Why Car maintenance is so important over the festive season

Around this time last year my car broke down which is no fun when you have two small kids with you, in fact it's not the first time we had broken down during Winter and it was snowing so as you can image it was freezing. We were lucky that we didn't have to wait too long for the breakdown driver to reach us although saying that half an hour in a freezing car still isn't pleasant and could of easily been

avoided (well in the one case, the other was due to a faulty alternator that couldn't of been foreseen) as it was my car battery that had been long overdue a replacement. 

It's often the simple things that catch us out and with so much going on around this time of the year it's easy to forget basic maintenance BUT with more people around the festive holidays to visit family and friends the more vigilant we need to be with car maintenance as no one wants to miss out on a Christmas dinner because they are waiting in a lay-by for a rescue truck. 

Here are a few things you should really consider getting checked out it your planning on a little road trip this Christmas and New Year, or even if you’re not planning on going far the extreme weather and build-up of traffic on the roads means that now is the time to have your car running at its best. 

1. Have your tyres checked as well as the balance - not only is this important from a legal stand point as having worn tyres below the legal limit can mean the risk of a £2500 fine and three penalty points, plus it's very unsafe especially in icy weather. I recently had my tyres checked as the car balance felt really off, while my tyres were fine they rebalanced the car and it felt so much safer and made a huge difference. You can read more about tyre safety and requirements on the RAC website.

2. Have your car battery checked regularly in fact most manufactures recommend you should have it tested twice a year and by doing this you can avoid break down and also extreme weather are among the common things that can wear your battery down so popping down to places like Halfords which offer a free battery check it key, especially during winter.

3. Getting your car serviced at least once a year is really key to making sure that running efficiently and also gives you an idea of if there are any major issues you need to watch out for. Servicing isn't always that cheap but can save you money in the long-run and there are also different options, if you’re on a budget just opting for the interim 49-point check service is better than nothing as it checks for body damage, tyres, brakes, lights and things like the clutch and gearbox checks which are not cover in MOT's

4. Stay on top of your MOT - the most ideal thing is to have your MOT and then 6 months later a service, this way your car is being checked every 6 months. An MOT is all about being roadworthy and isn't as comprehensive as a full service but is absolutely essential and a legal requirement. There are loads of different MOT centres but it's really worth doing your research beforehand and knowing roughly how long it's going to take and places like Ossett Tyres house has state of the art MOT test centres and an excellent customer service, based in Wakefield and worth check out somewhere like that that has positive reviews.  

The thing with cars is they cost money, to run and maintain so it's always worth having a little savings pot put aside so you’re not caught out. Also it's always best to get things looked at straight away rather than ignoring a small problem that then turns into a big problem. If your heading off this season it should be a priority to get your car looked over and at a minimum the tyres, battery, oil and water checked.

Associated