1. Clean it - a weekly vales, wax polish might be asking too much, but if you don’t keep your car clean, chances are it’ll and up damaged. Bird droppings contain uric acid, which eats though the paintwork to leave bleached-out marks – remove unwelcome deposits quickly. Salt also speeds up corrosion, so watch out if you’ve been driving on salted roads I winter, or near the coasts. Keeping the inside of the car clean will make it easier to sell, so clean up spills as they happen, don’t smoke in your car and protect surfaces from pat hair.

2. Use your garage - Fewer than half of all households with a garage actually use it to store their car. If yours has been taken over as a storage room, games arcade or laundry facility, it might be time for a rethink. Parking the car under cover will help protect its paint work from exposure to serve weather, tree sap and bird droppings. A car is far less likely to be stolen from a garage than from a driveway, too, and you should reduce your insurance premiums if tell your insurer that your car us locked safety away at night.

3. DIY maintenance - Weekly fluid and tyre checks might seem like a chore, but avoiding them is an expensive way to save time. Wrongly inflated tyres will mean you use more fuel, plus they’ll wear out quicker and will affect your stopping distances so check them regularly. At the same time, Look at the tyre tread to make sure you’re not risking an accident – and a hefty fine – by driving on tyres with less than 1.6mm tread. Running short of oil can damage your engine , so check levels weekly, along with the coolant and screenwash.

4. Regular servicing - Regular servicing is crucial both for the wellbeing of your car, and the validly of your warranty. As well as the scheduled visits, if you notice a squeak, leak or rattle, or spot a chip in the windscreen, take swift action or the problem could get worse – and more expensive to fix. When getting repairs done, use a VAT- registered garage if this is warranty requirement and make sure original manufacture of equivalent parts are used. If you have any doubts about a garage, get a second opinion before agreeing to have a work done.

5. Drive sympathetically - Driving in sympathy with your car will prolong its useful life, save your money and cause less damage to the environment. After starting the car, move away smoothly and gently, and always avoid over-revving the engine. Sudden acceleration and braking puts pressure on the engine, gearbox , tyres and brake pads, all of which are expensive to replace . To avoid this, look well ahead to anticipate changing traffic conditions. If you only use your car for short trips,
try to give a longer run now and again to charge up the battery.

6. Fuel’s gold - Running out of fuels is a common cause of car breakdowns, and is easily avoidable. Keeping the fuel tank topped up won’t just prevent a red-faced call to the breakdown services, it’s good news for your car engine, to. Any particles of dirt, or sludge will accumulate at the bottom of the fuel tank, so driving until there’s very little fuel left will push all this gunk through the engine. If you fill up when there’s still a quarter of a tank of fuel left, you’ll always be using cleaner fuel. This will help prevent moisture gathering in the tank.