In a typical year, the average South African drives 20,000 to 25,000kms. But that was an average taken for a typical year, and when last did we have a typical year? It’s safe to say that we haven’t done much traveling of late for obvious reasons (read: the pandemic) and while that means we haven’t seen much of our beloved country or distant friends and family, it also means we’ve spent less on fuel.
That also means that our cars are probably not going for their services in the time they usually would. Sound like a welcome financial relief? It could be, but actually, this doesn’t mean that you can ignore your car’s maintenance. In fact, we suggest that you use this ‘downtime’ to make sure that all mechanical and electrical components are working properly.
The good news is that you don’t need to be a mechanic or even particularly mechanically inclined to perform basic car checks. Of course, there are some things that require a professional and we don’t recommend that you do anything that you aren’t comfortable with… But we’re armed with a list of simple checks to help you reduce your risk of a breakdown on the side of the road or an expensive repair bill.
A maintenance checklist you can complete at home
- Battery: Pop the hood and look to see if all cables are securely connected and if you have any leaks.
- Headlights: Switch ’em on and make sure both high and low beams are working.
- Signal lights: Check your front and back turning signal lights, as well as hazards.
- Important lights: Turn on brake lights, parking lights, and reverse lights.
- Dashboard lights: You want to check if any fuses have blown.
- Wipers: Easy to do, just lift up the blades and look for signs of wear ’n tear or damage.
- Tyres: Inspect your tyres for signs of damage or wear and buy a tyre air pressure gauge for your cubby so you can check air pressure every month and before/after longer trips.
- Engine oil: YouTube has lots of videos to help you safely check levels and top up as needed.
- Transmission fluid: Check levels and top up as needed (you can also use online tutorials to help you do this safely).
- Radiator coolant: Another level to be checked and topped up, using an online tutorial to guide you.
- Power steering fluid: Using an online tutorial, look to see if the level is sufficient and top up if you need to.
- Windscreen washer fluid: This 1 is simple, just check if you need to top up.
What if something is out of the ordinary
Please don’t ignore anything out of the ordinary, or indeed something you don’t feel comfortable doing yourself. It’s not worth having something amiss with your car and we can all agree that there are just some things best left to the professionals.
Oh, and while we’re helping you keep your car in better condition, we can’t let you go without 1 last piece of advice. Make sure that you’ve got reasonably affordable car insurance that covers you in case you do have a breakdown (or accident, or theft). It’s even better to go with a policy that comes equipped with a roadside assistance service that comes to your aid in tough times on the road.
We’ve got 1 option that you can check out which is super cheap and comes with just this kind of free service. Simply click here for a quote or click here to take a closer look at the policy itself.
Posted in partnership with King Price Insurance
