way through layers of your paintwork. It will result in a significant bill having to be paid out to respray your vehicle with the correct colour match.
Of course, you cannot determine when it is going to happen nor avoid a bird dropping on your car, but you can ensure it causes no issues by cleaning it off immediately with specialist wipes.
Regular Check Tyre Pressure
The annoying aspect of the tyre pressure of your car is you have to find the perfect balance, too low is bad and too high is also bad. Similarly to warning lights, the exact tyre pressure required for your car will be clearly stated in your vehicle handbook. Unlike warning lights, tyre pressure isn’t the same in every car, so each time you purchase a new car or are faced with checking the tyre pressure, ensure that you have double checked.
Tyre damage can easily occur from both an under-inflated and an overinflated tyre. Low tyre pressure means that a large proportion of your tyre surface area is on the road while you drive rather than just the tread, causing exceeded friction. Whereas, if your tyres are inflated too much, only a small proportion of your tyres will be on the road, so rather than driving smoothly, it will make a bounce.
If you want quality, long lasting tyres, we recommend looking around at tyres available to you. Good quality tyres do come at a cost, especially if you want to invest in all four new tyres. Driving with the wrong tyres pressure will cause tyres to wear out considerably quicker and cost you added expenses that could have easily been avoided.
Schedule In Engine Care
The engine, of course, is the heart of your car and will not be cheap to repair if a problem occurs. The risk of engine failure can dramatically be decreased by simple maintenance tasks.
The most common cause of an overheated engine is when drivers forget to fill up their engine oil. Engine oils biggest job is to keep all engine parts cool while it is in operation, if there is not enough oil to cover all parts, there is no way to stopping overheating.
Summary
Purchasing a car is a significant investment no matter whether it is your first car or you have been driving for many years. These basic maintenance tips apply to all cars, not only drivers in their first couple of years. If you are still taking your driving lessons in Luton and are taking a look at this article to prepare yourself, why not ask your instructor for some advice on how they keep on top of their car? Driving instructors rely on their car for their livelihood; they cannot afford to invest in a vehicle that will have regular issues, so are likely to have a whole host of useful tips.