Dan Radak, Negosentro | Just like everything else in life, the maintenance of your vehicle comes down to simple math too. You either A) pay for maintenance over a prolonged period of time or B) pay for expensive repairs once in a while. The amount of money you spend can be quite similar in both cases, with one major difference: maintenance costs can easily fit your household budget, while a malfunction gets interpreted as an emergency expense. This is why most people find keeping your vehicle in top shape to be a much better option. Here are four simple tips that will help your maintenance efforts be even more cost-effective than before.
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Read the owner’s manual
Even if this isn’t your first car and you know what you’re doing, you should be aware that not all cars are the same. For instance, different vehicles require different types of oil, and using mineral oil when you should be using synthetic might cause some problems in the long run. Most manuals come with simple guidelines and following them can do wonders for your vehicle. This will not only provide you with a better driving experience, but also helps keep your vehicle’s resale value high for years to come.
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Buy your own parts
Even though taking your car to a mechanic may seem like the best choice at the time, it is definitely not always the most cost-effective. Sure, a routine checkup never costs much, but what about replacing a major part in your vehicle? First of all, since this is a demanding task, you might get charged a bit more, however, the major part of the price will be due to the fact that you let the mechanic purchase spare parts for you. This poses two major risks: they might overcharge you for the part they purchased, or they might deliberately get a part of lower quality in order to increase their profit. Luckily, in this day and age, you can easily purchase your own auto parts online and avoid these problems altogether.
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Respond in due time
In the introduction, we mentioned car repairs being an emergency expense. In addition, failing to respond in due time can only make the situation worse. As a driver, you will have the best insight into the condition of your vehicle. As soon as you notice that your engine has started to behave oddly, that your brakes are a bit loose, or that one of your tires loses air more quickly than the others, you need to react. In this way, you are preventing further damage and minimize the cost of any future repair.
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Rotating tires
One of the things that a lot of laymen don’t know is that the weight and pressure put on your car’s tires isn’t 100 percent equally distributed. This causes some tires to get worn out more quickly than others, leading to significant maintenance problems. In order to postpone the need to replace a tire, you can try rotating them. The way in which you rotate them, however, depends on the type of your vehicle. As for front- and rear-wheel drives, the tires should not only be swapped, but also crossed as often as possible, in order to balance out any subconscious driving habit of yours that might affect them. Still, this doesn’t mean that four-wheel drives shouldn’t have their tires rotated from time to time as well.
Conclusion
With these four tips on your side, you can make the job of your car’s maintenance much simpler and, more importantly, much more cost-effective. Instead of dealing with a single large malfunction when it appears, you are tending to minor issues on a monthly basis, and this way you’ll always be prepared for whatever the road may bring.
Dan Radak is a marketing professional with eleven years of experience. He is currently working with a number of companies in the field of digital marketing, closely collaborating with a couple of e-commerce companies. He is also a coauthor on several technology websites and regular contributor to Technivorz.
