The Car Care Council conducted a recent survey on whether or not vehicles were in need of either maintenance or repairs. According to their findings, the Car Care Council estimated that given the total number of cars considered, there were roughly 77% that were in need of maintenance or repairs. It’s highly likely that some of these cars were in need of both.
When was the last time that your car received regular maintenance or had repairs made? Would your vehicle pass a state inspection? If you’re not sure, then you may be interested in the findings of the aforementioned survey. In order to ensure that vehicles are safe to drive and can pass a state inspection, there are several important items that need to be addressed.
Has you car had a window or windshield wiper replaced recently? The Car Care Council’s survey discovered that 16% of the cars needed to have their windshield wipers replaced. Furthermore, 53% of the cars had cracks in their windows that were between seven to 12 inches long. In these situations, either windshield repair or windshield replacement was needed.
Does your car have enough coolant? What about brake fluid? The research also showed that 16% of the vehicles didn’t have a sufficient amount of cooling protection or that they had low coolant levels. Low and/or contaminated brake fluid was found in 18% of the cars.
Do you drive a car with power steering? Experts tend to agree that power steering fluid should be changed every five years or every 50,000 miles, whichever comes first. When vehicle owners take care of this, then the power steering’s capacity will last longer. Furthermore, this also reduces the likelihood that you will encounter costly repairs.
Have you had your tires rotated or balanced recently? In general, all of your car’s tires should be rotated and balanced once your odometer registers 7,000 miles. It’s important to note that this is recommended by most auto manufacturers. Other manufacturers may recommend that you have this taken care of more often. Much depends on frequency with which your drive as well as the terrain and weather conditions.
Do you have a newer car or an older vehicle? Have you recently put a new engine into an older car? In general, older vehicles usually need to have their oil checked every three months or 3,000 miles, whichever comes sooner. Newer vehicles, or those with brand-new engines, should usually have an oil change every 5,000 to 7.500 miles, however.
Since you want your car to be safe and dependable, it’s important to have regular maintenance and repairs. If it’s been a while since your vehicle has received an inspection, why not take it into your local car service to determine whether or not it would pass a state inspection? While your car may seem to run just fine at the present moment, an expert will be able to determine whether or not it needs maintenance or repairs.
