The life of a car, its durability, and its ultimate resale value depend on how it is maintained by its owner. More than that, maintaining your car is one of the best things you can do as a car owner because it saves you so much money in the long run and ensures your vehicle doesn’t disappoint when you need it the most.
In this guide, we provide simple, actionable steps anyone can take to maintain a car and give it a better life.
Important Car Maintenance Tips For Nigerian Drivers
1. Check and change your fluids regularly
Everyone who uses a car knows how important certain fluids are to the life and well-being of that car. For a healthy car, one of the most important maintenance activities you must always do is to check your fluids and change them regularly. Ensure that you check everything from engine oil to transmission fluid, coolant, power steering fluid, and windshield washer fluid.
For the engine oil, which is considered the blood of your car, it doesn’t have to get contaminated or change its colour before you change it. It is important to change it periodically. For most others, ensure that you always keep them at the right level so they don’t run down.
2. Always check the tyre pressure
Check the pressure of your tyres always to make sure that they are all level. This does a lot of things for both you and your car. It is important for your safety and that of the car, and it helps with fuel efficiency. Whenever you are embarking on a long trip or you are back from a long trip, it is advisable to check the pressure of your tyres.
Apart from that, you need to always inspect the tyres for any wear, puncture or tear to give them the best life quality. If a tyre is expired, do well to change it.
3. Pay attention to your brakes
The brakes of your car cannot be gambled with because it is tied to your safety and the safety of your car. You need to always pay attention to it.
Always ensure that the brake fluid is up to the required level, and take note of any unusual sound the brake makes or when the feel is beginning to go spongy. Once it begins to make any unusual noise or the feeling begins to change, you need to have it checked immediately.
4. Keep the legs of your car healthy
This is one of the things that most people do not talk about when giving tips on maintaining cars in Nigeria. Because of the nature of the average road in the country, ensure that you have the entire suspension system of your car regularly checked. This will save you a lot in the long run.
5. Maintain the cooling system of your car
Looking at the climatic condition of most places in Nigeria, which is mostly hot, it is every important to keep an eye on your car’s cooling system.
Most Nigerians make the mistake of using water for their radiator. While it is allowed in emergency cases, what is required, instead, is coolant. This will help keep the car temperature well managed while improving the health of the engine generally.
6. Have a maintenance schedule and stick to it
It is important for you to have a periodic maintenance plan for your car and follow that religiously. Have a period when the oil will be changed, when the wipers will be changed, when the brakes will be checked, and when the air filter will be checked and changed.
This can also cover other aspects of the car. Doing this will keep your car in excellent shape for a very long time.
7. Take care of the interior and exterior of your car
It is not enough that take care of the engine of your car and ignore the interior and exterior. This is one of the most important ways that you can maintain your car, whether you keep using it or to improve its value when you decide to sell it.
Always have the car washed and waxed to maintain its paint and shine. Also, with the harsh weather in most parts of Nigeria, always try to minimise exposure to the sun.
8. Take care of your car problems without delay
If you experience any issue with your car, no matter how insignificant you may think it is, do well to have it checked as soon as possible. Most of the time, procrastination only leads to more issues, which are avoidable if handled promptly.
Before you can be prompt in fixing your car, you will first of all need to be sensitive to whatever signs you are getting from it or whatever strange noise it is giving out.
See Also: What is Your Car Worth? A Guide On How To Know
9. Warning lights are there for a reason
For a lot of people, warning lights are just there for show. They are not. Whenever there is a warning light on your dashboard, it means that there is a problem that needs to be fixed.
When you take your car to a mechanic, and when he returns it, there is a warning light; it may mean that something has been tampered with. Most of the time, when your car begins to show engine signs, it is possible that the catalyst or something else has been removed.
Whatever warning light you see on your dashboard, ensure to take it seriously.
10. Drive responsibly and obey traffic laws
Finally, one of the most important ways of maintaining your car is to drive responsibly. Little things, such as driving at a healthy speed, braking without aggression, and being conscious of the road to avoid entering potholes carelessly, can all go a long way in reducing the wear and tear on your vehicle.
