Top Ten Car Tips

I am an individual who has an above average knowledge in automobiles. The tips that I’d like to share with you in this entry are highlights of my three and a half decades experience with cars. Yes, I’ve been a car lover ever since I was an infant. You may ask my parents if my claim is true. Here’s my contribution:

1. BLOWGAS. This should be done at least once a month or every time you have a long trip. BLOWGAS stands for:
a. Battery – A car battery should be replaced ideally every 2 years. Don’t wait for it to run dry before you replace it. In between those two years have the water solution checked.
b. Lights – Just like your house’s light bulb, there’s actually no standard period on when to replace it. It really depends on how often you use it. Logic dictates that the more often you use it, the faster is its lifespan. Hence, it is important that you constantly check if your lights (headlights both dim and bright, park lights, turn lights, brake lights and high mount brake lights or third brake light) are in good condition.
c. Oil – There are generally 3 types of oil; engine motor oil, transmission oil and differential oil. The first two are easily accessible via the engine. Just pop the hood and look for the labels. The 3rd one should be checked by a qualified mechanic.
d. Water – You must check the radiator water level and the wiper washer. These are two different containers that service two different systems. For the radiator, it helps to use a radiator coolant while for the wiper washer, you may use a solution. Don’t interchange these two additives.
e. GAS – Have gas, will run…this is the most basic requirement of any automobile. In this day and age, aside from fuel tank indicators, we have cars that tell you how many miles or kilometers to go before your fuel runs out. The best exercise is to often have your tank in full. Most people wait for the gas gauge to indicate empty before filling up.
The easier way to check this is to visit your friendly neighborhood gasoline station and have the gasoline attendant check it out.

2. TIRES – Having the correct tire pressure would equate to fuel efficiency. You can check out the owner’s manual or driver’s side door for the prescribed tire pressure. Tires should be replaced every two years. Don’t wait for it to get worn out. Here’s a tipid tip; replace only two tires, usually the front. After 6 months, replace the two old ones. To get equal tire exposure, you should ideally rotate the tires every 6 months.

3. AIRCON – Imagine, riding your car without air conditioning in this ultra hot summer season…to borrow my daughter’s line, “it’s the worse ever!” Make sure you have your aircon checked once ever 2 years. The aircon accumulates dust as fast as you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

4. PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE – Nothing beats PM or preventive maintenance. PM is usually done by your car manufacturer’s after sales service department every 5,000 and/or 10,000 kilometers. The PM normally has a 100 point check which includes most of the car’s mechanical and electonic parts. Preventive Maintenance is a lot better practice that the very inconvenient and less economical Reactive Maintenance.

5. GET AWAY MODE – When parking, always aim to park on a get a way mode. This means your car’s rear should be facing the wall. The advantage of this is that you can easily leave the site (no need to back off) and it saves time. Just take note of the “Park facing the wall” instructions.

6. AUTO DETAIL – For car lover’s like me who have no time (and no patience) to splurge in regular car wax, here’s a solution. There’s a car capricho called Perma Shine which can be done once a year. What it does is it maintains the luster of your car. With this, you don’t have to wax your car monthly. It might cost an arm and a leg though but look at the long term benefits. You will definitely get verbatim such as “Your car looks as shiny as the day it left the casa.”

7. MUST HAVE TOOLS – Here are the tools that you must have in your car’s trunk: tire wrench, hydraulic jack, air compressor, jumper cable, cable ties, tow cable, spare fan belts, ample volume of brake fluid, motor oil, radiator coolant, and a mineral water. It’s best to adopt the Boy Scout tenet “Laging Handa.” As important as having the resources ready, make sure you know how to apply or use them.

8. MUST HAVE ACCESSORIES – Here are the accessories that you must have in your car: fog lamps and back up sensor. Most high end cars have these as standard equipment. In case you car budget only allows for a base model, have these installed. Fog lamps cost from $50 to $150 depending on the brand but the cost outweighs the benefits especially if you’re having difficulty driving at night. Back up sensor cost $150 to $300 again depending on the brand. Nothing beats OEM or Original Equipment from the Manufacturer. This is the ultimate rear bumper saver and parking aide. If they were to give an award for the most innovative car accessory, this product gets my vote.

9. NEW CAR – The reality is there is no perfect car for an individual. The next best thing is to narrow the gap between your requirements and what the car companies can offer. I’ve given advices to families and friends about what car to purchase; some are happy, some sad and some don’t talk to me anymore :) My advice is follow a 2 step approach: 1- Use factor rating (which can be found in one of my earlier blog entries) and 2- Follow your heart.

10. PRE-OWNED CAR – So your current budget can only get you a segunda mano. Thou shall not fret, some pre-owned cars are even better than brand new ones if we are talking about value for money. I’d get a slightly used 2002 Honda Civic LXi any day over a 2007 Hyundai Getz. Just remember that the mechanical and electronic parts are more important that the car paint. A big misnomer is that if the exterior is nice (original paint or nicely done paint job) the car is automatically branded as sariwa.

A car is like a living thing, treat it well and it’ll give you the service you that invest on.