Tips to Avoiding Costly Car Repair

If you've ever had a dead car battery before, then you know the frustrations of dealing with those annoying car hiccups that can eventually lead to some nasty repair bills. Learn some super easy ways you can avoid those nasty repair bills just by knowing a few simple things (like what the color of your engine oil really means). You just may be surprised at how much care your car really needs!

When you have to jumpstart a dead battery, stay on the safe side and leave the car running for about a half hour before you turn the engine off or remove those cables. While 5 minutes or so may be enough to keep that battery going, the longer you leave it running before cutting your engine, the healthier your battery will be (and the longer its life). Even better- if you have a dead battery and want to see how well it will charge, you can often take the battery to the store it was purchased from and have the store do a free charge on your battery to see how much voltage it has. We did this at Autozone for our so-called dead battery that is now souped up and running fine.

When you notice your brake fluid hitting a low amount, rather than just top it off, take your car in for a little checkup instead. You may be leaking brake fluid, which can be an expensive fix, or you could have a cut or tear in your brake line. Rather than just topping off your brake fluid and assuming all is well, get your car checked out, because you may have a cheap leak or tear somewhere in the line that could lead to a costly brake repair if you don't fix it now (this is especially true if you are often adding brake fluid, such as a few times every few months).

The average car repair costs around $300, and costly engine repairs can exceed thousands, so when that 'check engine' light comes on, you need to do more than just tighten that gas cap. I don't know why tightening the gas cap works to make that 'check engine' light go away, but it certainly works for me. But what most people don't realize is that the engine light can come on for practically any reason. You need to check your fluids and make sure they are consistent and level, because that 'check engine' light can soon turn into a 'check oil' light, which is far more detrimental to you. It's not so much that the 'check engine' light is on to begin with, it's that you haven't done anything to figure out why it's on. Check it out.

Here's a cool little fact from CarMD.com- newer models of cars (like 2010 and newer) can go up to nearly 8,000 miles before needing an oil change! That being said, oil is supposed to get darker as it gets older. As it cycles through the car, it naturally gets darker, which most people mistake as meaning the oil has lost its lubrication. While black thick oil or clumpy oil is definitely in a need for a change, oil getting darker is not a sure sign it needs to be changed. If you have an older car, then change your oil every 3,000 miles or so, but don't sweat the small stuff.

Sources:

how we maintain our cars (and saved our battery)

mainstreet.com 5 Car Repair Myths That Can Save You Cash