Basic Car Maintenance
So you have just bought a new car! Great! Now the journey begins. And no, we are not referring to all the fun adventures you’ll have ahead of you now. Instead, we are talking about all the basic car maintenance work that goes into ensuring you will have those fun adventures 300,000 miles later!
And yes, you are odometer can go that high with regular car maintenance. So with that said, here’s all you need to know about basic car maintenance! For the expert car owner, read our guide to car maintenance for experts.
Cheap and Easy Fixes
Starting off, not everything about keeping your car in tip-top shape requires a ton of money or time! In fact, some of these tricks you can do in 10 minutes with the spare cash in your wallet. So let us start off super easy!
The first car maintenance tip is to replace your wiper blades from time to time! You can do this by change of seasons or whenever you start to see they no longer work (and trust us, you will literally see it with ugly streaks and skipping patterns). For this one, you can buy your wiper blades for less than $20 in most cases. And attaching the blades is super simple as well! It is a matter of finding what tabs connect where!
Your car needs some clean air to keep your engine’s power at its max! Plus, it keeps your car’s air clean. So pick up a fresh air filter about once a year or so. Usually, these cost from $10-$20 if you shop around. And best of all, it only takes about 7 minutes to install in your car.
Again, your car’s fluids are cheap. So be sure to do basic car maintenance regularly, check them, and keep them topped off. Specifically, you will want to look for coolant, windshield wiper fluid, power steering, and brake fluids. Altogether, these are what aid your car in running like new!
Your Oil
This one is so important; it deserves a section of its own! In short, you can liken your car’s oil to your body’s blood. It is the most essential of car maintenance basic for keeping your car going! So if nothing else, MAKE SURE YOU’RE CHANGING YOUR OIL!
As a rule of thumb, a change every 3,000 miles should work fine.
Now, how you go about this is up to you! A mechanic can do this relatively quickly. But hey, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you can do it yourself as well!
Now, how you go about this is up to you! A mechanic can do this relatively quickly. But hey, if you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you can do it yourself as well!
Tires
When it comes to your tires, you will want to keep track of a few things. And as you would probably guess, you cannot drive anywhere with a bad tire. So make sure you keep them in solid shape. The first step of basic car maintenance for tires is to ensure they are properly inflated.
For specifics, check your manual for the recommended pressure. But checking your tire pressure is something you’ll want to do once a week. And when the pressure starts to run low, pick up a tire pump or use the air pump at the gas station for a quick top off.
Specifically, check for balding on your tires. Whenever you notice your tread is becoming slick or wearing heavily, it is a good time to replace your tires. Lastly, you will want to check in with a mechanic to balance your tires every 5000 or so miles. Not only will this keep your drives safe, but also you might even notice some extra MPGs along the way!
Essential Tools in Your Trunk
Always expect the unexpected! You will never know when your car will break down on the side of the road. So make sure you are prepared for any quick fix by preparing a toolkit for your trunk! These are the 8 Essential Tools for any car. Most of them help with the car maintenance basics too.