Keep that new car feeling for as long as possible with Snows

There is no better driving experience than the feel of a brand new car. The fresh leathers, shining alloys and polished bodywork. Car care is key to making sure that your vehicle is safe, dependable and lasts longer on the road.

That is why Snows have produced a basic car maintenance guide full of helpful tips you will want to know...



Wheels and Tyres

Clean brake dust off regularly ​to avoid the heat from your brakes baking road grime onto your wheels. This can easily been removed by using a damp sponge and clean cold water.

Check tyre pressure every two weeks to help improve your fuel economy, handling and comfort when you drive. This is easily done by taking off the dust cap on the valve and fixing on an accurate tyre pressure gauge. 

Check your tread depth ​to see if it meets the legal minimum 1.6mm. If your tread is too low it is time to get some new tyres.

Rotate your tyres. You may not have considered this before, but it is a useful practice to rotate your tyres every 5,000 miles. This means swapping the front and back tyres to help even out the wear. The below image shows the correct way to rotate your tyres depending on the type of wheels you use:

Engine

Check your belts at the front of your engine. There are a series of rubber belts that drive everything from the altenator to your a/c compressor. It is good practice to check your belts every 25,000 miles to make sure these components are in good condition.

Check your oil level by parking on level ground, wait for the engine to cool down and then locate the dipstick. Pull this out, wipe clean then push it all the way back in, wait a moment then pull it out again to check the level of the oil. There are high and low markings on the dipstick for you to follow, if the oil is too high or low this can cause serious trouble for your engine.

Check coolant level. The location of your coolant reservoir can normally be found in your car handbook and usually bolted to one side of the engine bay. This white semi-transparent bottle has high and low markings on it which you can easily read to determine the level of coolant. Make sure you flush the cooling system and change coolant once a year.

Bodywork/ Paint

Windscreen/ Wipers. Keep an eye out for stone damage and if you spot any chips make sure to get them repaired as soon as possible. Also replace your windscreen wipers once a year to prevent smearing.

Keep it clean. This seems like an obvious one but make sure to hose off winter salt and road grime before giving your car a wash, or use products such as snow foam or traffic film remover first.

Car wax. To keep your paint work looking polished and protected, applying a coat of quality wax at least every six months is a fantastic idea.

Protect Interior plastic by parking the vehicle in the shade, using a window deflector screen, and applying a UV protectant to prevent the plastic and vinyl from drying out.It is also important to note, not to use silicone-based sprays inside the car as these can cause slippery pedals.

Electrical

Check all your lights. This includes checking your indicators, reversing lights, brake lights and fog lights once a week. Look out for blown bulbs and cracks or dirt on the lenses. If you find that one indicator is flashing quicker when you indicate one way compared to the other, this means one of the bulbs has blown and will need to be replaced.

Changing bulbs. It is important to remember to NOT touch the glass when changing headlight bulbs. Only hold the metal bulb holder at the base, or make sure you're wearing rubber surgical / mechanic's gloves (clean ones) if you're touching the glass.

Check battery terminals. If your car battery terminals or contacts are not clean, this will make it more difficult for the current to pass around the electrical system. To prevent bad connections from happening you should remove the terminal caps by loosening the connector for the negative/ground terminal first and wiggling the terminal cap off. Then clean each contact post and terminal cap with a wire brush, then reattach them tightly.

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