Car Servicing
As a car owner, it’s your duty to take care of your car to ensure that it is safe to be on the road. The best way to take care of your vehicle and ensure safety on the road, is to have your car serviced regularly. The purpose of a car service is to find any issues that there are with your car, evaluate the severity of these issues, and recommend whether or not your car is suitable to be on the road.
So let’s take a closer look at car servicing and why it is a vital aspect of owning a car.
How Often Should I Have My Car Serviced?
Simply put, it depends on your car, yourself, and your situation. Car servicing costs money and if you rely on your car to get to and from work, it can be incredibly inconvenient. Your logbook is the best indicator on how often your car needs servicing, but as a general rule of thumb, we would suggest, every 10,000km or 6 months (whichever comes first).
If your car frequently falls victim to issues, then it is a good idea for you to opt to have your car serviced more frequently than if your car rarely has issues.
Remember, the purpose of a car service is to ensure that the car is suitable for being on the road and if the service results in a recommendation which states that your car is unsuitable for road use, it’s important to get the issues fixed before hitting the roads once again.
Dashboard Lights
Your dashboard lights are incredibly useful when it comes to getting your car serviced. If you see lights such as your “Check Engine” light begin to blink, don’t ignore this.
Every car is different when it comes to your dashboard lights, so it’s important that upon buying a new car, you take the time to sit down and read the car manual to understand what each of your dashboard lights mean.
Again, when the time comes to get your car serviced these lights will be useful and will give the mechanic a more specific area to pay close attention to. Additionally, if you notice that multiple dashboard lights begin to light up this is a sign that it’s time to get your car serviced.
Top Tips on Car Maintenance
To maintain your car and keep it in good condition as well as running well, here are some top tips to do so.
- Check Your Oil Level. Running out of petrol in the middle of nowhere is one thing, running out of oil is another. Again, checking your engine’s oil level takes only a few minutes to do so and while you can use a rough time gauge to remember when to fill up the oil, you can simply check your oil level regularly.
- Check for Leaks. This should be something which everyone does by default, although it’s important to take a minute or two to look under your car and check for leaks. An oil leak can cause unwanted engine damage and expenses.
- Check Tyre Pressure Regularly. It’s important to keep an eye on your tyre pressure. If your tyre pressure begins to drop at a fast rate, there may be something wrong with the tyre. Checking your tyre pressure can be done in only a few seconds.
- Pressure Washing Your Car. Pressure washing your car is one of the best ways to clean your car. The main reason for this is that it can get rough patches of dirt off a lot easier than you would be able to do with a sponge.
Car Servicing Myths
- New Car Warranties. One of the most common myths with new cars is Manufacturer’s Warranties will not be honoured if you have your vehicle serviced by an independent certified workshop rather than the Car Dealership. Certified workshops servicing your car as per the manufacturers specifications, will not affect your new car warranty. More information on this topic can be found on the Australia Automotive website.
- Change Your Oil Every 5,000 Kms. In theory, if you wanted to be incredibly certain that you won’t need to change your oil anytime soon, you could change your oil every 5,000 Kms, however, you can drive a lot further. Do some research on your specific car make and model, read the manual, and change your oil appropriately.
- Mechanics Will Push More Changes. This isn’t true at all. Remember, mechanics have more customers to get to other than you. They will only suggest what they believe is the best for your car and your road safety.
- Regular Fuel Will Damage Your Car Components. Nope. While premium fuel does have its advantages, your car will run perfectly fine if you choose to use regular fuel over premium fuel. As always it is however recommended to follow the manufacturer guidelines on fuelling whenever possible.
- Don’t Rush Your Car. By this we mean that if you haven’t used your car in a long time, or have rarely used it, don’t rush your car straight back into driving long distances frequently. If your car hasn’t been used regularly for a while, suddenly using it to drive far distances a lot can result in component damage. Just as you would if you were injured, ease your car back into your driving routines.
To Conclude
Getting your car serviced is important. Not only for the sake of your car but for the safety of yourself and other road users. By not having your car serviced regularly, you could be overlooking a devastating issue with your vehicle. Have your car serviced, have the issues fixed, and enjoy driving your car knowing that all is well worth it.
If it’s time for a service, you can choose from over 1,600 qualified local mechanics and book your car service online with Supercheap Auto Services. An easy way to quote, compare, book and lock in a price for your next car service.