How To Take Care Of Your First Car
You have passed your test, you have your car and your ready for a big list of adventures and places to visit. With this though you have a car to look after so you can have all these great journeys to far away places.
To help we have a list of things to follow so you can keep on going.
Do All Cars Need An MOT?
As a first time driver and car owner there are some things you need to know if your car is new or second hand. If your fortunate enough to have a new car, you don’t need to have an MOT till three years have passed. If the car is older than three years after purchase, your vehicle will need to have an MOT test.
The MOT test is required under UK law and is used to ensure certain things in the car work as they should for roadworthiness and safety. This issues a certificate against the car and allows it to be driven and parked on public roads. This should be carried out by a qualified MOT Test Center like us, so if you need a hand give us a call.
What Is Checked?
The following are key things checked in an MOT for roadworthiness; Tyres, Exhaust System, Emissions, Steering, Windscreen & Wipers, Brakes, Lights, Seatbelts, Mirrors, Horn etc.
If the test results in faults, these have to be fixed before the MOT Certificate is issued to your vehicle. If you would like to know what is checked in more detail you can have a read of our guides and tips.
Regularly Inspect
When you get a car you should have a read through your car manual as it advises on where things are and how they work. It will also advise on technical aspects, like oil type, tyre pressure and in other cases the location of the spare tyre and any other tools like jacks.
Before you take any long journey or on a regular basis for short journeys, you need to check your tyre pressure and its tread. Especially pay attention to your tread because it is an offence to drive on a tread which is too low. You can get a tread gauge from most garages and should be changed at 1.6 mm by law, recommended at 2mm and manufacturers recommendation of 3mm.
Also try to regularly check your oil level and more frequently when it is an older vehicle. You should also check your windscreen for chips and more so cracks as this can result in the screen shattering while driving.
Get to know your car well and taking care of it will result in your car lasting a very long time, keeping you safe and having many happy memories on the road.
If these little tips helped you a great deal, have a look at the following;
Save on Fuel
Basic Car Care Tips