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5 Tips To Avoiding Costly Car Maintenance Mistakes

10.20.2009 · Posted in Home and Garden Articles

People now-a-days are so busy with their day to day lives that they don’t take the time out they need to take better care of their cars. People could end up saving a bundle of time and money if they just took ten minutes out of their day-to-day and checked up on their cars. Everyone has stress in their lives including their relationships, their jobs, and much more. Wouldn’t it be nice not to include a long trip to the mechanic’s shop?nnHere are a few common mistakes you should avoid:nn1) Not keeping tires inflated – To do this, you’ll have to get a tire pressure gauge. At about $5, they’re pretty inexpensive. The next thing you’ll need to do is find the recommended tire pressure that’s listed on your tires. Finally, check the tire pressure to see if it matches.nnThis is beneficial in many ways. First of all, because when your tires are at the optimal PSI, your car will burn less gas. Second, you won’t have to get new tires as often. Third, a tire that is under or over inflated doesn’t perform as well, and can even be dangerous. It can possibly blow and cause an accident.nn2) Not checking fluid levels (or not checking them properly) – If your cat is an automatic, you should check fluids when they’re warm. Put the car in neutral, and make sure the parking brake is on. Your engive oil can be checked with the car warm, but make sure the car is turned off to do that. When it comes to radiator fluids, those should only be checked when the engine is cold. If you check them while the car is hot, pressure can build up in the radiator and cause severe burns.nn3) Do it yourself oil changes, or skipping regularly scheduled lubrication – Changing your own oil, while is seems like a good alternative, isn’t, because you have to raise the car, drain the oil, which is messy, and then you are stuck with trying to dispose of the used oil.nnThat’s why taking your car to a **** shop is the best choice. They’ll check all fluids and top of everything, they’ll lubricate the chassis, and do a few other things, for a pretty low price. Using a **** shop is typically less expensive, and a whole lot faster too.nn4) Not checking the brakes often enough – That squeal you hear every time you push the brake is a warning that your brake pads have worn all the way down to the studs, and are now scraping the drums and rotors. Leave it like that too long and you’ll be stuck replacing the rotors along with the brake pads, which is pricey. Having the brakes changed, which typically costs less than two hundred dollars, is much better than waiting and having to replace the rotors too.nn5) Not tightening the gas cap all the way – Sometimes people go to the shop thinking there is something wrong with their car because the check engine light is on. Then end up having to pay for a diagnosis, when the only thing that was wrong is the gas cap was loose. Always be sure your gas cap is on tight, so there is no air interfering with your fuel intake and causing the check engine light to come on.

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