Why Is Car Maintenance So Important And What Are The Essential DIY Maintenance Jobs You Can Do On Your Own ?

A good car owner knows getting regular auto maintenance is the best thing you can do for your vehicle! On average, maintenance services take much less time, and cost much less, than a major auto repair service. If you are still skeptical that, check out these five great reasons below:

Increase Safety

Keeping up with your auto maintenance services makes your automobile safer for you and your family. Imagine that you and your family are travelling, and suddenly the car breakdown in somewhere no garage nearby. This is the situation that puts you and your family in danger, because you never know what you will encounter in a remote road at midnight. Regular car maintenance is something you can do to prevent this kind of situation happening.

Keeps Car Value High 

As your car gets older, its value depreciates. Scheduled care maintenance prevents the value of your car dropping significantly. People who would like to buy used cars intend to select cars with regular car maintenance.

Lower The Cost of Fuel

Every vehicle owner can agree that fuel costs are burgeoning expenses. However, you can save some money spent on fuel by paying attention to your vehicle maintenance. If your vehicle is in optimum condition, it will give you more mileage per gallon which means more savings. I bet you don’t know a well-maintained vehicle can give you 4% to 40% more gas mileage. 

Save You Money

If you perform regular vehicle maintenance, many of the minor issues can be prevented from turning into big problems. For example, if you keep the engine oil at the recommended level, the engine will run smoothly and there will be no problems due to overheating. That’s how you save money from auto maintenance. You should know that car maintenance may not be costly but replacing parts of a vehicle can get really expensive. It’s even worse when you have to wait for the replacement part and have no vehicles to commute.

 Protect the environment

When parts of your car are malfunctioning it can cause your vehicle to release more harmful emissions into the air. Protect the environment by getting your car checked out regularly and reducing your carbon footprint!

By now, we already knew the importance of keeping vehicles under regular maintenance. However, the cost of car maintenance is not a small amount if you take your car to a dealership on every maintenance. Don’t worry. There are some basic but essential DIY maintenance jobs you can do at home and save big.

Replace Engine Oil/Oil Filter

An oil change is relatively easy to do yourself with certain precautions. Keep in mind that do not change your oil when it is hot! If you change it while it is hot, you may get burned. It takes about 45 minutes to change your own oil and will cost around $20 (the price of oil and a new filter). Before you begin, make sure your car is on level ground so you can safely jack up your car.

• Locate the oil pan under your car and unscrew the drain plug to drain the old oil. Be sure you drain the oil into a recycling container so you can recycle the old oil at your nearest full service gas station, then replace the drain plug.
• Locate your oil filter and use an oil filter wrench to remove the filter. Be careful as old oil will still be on the filter. Make sure the rubber gasket on the old filter comes off with the filter.
• Lubricate the rubber gasket on the new filter, then fill the new oil filter about 2/3 with new oil.
• Screw the new filter into place as tightly as you can without stripping the threads.
• Pop your hood, remove the oil cap, and fill your engine with new oil using a filter. Use a dipstick to make sure you’ve added enough oil.
• Put the oil cap back on and you are done!

Check and Maintain Tire Pressure

Tire pressure is one of the easiest things you can check on your car. It is also one of the first things you should check at the start of each season, as temperature changes can affect the pressure in your tires. Poorly inflated tires can lead to potential issues, such as a tire blown out, suspension issues, and even less gas mileleague.

If you are unsure of the correct PSI that you should have, your owner's manual may be able to help.

Replace Brake Pads 

 Always keep brake pads in optimal conditions to avoid car accidents and injury. Brake pads are a key component of the brake system that should be properly maintained. Usual tools to change brake pads are a c-clamp, lug wrench, Allen wrenches, hammer, and jack.

Change Your Air Filter

Unlike the tire pressure warning light, there’s no light for “check air filter,” so you want to make sure your air filter is checked regularly. An engine air filter with lots of dirt and dust affects the air quality in your car, but you can easily prevent a dirty air filter by changing it on your own. First you need to do is purchasing the recommended air filter for your vehicle. To replace it, pop open the hood, locate the current air filter under a black case, and remove it by opening the clips on either side of the case. Put the new filter in and ensure it’s been placed correctly, then close the case and secure the clips.

Changing Lights

Changing a headlight or taillight in your automobile is similar to replacing a bulb in your house. Although changing a car light requires a few extra steps, it remains an inexpensive, straightforward process. The task will only require approximately ten minutes or less of your time. The only tools that you may need are a screwdriver, gloves, and cloths. 

Final Thoughts

We rely on our vehicles to get us to work, take us on a trip, and take our kids to school, playdates, and practice. Take care of your car, so it can take care of you.