How to care for your car to ensure a longer lifespan
Although we often regard cars as a necessity, they are so much more. For many of us, they are among our most prized possessions, especially when it’s a high-end ride on which we’ve spent quite a fortune.
Such cars, therefore, demand our utmost care so we can get their money’s worth and enjoy the prestige of owning a neat, classy vehicle for a long time to come.
Maintaining such high-end vehicles is what most car owners have to face daily especially in a place like Dubai. As a car owner in Dubai, you get to see luxury cars all around you, all of them looking and sounding fresh out of the factory. You don’t want yours to be the odd one out.
So how do you care for your car to ensure it looks and sounds new for years to come? What steps must you take to ensure your vehicle lives its expected lifetime optimally?
Use only the recommended fuel
You may not know it, but your car was possibly designed to use a particular fuel and oil, especially if it’s a luxury vehicle. Using other petroleum products for regular cars may not entirely harm your car but may hamper its speed or fuel efficiency.
All in all, it’s advisable to use the recommended fuel and oil for your luxury car to ensure it performs optimally.
Use genuine spare parts
As much as you try to avoid it, your car will one day develop a fault. The good news is, that’s not the end of it. Your car is a machine made of several components and tiny parts. One may get bad and simply need a replacement.
But as little as those parts may look, they’re essential to the functioning of your vehicle.
It’s in your best interest to replace a faulty component only with a genuine part that’s appropriate for your vehicle. Various brands are there in the market, One such is K&N, offering good spare parts that may be appropriate for your vehicle. Fortunately, you can get K&N Spare auto parts Dubai quickly and affordably by shopping online on your smartphone. Ensuring you use only authentic spare parts will save you a lot of headaches during your vehicle’s life span.
Check your car frequently
Proactiveness will save you a lot of money and unforeseen challenges. When your car breaks down suddenly, it may be a result of an issue that has gotten worse over time. It would therefore do a lot of good to take some time and check around your car to see if all the components are up to speed. Once a week isn’t bad.
Check your battery terminals for corrosion, oil sludge build-up, or leaks. Also, check for funny smells and sounds when driving.
Discovering an issue before it escalates will save you the expenses you’d have incurred if it develops into more significant damage.
Drive smoothly
This one is a no-brainer. If you have a luxury car you spent a lot of money on, you want to treat it like an egg even before anyone tells you to do so. However, there are some critical things you need to be particularly wary of while driving:
● Avoid accelerating too rapidly. Get it up little by little.
● Avoid slamming your brakes. Although it may not harm your car immediately, it can zap the gas out of your tank within a second. It may cause wear and tear on the tires and hoses, leading to leaks that put your brake pads in trouble.
● Aside from the Dubai speed limit, also ensure you’re not going above your car’s speed limit since each vehicle is designed with that in mind.
Mind the lights on your dashboard
Each light on your dashboard signifies something. Ensure you get familiar with these lights as some of them indicate that there’s a problem with your car. It could be your engine or anything else. But the sooner you check what the issue is, the better for your vehicle’s health.
It’s advisable to read the manufacturer’s manual to enlighten yourself on what each light indicates.
To learn more about these lights, see this car warning lights guide for more information.
Keep maximum weight in check
Just as there’s a speed limit, there’s also a limit to the weight your vehicle can carry.
Your car may be marked at 1,500kg, but you’ll find out that it carries up to 1,800kg or even more. It can, not because that’s the best thing for it. The manufacturers marked out 1,500kg as the maximum weight the vehicle can carry in optimal condition, so going above that limit potentially depletes your car’s condition (health).
So it’s best to consider that when transporting things in your vehicle. Although your car is your home on the road, it’s wise to reduce the amount of junk or “to-be-used-later” tools in its trunk. Carrying too much load reduces your fuel efficiency and may cause wear to some components due to overload.
Clean your car regularly
No one wants their vehicle to look shabby among a fleet of high-end cars that glitter in the sun.
But keeping your car clean is more than for the sake of aesthetics.
Rusts can get hidden underneath the dirt, and you won’t even see the difference. And the longer you leave it, the bigger the rust gets. It’s therefore advisable to clean your car every chance you get or schedule a car cleaning service. Polishing your vehiclecan also help prevent rust.
Note that washing-up liquid contains salt, which can damage a car’s paintwork. So it’s advisable to use a suitable screenwash instead.
Top up fluids regularly
Fuel, oil, these fluids are your car’s blood. They’re what gets it running.
While you may always have fuel in mind, it’s not so for oil. But having depleted or dirty black oil can cause a whole lot of harm.
To avoid that, check your oil at least biweekly. Ensure your car is on level ground and open the bonnet.
Remove the dipstick. Wipe the fluid off and dip it again.
If it comes back with dark, dirty oil, it’s time for a replacement.
Typically, the oil level should be between the maximum and minimum marks, and the oil should be yellow-brown for a car with a petrol engine.
Also, top up your coolant reservoir with distilled water and antifreeze, about half the volume each.
Conclusion
A car is just another machine that requires proper maintenance. Although its life will come to an end one day, how much care you give it now has a lot to do to extend the date of its final use.