Rarely, if ever, are there cars that go on and on. Part of that is our own innate stupidity – we will forget to service them, or think that the interval can wait a little longer if money is tight that month. Intervals are made known by the manufacturer for a very clear reason – to ensure that your motor is safe to use, week in, week out.
Granted, most minor problems tend to be of a cosmetic nature. We, as a nation, have issues with parked cars. Namely, they sometimes become obstacles that we fail to avoid, and not just when parking. Nonetheless, a quick touch-up is frequently what’s required in this case. Is it worth it? Well, certainly, especially if it happens to be on the metalwork.
My first car is a perfect example of, at least at first, very little being wrong. However, a catalogue of misfortune soon added up to make me think that the bloody thing was cursed. It started with the battery (or so I thought) repeatedly failing. Was it that? No, it turned out that the boot light was staying on, in my Fiat Punto Sporting. Very annoying. This was rectified fairly quickly.
Unfortunately, the second problem it had was a tad more worrying – a rather close run-in with a police car resulted in a tyre being blown. Again, just one of those things, but still it does make you wonder. The final issue though was the straw that would have broken my back, quite literally. If you’ve ever been in a car that has brake line failure then you share my horror moment – when you press the slow pedal and nothing happens. It certainly gives you the chills and is better than any rollercoaster for making you feel afraid. After that, I simply had to let my car go.
Of course, then there are other issues that people don’t consider, some cases in point being when they don’t regularly check lines and levels of the various fluids that a car needs in order to operate, let alone operate safely. Cam (timing) belts are always of particular concern. Find out when your car needs it replaced, otherwise be prepared for potentially a costly engine rebuild as if it snaps you can bend the valves and all manner of other gubbins can be wrecked.
Finally, if we’re talking about car upkeep and repair in general, take your car on a reasonably long trip every so often. Get to know it. This way, you’re in a better position to realise when something is amiss, whether it’s through a squeak, a rattle or good old ‘something doesn’t feel right‘.
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