Keeping Your First Car Going

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Here are some basic starter tips to keep your first car happily on the road. Just because it’s your first car doesn’t mean it has to take a beating. These tips are ones that every car owner should know and follow. Although they may seem obvious, you’d be surprised how many of us don’t know how to check the oil, or where the dipstick is! Preserve the old plymouth your dad passed on to you or get a good return when your trade in your first car for your dream car, make these tips into just good habits.

Keep Your Car Clean

Make sure you clean your car regularly. No, your parents didn’t hire us to write this. Maintaining a clean car both inside and out isn’t just about looks. For those of you have driven salted roads this winter, regular washing can remove corrosive salt from the underside of your car. Cleaning can also help remove dirt and dust that can build up in your car’s paint, deteriorating protective qualities and depreciating your car’s resale value.

Check Your Tires

Keep on top of your tires, literally and figuratively. Considering how crucial tires are, you’d think the average drive would be better about maintaining and checking them. But more than half the cars out there are driving on “bad tires”, either improperly inflated, uneven wear, misalignment.

Try to make a good habit of checking your tires. If you wash your car once a month, try to remember to make that the set time. Improperly inflated tires, too much or too little air can be dangerous and throw of the alignment of your car. Improper alignment can actually effect your gas mileage. But more importantly it is a matter of safety. And if safety isn’t enough to motivate you, low pressure tires can bald more quickly, meaning you’ll be springing or a new set maybe before your wallets ready too.

Check the Oil

Make sure you are well aware of your oil levels. For some this may actually seem like a “mechanical” level that they aren’t comfortable with. All car owners should read their car’s manual so that now what type of oil it can take, and how to locate the dipstick. For most car models, the check oil light comes on when it is almost too late. Oil is what keeps all those moving parts, well, moving. Without proper oil amounts, your car’s pistons could begin to grind and overheat. The majority of the time when the oil indicator comes on it’s telling you that it is low, not that it’s getting low. No one wants to make building a new engine part of their car maintenance budget.

Check your oil every time you get gas, and set regular reminders to get your oil changed.

Check All Your Wipers and Wiper Fluid

Make sure you regularly check your windshield wipers and wiper fluid. You don’t have to live in rainy climates to make this a regular practice. In fact regular checks are more important in drier climates. Just because you can’t remember the last time it rained doesn’t mean out of sight out of mind. Mid rain storm is not a good time to find out the rubber on your windshield wipers has dried during a rainstorm. Wiper fluid is just as important in keeping your windshield clean. Whether you’re trying to rid your view of splatter bug goo while driving down the highway, or a dust storm is building a mud pie in right in line of site, the wiper fluid can be your savior.

Following these simple tips is a great base for every new, first time or multiple car owner. Adding to the longevity of your vehicle is never a bad thing.