Check for your vehicle before you hit the long road

Check the following points:

Fluid levels: Engine oil, brake fluid, coolant,power steering circuit, front and rear screen washer.
Safety: Condition and seal of front/rear shock absorbers, tyre wear/condition, tyre pressures, exhausts (leaks, mounting), condition of brake system, leaks in brake system (external) and condition of drive shaft bellows.
Signals – visibility: Side lights, number plate, direction indicators, hazard warning lights, dipped/main beam headlights, reversing lights, stop lights, front and rear fog lights. Correct operation: Hooter, condition and mounting of bumpers, condition of windscreen, condition of lights, rear view mirrors, operation of doors and windows, wiper blade wear and operation of front/rear wash/wipe and check service history and future requirements.

To ensure you arrive alive at your distinction this holiday season, just take half an hour of your time to ensure that your vehicle is in order to take on the long road.

Keep your car on the road with a service

IT MIGHT sound like quite an arbitrary thing but servicing and maintaining your car are very important aspects of vehicle ownership.
Many of our vehicles come with service plans as standard these days, however, many people have older cars and those with newer cars will run out of their service plans sooner than they might expect.

Most manufacturers set service intervals at 15 000km and some make it 10 000km while others, 20 000km, but all recommend at least one service per year. A regular service will also prevent what may be a relatively cheap-to-fix issue, turning into a major problem at a later stage.
You cannot underestimate the importance of having your vehicle serviced. They do not only change your oil and put that fancy soap in your windscreen wiper jets, but also check your brakes, windscreen wipers, pollen filter and other major mechanical and electrical systems.

If you think about it, clean oil ensures that your vehicle’s engine remains in good working order; new brake pads ensure good stopping distance and less wear on your discs and new windscreen wipers mean safer driving in wet weather conditions. Therefore an annual check of your car is vital. It will ensure that your vehicle remains healthy with fresh lubricants and safe with road-legal tyres, brake pads and windscreen wipers.
Most manufacturers offer a free pre-holiday inspection of your vehicle so before you embark on that long-awaited trip to the coast, let an expert assess the vehicle to ensure that both you and your family make it to your destination and back – safely. – Autodealer

Don’t tire of checking tyres

MOST of us underestimate the importance of checking our vehicle’s tyres. What many of us don’t know is that it’s only four fingers of tread actually making contact with the road.

So, it’s critical that your tyres are properly maintained as they are responsible for keeping your car firmly planted on the black stuff.
It’s vital that you have a minimum legal tread depth of one millimetre, as this will help in wet weather and for braking. Additionally, make sure your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure. The recommended pressures can usually be found inside the sill of the driver’s door or inside the fuel cap.

Under or over inflating your tyres will seriously affect their performance on the road as grip levels can be diminished and wear can increase dramatically.

Over inflating one’s tyres can result in tyre failure and blowouts, especially when overloading the vehicle. It is therefore critical to maintain the correct pressures, as this will mean the tyres will wear evenly. Turning your steering wheel full lock left and right will allow you to view your tyre wear.

These small, quick checks can ultimately save your family’s life. And when it’s time to replace your worn tyres, head down to a reputable tyre-replacement specialist to ensure you get the very best service and advice. – Autodealer