With the festive season fast approaching and a lot of people driving home for Christmas, its important to make sure your car is safe to prevent any accidents and/or your car breaking down. Lets face it the last thing anyone wants is problems with their car, especially when most places will be shut around the Christmas period. So this is your reminder to get your car checked out now! After all we are only about a month away til the big day! Doing so will enable you to fix any problems asap rather than at a later date preventing you paying out more in the long run!
How to ensure car safety
It's so important to ensure that your car is safe to be on the road. There are things you should be checking everytime you get behind the wheel such as mirrors, windscreen, Windows and your breaks and there are checks to carry out less frequently. Those checks are important and how often they should be done will be mentioned in your vechichles handbook. However here is a guide to remind you of some of the things to do:
MOT/Service
If you've not booked in to have them done yet than make this a priority! By booking in to have either a service or MOT done in time for Christmas , means you will be made aware of any problems that you need to fix in advance of your travels. Sometimes we aren't aware of some of the problems with our car until its too late! An MOT is done yearly and is a requirement for cars over 3 years old, whereas a service can be done as and when and worth getting done asap especially if you will be driving a lot.
Check your oil
So you've had an MOT or service done and fixed any problems that came up. Now its important to check your oil regularly to make sure you have the right amount of oil to prevent major damage to your engine. Checking and topping up your cars oil helps your car to run smoothly and reliably. You can measure your cars oil by using a dipstick on older models and by electric measure on newer cars.
Check your tyres
It's so important to check your tyres for any defects or wear and tear. Make sure you check your tyres pressure regularly and checking your tread depth so that you replace tyres when needed. If you need new tyres then you can find Cheap tyres at Jet Wheel Tyre who are based in Essex. When checking your tyres if you aren't already aware you must make sure that the tread depth is a minimum of 1.6mm which is required by law. Driving with tyres that aren't within the guidelines are dangerous and if you are caught you will get points on your licence. Last of all when it comes to checking the pressure of your tyres make sure this is done regularly as it can have an impact on your cars fuel economy and performance.
Check your lights
The evenings get darker earlier this time of year and so the last thing you want is to find you've blown a bulb or got a crack in your lights. If you have a minor crack its best to get this fixed asap to prevent it from getting worse and if you've blown a bulb make sure you get a new one sorted out asap.
Other things to check
Other things that are a good idea to check are: The water level in the radiator or expansion tank , the brake fluid level, battery windscreen and rear window washer bottles.
Remember just because you may have a current MOT certificate it doesn't mean your car is completely safe its your responsibility to check regularly for any problems that arise and get them fixed.
