You rely on your car to get you to all the places you need to be. But are you giving it the proper care it needs? New or old, all cars need to be maintained to live up to their life expectancy. If you’re not looking after your car, you’re going to send it to an early grave. For most people, that’s a much more expensive option than simply taking proper care.
Be on the lookout for these 5 ways that kill your car faster and if you find yourself guilty of any of these, hurry in to Main Street Automotive so we can help you. No judgement, we promise! We just want you on the road running safe!
- Neglecting oil changes and routine maintenance
While you don’t need to go every 3 months anymore as was the old standard, you do need to follow a routine maintenance schedule for your car. It might seem like a pain, but we get you in and out fast and make sure your car has enough oil and other important fluids to run efficiently. Putting it off when maintenance is required can lead to much more expensive repairs.
- Not keeping tire pressure at optimum
When you don’t keep your tires filled up at the right levels, your tires build up heat from the extra flexing. So your car works harder and reduces your fuel economy. Tires that aren’t properly inflated can be harder to handle and compromise braking ability too.
- Skipping the balancing and rotating of tires
Tires don’t just need to be filled up right. They also need to be balanced and rotated. This helps them give you the best support on the road. It also reduces the wear on your tires and makes it more even. When you do it right, you won’t destroy your tires before their prime.
- Driving when you can walk
Do you take the car just to drive to the mailbox instead of walking? If you love your car, give it a break. Short journeys that are less than one mile don’t allow for your engine oil to get to that sweet spot in viscosity which lubricates the moving components in your engine. For those short jaunts, just walk.
- Keeping your hand on the gear shift
Whether you drive a manual or automatic transmission, keeping your hand on the gear shift is a bad idea. It can prematurely wear the gear. If you have a stick shift, wiggling the stick around can wear out that gearbox, leading to that grinding and crunching sound when you shift. And for automatics, you can weaken the gear grip, shifting out of gear accidentally. It’s not something you want to have to fix, trust us!
You don’t want to kill your car before you’re able to comfortably buy a new one. Make sure you take good care of it. Main Street Automotive in Crestview, FL is here for you anytime you need service. Whether you’ve neglected your car or not, come see us and let us help keep it roadworthy!
