Car care advice for new drivers
Purchasing a car, especially to first time buyers and new drivers, is an exciting moment. However, the commitment to your car does not end there. Although a car is an object that is used for daily commutes, it needs to be treated with care as it can be delicate in certain areas.
Here are the basic dos and don’ts to all drivers, new or seasoned, when it comes to car care.
- Warming your engine – not
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You’ve probably been told that when you start your engine on a cold morning without warming it up first before driving off immediately, it will all blow up in a cataclysmic manner, right? Wrong.
There isn’t a need to warm your engine up for 5 minutes or so before you drive the car, it is a huge myth. An idling engine takes a longer time to warm up to optimum working capacity than that which is driving a load. On top of that, the transmission and wheel bearings only get warmed up when the car is in motion. Therefore, it is advisable for you to turn the ignition on and drive at an unhurried pace until everything is running at optimum temperatures before any sort of pedal-to-the-metal action.
- Servicing
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Also, to have a healthy engine, your car needs to be regularly serviced. A well-maintained car would be more fuel efficient and more reliable. Having your car serviced at every given mileage or time interval will also limit the amount of wear and tear on the working parts of the car which will result in the less likelihood of it breaking down. Besides this, having a proper maintenance history of your car increases its value for when you wish to replace it with a new one.
- Car washing
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One other thing that’s often overlooked by most drivers is the importance of having your car washed. Yes, the car is always aesthetically appealing when it’s clean and shiny, but the benefits of it don’t stop there. Since our cars are subjected to the blistering heat of the sunlight, dirt, grime and the worst-enemy of any driver; bird droppings, regular washes are in order. These infernal nuisances dull the paint of your car, eventually causing corrosion and ultimately making its resale value fairly diminutive. Having your car washed at least twice a month would relieve you and your car of some shame.
These small tips will aid you with your plight to have a pleasant drive always with the least amount of issues faced. Following these would also save you a whole lot of money on the long run, be it in the aspect of fuel efficiency, maintenance, or resale value.
