Owning a car will require you to maintain it on a periodic basis. Regardless of if it moves on the daily or is a garage queen. Cars are designed to be active, to be on the move but being on the move will require that you maintain certain aspects of a vehicle. We'll speak about a daily driven vehicle in this article and what to look out for generally.
Service Schedule
You've probably heard this when you take your car in for a service. A service centre will advise generally that you should service your car annually or if you've reached the prescribed mileage on a maintenance schedule, whichever comes first. Remember, serviceable items like engine oil, air filters, and oil filters have a lifespan or degrade as you use them hence why they generally have to be changed out based on your car's maintenance schedule. Check and see what's covered by your vehicle's service plan/maintenance schedule if you have one. It's also worth noting between services that you should check your car's fluids like engine oil, brake fluid, coolant and windshield washers ideally on a weekly basis if you drive your car daily or just before a long trip. This is just a good way to keep things in check to avoid big-ticket repairs and keep fuel consumption at a minimum.
Wheel Alignment and Balancing
This tends to get overlooked until the car starts to car handle badly. Wheels and suspension have a tough job. They're what's connecting you to the road and allowing you to negotiate turns and winding roads. As such, they also need tending to in the form of wheel alignment and balancing. It's a good idea to check your car's wheel alignment and balancing at least yearly at a tyre shop to ensure that your car handles as it should. If you don't, it can be a safety hazard as well as wear out your tyres faster and unevenly. While your car is up in the air, let's segue into...
Tyres and Brakes
While you're at the tyre shop tending to alignment and balancing, you should also have a good look at your tyres and brakes. With tyres, you should observe how they're wearing down. If they're wearing unevenly, this could indicate that your car's wheel alignment is off or you've either over or under-inflated your tyres. Make sure your tyres are properly inflated either weekly or before you go on a long trip. If your vehicle allows, rotate your tyres. The driving wheels of your car usually tend to wear down tyres faster than the non-driven ones. So to ensure that all 4 tyres wear down at the same rate, you'd swap the wheels around therefore prolonging the time before you need to eventually change tyres. In the case of four-wheel drive vehicles, you criss-cross rotate the wheels rather than the former where you swap front and back. With brakes, most of the time with brake pads, they'll have acoustic wear indicators or sensors, but while the wheels are off at a service area, it's a good chance to at least have a look. With brake discs, you'll need to measure how much material is left. Most service centres and tyre shops will be able to check how much service life is left for your brakes.
Related: Can incorrect tyre pressures decrease fuel efficiency?
In Conclusion
It's always better to keep tabs on what's going on with your vehicle and keep on top of maintenance. As mentioned, not only will you avoid big-ticket repairs and keep fuel consumption down, it will help when you need to sell the vehicle. More often than not, a vehicle that is well maintained is more desirable and has more value to it. It's also worth noting that you shouldn't be afraid to ask your service centre or tyre shop questions about procedures and what's good for your car. At the same time, if they allow, go and take a look at the car while it's being worked on. You'll still be able to sip on that waiting room coffee.
Here are some cars you can consider which have low maintenance in mind.
