Caring for your Car

With the expenses on your household budget continuously increasing, the last thing you want to worry about is your vehicle breaking down, forcing you to buy a new one. Fortunately, there are some easy-to-follow maintenance tips to keep your vehicle running for years.

Give Special Attention to the Tires

Tires are probably the most misunderstood part of the car as most people don’t think they hold much weight in the maintenance of the whole vehicle. This idea is wrong. Tires should be moved to the top of the list.

Regularly check your tires. Check the tire pressure before going on long trips and consult the vehicle owner’s manual if you don’t know the suggested pressure for your vehicle tires. Most cars also have a label on the driver’s side door that lists the tire pressure (PSI).

Never drive with over-inflated or flat tires as they reduce the lifespan of the tires. Check with your local tire dealer if the tires on your car need to be rotated. The recommended rotation pattern is different for the type and brand of tires.

Don’t Drive Wrecklessly

Driving responsibly is a huge contributor to the lifespan of your vehicle. Don’t ride the brakes while driving or accelerate too fast. These extreme driving behaviors are hard on a car and reduce its lifespan. Treat your car well, and it will do the same to you.

Check Oil Regularly

Oil is the major component and plays a massive role in keeping your vehicle’s engine in working order. Not only does it enhance the lifespan of your engine, but it also improves your gas mileage.

The recommended time between oil changes is 4 to 6 months; however, it depends upon the usage of your vehicle. Change it before going over 5000 miles to get the best results.

Another important tip here is to change the oil filter along with the oil change because running new oil through a dirty filter reduces the benefit of new oil.

Refer to the vehicle owner’s manual to get more details about how often to change the oil and what type of oil to use as it varies from vehicle to vehicle.

Don’t get comfortable just following the sticker in the corner of your windshield or what your car tells you – check that oil regularly and make sure you’re still looking good. You’d rather look too much and always find great looking oil than the one time you do look you find horribly old oil that’s doing nothing but hurting your car.

Follow these vehicle tips to keep you car running in perfect order. If you ever need road maintenance or a tow, contact Unlimited Recovery at 919-790-9393.

Stuck in the Heat-What Next?

Getting stuck in your car is not exciting at all. Nobody leaves their home hoping to be stranded, but it happens. Not many things are worse than being stuck in your car on a hot summer day. We’ve all heard sad stories about infants dying in hot cars, it just goes to show you how quickly the heat can take you out. It can happen to you. In these hot situations both the heat and dehydration can get you. Here are a few tips you need to keep in mind just in case you are on some desolate road somewhere and find yourself alone in the heat.

Always have some water in your car

During this hot summer, it is vital for you to have at least some amount of water on hand. Your car should always have at least one bottle of water tucked away somewhere. Do be mindful to not leave it in direct view of the sun because that will both heat it up and could cause a fire if enough light gets focused from the sun. Water comes in very hand when you are stuck in your car. One, it can help you stay hydrated before roadside assistance arrives. You can also use to cool your body. So make sure that you have some kind of water in your car before you leave home.

Sit in the Shade

When your vehicle is stuck out in the open, don’t just sit inside it. You could quickly overheat or even pass out, and that’s the last thing you want to do in a hot car. If your car is in direct sunlight you may want to sit outside it in a place that has a shadow or behind a seat where the sun can’t reach you, with the windows completely open to ventilate the hot air.

Call for help ASAP

If you’re able, go ahead and call for help from Unlimited Recovery as soon as you realize you’ve got something going wrong. Give as much information as to your whereabouts as you can so that help gets to you on time. We always have drivers out on the road ready to come to help anyone who needs it.

Make Sure Friends & Family Know Where You Are

When you do find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being stranded, make sure you let people know where you are. Safety is one of our biggest concerns. Ideally, you want to ensure your car is in good running shape for the summer, but we understand that things still happen. Heat is very dangerous, it kills a lot of people every year. Without A/C humans wouldn’t be near as spread out as we are. These tips should help you stay alive before roadside assistance arrives.

Maintenance Tips to Extend the Lifespan of Your Vehicle