After purchasing your brand new car you can be happy. Celebrate and find joy in your awesome purchase, but make sure you balance your celebration with caution. Buying a new car is a major step but it is only half of the battle.
The other half is taking care of it and making sure it lasts a long time so it will be useful to you and potentially others.
In order to get the best bang for your buck and make sure you do not run into many unforeseen circumstances in the future you will need to take proper care of your car now. A car is an investment that will depreciate over time.
Nevertheless, with the best care and proper attention, you can make sure that this asset lasts a very long time and have peace of mind knowing that you possess a car in great shape that is reliable.
Below are 10 different ways to protect your car investment.
Proper Care and Maintenance
While this may sound obvious, you would be surprised at the number of people who neglect their routine maintenance and suffer greatly from it. Each car, truck, SUV, etc. no matter the make and model will need to be inspected and repaired by professionals regularly.
In doing this you will one make sure there are no problems that are either present or may become present in the future, and two care for the special parts that make up your car.
Having a car is more caring for a baby than baking. When baking a cake various ingredients are put together to make a sweet final product that is able to just be enjoyed.
When a baby is born, they require constant care and attention to make sure that they survive in the present as well as continue to be healthy and strong moving into the future as well. And this is also true for your car.
Routine car care and maintenance that you should do includes:
- Change Oil
- Inspect and replace brakes
- Inspect and rotate tires
- Change air filters
- Monitor Battery Life
Drive Slowly and Safely
Make sure you’re not driving to the grocery store like an F1 driver. The faster and more reckless you drive the more pressure and work are added to your car. Be sure to break easy and not hard and frequently so your brakes don’t wear out fast.
Likewise when you turn corners make sure you slow down. Turning too fast over time will put wear on your tires quicker.
Be Urgent and Take Care of Issues Immediately
To be honest, we’ve all done it. You hear a strange sound from your engine after you start up your vehicle, or you notice an unfamiliar light pop up on the dash. You know something is odd but you just turn up the radio and tune it out.
One of the fastest ways to destroy your car is to neglect issues when they first arise. While it is tempting to ignore these little “hiccups” out of apathy or laziness, these small problems can turn into large issues for you and your bank account if not cared for immediately.
If you woke up and found a lump on your body, you wouldn’t hesitate to get evaluated by a doctor, so why would you avoid an issue with your car as well?
Clean Your Car
This is probably one of the most overlooked and neglected ways people care for their vehicles. Washing and cleaning your car is not just about how nice it looks. Regularly and routinely getting your car cleaned allows your paint to stay fresh and clean.
When paint begins to deteriorate and peel this leads to rust. Rust and corrosion to a vehicle are what termites are to a house. It will come in slowly, but attack fast and destroy. Make sure you avoid this by washing your car and putting care to the exterior.
Explore Extended Warranties
A great way to protect your car investment is by having an extended warranty. An extended warranty serves as an extension to your manufacturer’s warranty and provides additional coverage to a vehicle. This coverage serves as protection against unforeseen damages and expenses to a car.
An extended warranty is a good option to consider when thinking about having the proper coverage to help pay for costs and issues in the back half of your vehicle’s lifetime.
Replace and Top Up Fluids Regularly
As we all know you need to change your oil regularly but there is also oil in the brakes, and in the transmission as well. Just like with oil changes these fluids will need to be filled and replaced at proper timing as well to make sure that the parts they are connected to work properly.
Avoid Road Hazards (Potholes, Rough Tracks)
In addition to being careful how you drive you want to be careful about what you are driving on. Potholes, rough tracks, and bumps are present on all roads in all places. While you may not be able to avoid them you can navigate on them in a way that is more gentle and gracious to your vehicle.
Make sure to pay attention to unexpected road hazards and when you have to go over rough spots like railroad tracks and potholes use caution with your braking and speeds over them.
Don’t Go Cheap on Parts
Paying up front will save money long term rather than paying cheaply for a quick fix that can make your car break down over and over.
Make sure when you are evaluating and purchasing parts for your vehicle that you look at quality OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts and not risky aftermarket ones.
Move Away From Modifications
Since it is your car and you purchased it, you are free to do whatever with it. However, make sure you are careful if you decide to implement modifications to it. Modifying your car often strains the manufacturer’s parts and can create issues with its performance.
If you want to supercharge your car to add speed although it will be faster it may add more strain on your vehicle than it can take. Additionally, these modifications often do not increase the value of a vehicle, so make sure you are not modifying your vehicle to create problems and not add value.
Choose the Right Car
Many issues and much money can be saved with the right purchase from the beginning. As you prepare to purchase a vehicle make sure to do ample research to know what is the best make and model for your personal needs along with other facts like how long you intend to use it, how long does each model last, etc.
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