Real womans car maintenance

07-11-2006 09:25

Your log book will also tell you when you need to change the oil, filters, plugs and certain other bits and pieces on your cars engine.

This should be a regular service, and if you have an older car, that isnt under warranty, it really is simple enough to do yourself. Just get hold of a Service manual for the car (Haynes are good and readily available).

If you're not up for getting your hands dirty, get recomendations from people who own the same car as you and take your car in.

Theres no need to use anything other than the products suggested in the handbook, and indeed, it can have a bad effect on the car (I know that mine wont run on certain brands of oil, or spark plugs) Make sure you check the manual before you take the car in, and if they push you to upgrade on anything, just remember that there is no real reson no matter what they tell you.

If a garage suggests any other replacement parts, ask to see the offending part before its replaced. Its something that would be obvious in any other situation, but for some reason, people forget with cars. Ask what it does.

This will give you clues as to wether it needs replacing or not. I remeber being stung on the price of an entire suspension system, for the sake of a missing part that wasnt really necessary. If you cant decide, then take time to assess the situation. Read the manual for specifics on a part, and ask yourself wether you were having problems before the car went in.

Tyres are the stability factor, in a bad situation, they could save your life. Not only are bad tyres an MOT failure, but the fine for badly worn tyres in this country, is more per tyre than the cost of 4 good new tyres. Unfortunately, this is an area where women are taken advantage of. The best defence against pushy salesmen is to know the tyre sizes you need. This is writen in the manual and on the tyres which are on your car. The only real reason to change then is for looks

Altogether, the best defence against pushy salesman and mechanics is knowlege. You dont have to be a qualified mechanic, simply make sure they know you're aware of the facts.

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