Useful car maintenance tips

YOUR car is one of the most expensive assets that you own. Running and fuelling it is also a major expense, consuming thousands of pounds a year.

Luckily, developing some good maintenance habits can not only save you petrol but also make your car last longer.

Keep your tyres inflated

Proper inflation of your tyres will give your car better handling and better fuel economy. It will also ensure that your tyres last as long as possible. To find the correct tyre pressure, look for the label inside your car's driver or passenger door. While you are at it, rotate your tires in accordance with your manufacturer's recommendations. This will help them to wear evenly.

Check your fluids

At a minimum, your car has oil, coolant, power steering, brake, and transmission fluids. If any of them are too low, or too high, the system which depends on that fluid can be damaged or can completely fail. Most of them have dipsticks which you can easily check, while others have translucent containers which you can simply look at to find the level.

Change your oil

Although it is possible to waste money changing your oil too frequently, it is nevertheless a good idea to follow the schedule in your owner's manual. Going too long without an oil change will not only make your car run poorly, but will also make your engine wear too quickly. If your owner's manual gives you a choice of a regular or "severe conditions" schedule, follow the latter unless your driving truly consists of nothing but long motorway drives on traffic-free roads of dual carriageway quality.

Avoid tanker trucks

If you see a tanker truck filling the tanks at your petrol station, go somewhere else to buy your fuel. The high pressure hoses that fill the station's tanks will stir up sediment in the tank which will end up in your car's tank. That dirty fuel can then clog your fuel system and injectors. The sediment in the station's storage tank will settle soon after the tanker truck leaves, so either wait a day to buy your petrol, or go to a different station.

Get an online car insurance quote

At the end of the day, most of these maintenance tips exist to help you save money on running your car. With this in mind, online car insurance quotes are great ways to save money on your car insurance. In fact, an online car insurance quote from a source like Your Cover Insurance could easily save you hundreds of pounds per year over your current insurer.

Wash your car

Keeping your car clean does more than just make it look good. It protects it from the highly corrosive de-icing salt that covers our roads throughout the winter. It also can actually increase your fuel economy as air is better able to pass over your car's surface when it clean. Less dirt on your car also decreases the risk that the dirt will end up somewhere inside your car's works.