How To Keep Your Car Maintained When Not Driven Properly
You might be one of those people who are happy that their car is not driven very often or is safely parked in your garage for a long period. Why? If you are not using it, it is safe from road accidents or any other incidents, and you are saving money on fuel along with car maintenance. Even though this might be true, you are slowly damaging your vehicle in many ways, which can be very costly for your car. Here in this article, we will inform you how to maintain your car, which is not used very often.
CLEAN THE EXTERIOR BODY
It is essential to clean the exterior body of your vehicle and not allow dust and water particles to sit on your car for a long time as it might cause damage to your paint and rust your body. Make sure that you wash your car once a week and remove water spots on your car. It is recommended to buy a car cover and keep your car under it. It will help prevent dust and water from falling on your car directly.
CLEAN THE INTERIOR
Apart from taking care of the exterior body, it would be best to care for your car's interior, an often neglected part. When the point is about taking care of your vehicle’s interior, it all comes to remove bad car smells. Ensure it has no leftover food or any similar product that might invite insects. Make sure to take out junk from your car and keep it clean and tidy. You might want to place an air freshener inside so that your vehicle smells lovely and the air inside is not polluted. Moreover, always check that your car windows are fully up; otherwise, dust and insects will enter your car, damaging it.
START YOUR CAR AFTER FEW DAYS
Even if you do not take your car out of the garage, turn it on once a week and keep it running. It ensures that your engine remains lubricated and power is provided to the engine. Moreover, idleness can make your car battery dead as it needs to be supplied with power, so keeping your vehicle on will ensure power is being provided to your battery. You do not want to reach a point where you would have to jump-start your car battery or push the vehicle to start. PitStopArabia recommends driving for at least 20 minutes a week to keep everything in perfect shape. If it is not possible, then make sure to turn on your automobile and keep it running for some time.
TYRES
Tyres are an essential part of your automobile as they are responsible for taking you to your desired destination. So, taking care of your tyres should be a priority. Check the tyre pressure and make sure all of them are correctly inflated. Flat spots tend to develop if the car is parked at the same place for a longer duration. PitStopArabia recommends driving your car to avoid it. If not, move it forward or backwards so that the point where the tyre touches the surface changes location.
OIL CHANGE
There is a general perception that oil only deteriorates when you drive your car or a certain amount of mileage has been achieved. However, this is not the case as oil usually lasts 3-6 months, even if the mileage has not been achieved. If your car is parked for a long time and is not driven very often, you should still get your oil changed and keep an eye on it.
CHECK BRAKES
If your car is parked or not operated for some time, there is a high probability of rust forming on the disc rotor, which will result in noise when you press the brakes because the rust enters the brake pad lining. To escape this headache, you should check your brake pads and drive your car at least once every week. Another thing to keep an eye on is the emergency brakes. It might be difficult to release or put on if unused for a while. So, make sure you release your emergency brakes once in a while.
Wrap Up
That is all for today's blog post. We recommend that you adhere to the above tips to protect your vehicle. Otherwise, your car will lose its resale value, and you might have to opt for expensive repairs or replacements.