Resolve to Maintain Your Car and Avoid Expensive Car Repair Problems

Forget the New Year's Eve resolution to lose weight, or quit smoking- you know you're never going to keep those promises. A better New Year resolution, that you may actually keep, is to take better care of your car. Your car is probably the most expensive investment that you have and if you're like most people, it's not something that you can easily afford to replace.

So whether you have an older high mileage vehicle or a newer low mileage vehicle, the lifespan of your car and how much money you end up pouring into unexpected car repair problems down the road, will depend on one thing and that is how well you maintain your vehicle.

Car maintenance does not have to be all that time consuming if you set aside half an hour a month for some routine car care jobs and you can reap the ensuing benefit of this small investment of your time by having fewer unexpected car repair problems.
Start by learning where your vehicle's fluids are located and what they should look like. For example your car's transmission fluid should be a cherry red. It should be somewhat thick and sticky much like cough syrup. If the fluid is more of dark reddish brown it is an indicator that there is something wrong with your transmission and you need to have a mechanic look at it. Catching mechanical problems in their infancy like this is the best way to avoid expensive car repair problems from developing.

Your oil is another very important fluid that your engine needs to run properly. The oil in your car engine ensures that the engine doesn't overheat when the fast moving parts inside your engine rub against each other and create friction. When there is no lubrication, the friction can create a multitude of problems under the hood.
And contrary to popular belief oil is not supposed to be black. When you pour fresh oil into your car you have probably already noticed that your car's oil is yellow and clear. As the oil travels through your car and circulates it picks up road derby, dirt and grime and becomes the dark brown or black oil that you see when you wait too long in between oil changes.

If your oil is black it is to dirty to be doing its job properly and it has probably lost most of its elasticity and strength needed to be an effective cleaner or coolant agent in your engine. This is one of the reasons it is important to change your oil on a set schedule so your oil never stays in your car so long it becomes ineffective and useless.

Every component of your car is important and connected and the more you know about your fluid levels and proper appearance of the fluids- the more likely you will be able to avoid the unexpected car repair problems that are a result of low or bad fluids in your engine system.