Imagine this: It’s Monday morning. You wake up, shower, dress, and prepare yourself for a busy day at the office. Then you go through your full morning routine of getting the kids up, fed, dressed, and corralled into the automobile, only to find that it won’t start—and all of you are going to wind up late for the start of your day.
This may sound like a particularly bad case of the Mondays, but the truth is, things like this happen; there’s no way to fully prevent against automotive failure. What you can do is minimize it by knowing your vehicle’s needs, and attending to them through routine maintenance. Today, we want to offer just a few quick tips that might help make routine car upkeep come a bit easier.
A Few Things to Know About Vehicle Care
First and foremost, preventative maintenance pays. When your car breaks down, or a major system fails, it can obviously be inconvenient—but it can also be incredibly expensive to repair. Routine maintenance—oil change, tire rotation, brake inspection, etc.—costs much less money, and though it may seem mildly inconvenient at the time, it can ultimately spare you a world of headaches, hassle, and unwanted costs.
It’s good to always have a spare tire handy—and know how to use it! Truthfully, there isn’t much skill or finesse required to changing a tire. You just need to watch someone do it once—you can even consult YouTube—and you’ll probably get the basic idea. That sure beats having to ask someone else to do it for you. Alternatively, though, you can always invest in something like AAA, which will get you out of these jams as they happen, if not as cheaply or as quickly as doing the job yourself.
There is a lot of vehicle maintenance you can do yourself. You should absolutely trust big repairs to the professionals—but you don’t necessarily have to pay for someone to just replace your oil and other fluids, to deep clean your vehicle, etc.
Your manual may be your best friend. Make sure you have a copy of your owner’s manual handy, and that you consult it whenever there’s a problem. Remember, it was written by the technicians who made your vehicle, and it provides plenty of key insights into auto upkeep.
Alertness is key. One of the best ways to keep small problems from developing into big ones is to get them checked out and fixed sooner rather than later—so keeping your eyes peeled to anything unusual happening with the car helps. Also be sure to listen carefully for odd noises, and pay attention to a ride that suddenly becomes shakier than it used to be. All of these are warning signs of vehicular trouble.
The bottom line on what every woman should know about her car: spending some time getting to know your vehicle—and administering the most basic TLC—can often keep your automotive malfunctions to a minimum. Show your vehicle some love today!