Car ownership, can be a joy so it’s worth while considering just how important it is to take care of your car properly.
Car ownership is like owing any other gadget or item – if you don’t look after it properly, you will eventually need to replace it.
Here are just five of the key car ownership mistakes that people have made in the past, that have cost them far more than they could have imagined.
The Wrong Wheels
Believing that you are a car expert, when you are new to the world of automobiles can be a disastrous car ownership mistake to try and pull off. For instance, installing oversized wheels is a rookie mistake and will eventually cause you nothing but massively expensive problems. You can eventually damage the fenders and wheel wells for your vehicle and leave yourself with a huge bill to pay and no car for quite some time.
Unaligned Tyres
Car Ownership Mistakes
Tyres care is a big part of car ownership, and aligning them in the wrong manner is a mistake that plenty of people do. If you’re putting on new tyres make sure they are properly aligned. Failure to do so will see your tyre’s running out much quicker than you ever thought possible!
Ignoring Oil Changes
Just like anything else that uses oil, it has to be changed and re-mixed from time to time. Whilst oil technology has improved in the last generation or so, it’s still vital to make sure that your car gets an oil change from time to time. If you fail to do so, this car ownership mistake will eventually start to cause your engine to wear out, as there will not be efficient enough lubricant. This can be an expensive problem to clean up, in more ways than one.
Buying Cheap Batteries
Sometimes, trying to save money on vehicle maintenance will only cost you far more in the long-term. A dead battery as you might imagine is useless. When buying a car battery, look online for the exact battery type for your vehicle and try going for one of the better ranges. Buying a cheap replacement to save a few pounds may cost you extra money for a battery charger and a replacement, so try not to scrimp and save in this department.
Unprofessional Body Work
The last thing that your vehicle needs is cheap bodywork – if you have dented or damaged your car, get a professional to fix the problem. Your mate with a hammer or that DIY specialist with his own garage out the back, might not be the best people to really help you, as it may end up costing you far more in the future.
If you can think of any other car ownership mistakes you want to shout, about feel free to let me know.
To health and vehicle happiness,
Your fearless mechanic,
Phil.
Brakes squeal, is never a good look.
For any vehicle owner, hearing your car sound like it’s doing the motor equivalent of squealing like a pig can be quite tough to put up with. Not only is it a wholly unpleasant sound, but also it’s not exactly a great indicator for the health of the vehicle.
Brakes squeal is wholly irritating and a embarrassing thing to go through, especially when you see half a street looking at your car with a funny face.
However, worse than the sound of the brakes squeal and the public laughing, are the comical prices you may be quoted to get brakes squeal fixed. Brakes squeal tends to be the mechanical equivalent of the blue screen of death on a PC; and an opportunity for the mechanic to drive the price up.
The thing is when your brakes sound as if they are on their last legs, whatever the mechanic suggests to fix the problem you will probably accept it. So if you want to avoid this type of situation, here are the two key reasons why your brakes may start to cause such an awful sound.
Brakes Squeal
Vibrating Brakes
The irritating hum and squeal you hear coming from your brakes may be due to vibration. This might seem like amateur hour on the part of the manufacturers, but a vibrating brake pad may be the reason for this noise. Whilst most vehicles come with an absorber for the vibration, they eventually thin down and become less effective – and require replacing. Thankfully this problem is less expensive and a lot easier to cope with financially, than many of the suggestions a mechanic might just decide to try and scare you with.
General Wear and Tear
If your brakes are coming to the end of their lifespan don’t fret. This is something that happens regularly with all vehicles and therefore is a common and cost-effective problem to get sorted. So long as you get the pads replaced before your vehicle starts to chew up the brake disks, you’ll be fine. The brakes squeal that we’ve been discussing is the most common indicator of a change being required. If you are a decent DIY mechanic, this is easy to sort and can be done with relative ease otherwise it’s a fairly cheap to have the repair carried out by a mechanic.
As you can see, your brakes squeal and sounding as if they are on the verge of death is probably because they are. But the be warned, the issue might not to be because of the terrifyingly expensive reason a devious mechanic may tell you.
To health and vehicle happiness,
Your fearless mechanic,
Phil.
Bad car habits can put a hole in your pocket if you don’t keep them in check.
As you might imagine, car maintenance is very important because the majority of cars can be relatively fragile if you don’t look after them. Bad car habits tend to be entirely self-inflicted, and therefore can cause vehicle damage that may prove to be expensive. So if you find that your car is beginning to incur problems a touch quicker than you are used to, it maybe it’s due to the way you drive.
Okay… so this post isn’t a dig, or a way to preach about road safety, it’s a legitimate concern, as certain bad car habits can directly cause crashes and accidents. Equally, the following bad car habits are going to put a severe dent in the lifespan of your vehicle.
Bad Car Habits
Dodging Maintenance
If you were to go through life without ever doing any exercise, or looking after your body in any fashion whatsoever, it would no doubt lead to shorter lifespan than normal. Right? Well a car is the exactly same. Delaying going for regular service checks ups and maintenance may turn into one of those bad car habits, meaning that your car will never get its proverbial exercise check up. If you want to avoid this dilemma, you should take your car for a regular service for things like oil and filter replacement, transmission fluids, air filters and replacement brake pads.
Head ups! Your vehicle should have come with a maintenance manual. If you can’t find it, you may be able to pick one up online. Following the advice found in your vehicle manual will help you to create a nice maintenance routine to follow.
Shifting When on the Move
Gear shifting when on the move is a foolish tactic, it’s another one of those bad car habits, it’s costly, and will wear out the transmission fairly quickly. Don’t shift from drive to reverse whilst you are moving as it’s like a kick in the face to the transmission. Too many of these jerks and jabs, and you will eventually need to replace the transmission. In many cases, this can almost be as expensive as buying a new car outright!
Computer Game Driving
Do you tend to drive at the maximum speed possible, only to come to grinding halt at every stop you encounter? If so be prepared to put your car in the scrapper early. This type of driving will accelerate the deterioration of the key parts of your vehicle, it’s again another one of those bad driving habits, and eventually it will leave you with a hulking mess of a vehicle. For a good car life span, take it nice and smooth and don’t make computer game driving a bad car habit.
Ignoring Dash Lights
It’s fairly self-explanatory – if you decide to ignore the clear warnings that your vehicle is giving you, then hands down you will eventually regret it! Bad car habits are not paying attention to dashboard warning lights, they are there for a reason. And if you do come across a legitimate problem, please do yourself a favor and hot foot it down to the local garage or your trusty mechanic to have the problem repaired.
Tire Replacements
Are your tires balding or damaged? Then you need to bite the bullet and get replacements. It might be expensive, but it may cost you more than and “arm and a leg” in the long-term if you decide to just ignore it. Bald tyres are dangerous full stop, and if you live in weather torn areas it’s asking for serious trouble. You’ve been warned, if your tyres are balding pick new ones up as soon as possible or you run the risk of having no car at all!
To health and vehicle happiness,
Your fearless mechanic,
Phil.