A Simple Guide to Car Maintenance

Nobody buys a car to use it as badly as possible and then get rid of it short-term. Oftentimes though, this is what happens.

To avoid this, here are five car maintenance tips all car owners should follow.

Choose the Right Parts

If you own a vehicle, one of the most important things you can do is replace the spark plugs regularly. Even if spark plugs are very durable components, if you keep the same ones for more than fifty thousand miles, chances are something bad will happen. And when you do change them, make sure you remember that spark plugs are not universal. They come in sizes ranging between 0.028 and0.060 inches.

The same goes for your engine. If you work as a hauler on a heavy-duty truck and need new engine components, choose parts suitable for aCummins machine. The last thing you want is to spend your valuable money on something useless and dangerous to you and those around you.

Mind the Elements

Along with being home to the great Michael Jordan and some of the most delicious pizza globally, Chicago is also one of the coldest cities in Winter. On any given day, air temperatures can reach up to negative24 degrees Fahrenheit. What makes it even worse is that it is located next to Lake Michigan. As a result, the harsh winds are often unbearable.

On the other hand, Phoenix, Arizona, has an average summer temperature of more than 90 degrees. At noon, the strong sun makes it even hotter, as if you were standing at the gates of hell.

There’s nothing worse for a car, both inside and out, than to be left outdoors, a victim to the elements.Aside from causing the tires to deflate, it damages windshield wipers and kills batteries.

Learn the Basics

Whether you are an expert mechanic with decades of experience or someone who can barely drive a car with an automatic transmission, there are a few things every vehicle owner should know how to do. The most common one is changing a flat tire.

No matter how little you drive or how safely, there will come a time when you need to do this. So, learn it well and make sure you are familiar with words like jack, lug nuts, wrench, and hubcap.

But that’s not the only thing you should know. Speaking of lug nuts, you should also learn how to torque them under the appropriate range specified by the manufacturer. Also, you should be able to jump-start your car with an extra battery,replacea radiator hose, and change a fuse.

All these things will be of great help if you ever find yourself stuck on a highway in the middle of nowhere.

Clean Your Car Well

If you are a lady with long, wavy, blonde hair, would you buy a shampoo for men with short, curly, black hair? And when you scrub your body, would you use adishwashingsponge to do it? As a man, would you finish-off a shave with ladies’ perfume? If you have sensitive, dry skin, would you moisturize with products meant for people with an oily complexion?

A car is no different. If you don’t rinse your vehicle before applying soap, you run the risk of damaging its paint finish and creating unnecessary scratches. The wrong soap will not only do the same but also deteriorate your car’s natural paint protection coating. In simple terms, it would be like meeting a person who has aged prematurely.

Many car experts will not tell you that car maintenance is not only about what’s inside. It’s also about taking care of the exteriors and keeping your vehicle clean and hygienic.

Put in the Time

People change cars for different reasons. Some do it because they want something bigger, better, faster, or a combination of all three. Others have maximized their vehicle’s useful life and need to replace it. Finally, a group of people changes cars often because they don’t know how to keep a car functioning well for more than a few years.

In life, whatever you put in will determine the result. If you take the time to learn about your car, its model and maker, the ideal tire pressure, and what kind of oil it needs, your vehicle will respond accordingly. Keep in mind that the best car mechanics are not those who can do everything but rather those who know how to maintain a car, so they don’t have to.

If you want your car to run as well as possible and last long, choose the right parts when you replace something, mind the elements, learn the basics, clean often, and keep learning. It will make your car ownership experience the best it can be.