Getting your car repaired or maintained by a garage can be a costly business. It’s not so much the cost of the parts, it’s the labor costs. While you may not be that mechanically minded, there are several things you can do to maintain your car and therefore keep it in good running order.

Undertaking basic car maintenance will keep your car in good working order, which will help reduce the need for repairs and means your car only needs to get looked at professionally, when a full service is required. Here are a couple of things anyone can do without any mechanical training.

Tires

Regularly check the tire pressures, including the spare tire. Not only is it essential the tire pressures are correct for safety reasons, but also if the pressure is too high or too low your tire will wear excessively and your fuel consumption will increase. You can find out what pressure your tire need to be by looking in the car’s manual. It is also often labeled in the driver’s door frame.

Make sure you set the pressure correctly for the load you car carries. You will see that the pressure alter depending on weight so if you are carrying a car full of people, or a heavy load; you need to increase the pressures. If you are driving on your own or with one passenger then the pressures should be reduced.

Regularly check the condition of the tire. If a tire has cuts in it or chunks out of it is potentially dangerous. Additionally, if you tire fails while driving you may end up with the cost of calling for breakdown assistance. Always replace your tires when the tread is getting low otherwise you will lose traction in wet conditions.

Battery

Your car battery is a vital component. It gets your car started and provides backup power for all your electrical equipment in the event of an alternator failure. Don’t wait until you find your car won’t start one cold morning. Give a regular check to make sure it’s charging and retaining its charge.

You can test the condition of your battery using a multimeter. It’s a simple device that can measure voltage and amperes. Voltage is the force that electricity flows through wires while amperes relate to how much electricity flows.

A typical car battery is labeled as producing 12 volts, however it actually produces a little more than that to compensate for resistance in the wiring; a fully charged battery in good condition will produce about 12.7 volts. This voltage remains stable throughout discharge in a good battery.

To test your battery, make sure you have charged it using a battery charger first. Then leave the battery for an hour or so; this allows the voltage to stabilize. Do not turn on your car’s engine. Turn on your multimeter and set it so it measures voltage. Simply attach the clips on the ends of the wires onto the battery terminals. The red wire goes to the positive terminal and the black wire to the negative terminal. If your meter reads between 12.5 and 12.7 volts you can be sure you have a good battery. If it reads under 12.5 volts, but over 12 volts you may need to consider replacing it shortly. Anything less than 12 volts means you need a new battery.

Lawrence Reaves writes about Used Auto Parts and USed Ford Engines for Woodfins.com

Lawrence Reaves writes about Used Auto Parts and Used Ford Engines for http://www.Woodfins.com

Author Bio: Lawrence Reaves writes about Used Auto Parts and USed Ford Engines for Woodfins.com

Category: Automotive
Keywords: cars, car parts, auto parts, used auto parts, DIY car maintenance, general car care