save money and stay safe with these simple tips
Liz Hughes
third Nov 2024
Studying Time: 4 minutes
Winter continues to drive on in earnest; the chilly climate making the roads very unpredictable. Ice, wind and rain are powerful on all autos and that is the time of 12 months many people wish to be sure our vehicles are in the very best situation to keep away from any dear breakdowns or extra critical incidents. However automobile care doesn’t come low cost.
That will help you attain payday together with your sanity (and security) intact, listed here are some winter automobile care ideas that’ll allow you to lower your expenses and keep secure this season.
Put money into Breakdown Cowl
Shelling out for breakdown cowl would possibly sound counter-intuitive to saving cash this January, however doing so may prevent a small fortune in the long run. Breakdown corporations deal with tens of hundreds of call-outs monthly through the winter, the season sees extra breakdowns than some other time of 12 months. Should you don’t have breakdown cowl, the price of a roadside emergency may wind up costing you a 3 or 4 determine sum — and who wants that whenever you’re nonetheless paying off your Christmas bank card debt?
Take Care of Your Windscreen
Regardless of the run as much as Christmas being unseasonably delicate, winter is much from over — and a chilly snap may very well be simply across the nook. For drivers, an evening of sub-zero temperatures may hamper the morning college run or commute, leaving you to defrost your windscreen within the freezing chilly.
Whereas it may be tempting to pour scorching water on a frozen windscreen to hurry up the defrosting course of, doing so may end result within the display screen cracking or shattering — leaving you to choose up the pricey restore invoice and discover one other solution to get the children to high school on time.
As an alternative, use a can of high quality de-icer and a scraper, and manually take away the frost from the windscreen and door home windows. Or, if this Daily Express article is to be believed, use a mix of water and rubbing alcohol to rapidly take away the ice in a matter of seconds.
Head over to Halfords for a FREE winter automobile examine.
Every winter, Halfords supplies a free five-point automobile examine for purchasers. This contains inspecting your wipers, windscreen, lights, and automobile battery, plus sending you a useful MOT reminder. It’s a easy manner to make sure your automobile is secure and prepared for the winter months.
Alternatively, you possibly can select their ten-point examine for £15 (free for Halfords members), which covers all of the necessities above, together with a screenwash top-up, tyre checks, oil examine, and a have a look at your AdBlue and coolant ranges.
These reasonably priced checks are designed to catch potential points early, stopping pricey issues down the street. As an illustration, you may not discover a burnt-out fog mild till you’re driving by means of thick fog. Figuring out these points upfront may help preserve you secure—and prevent cash!
Drive Safely and Economically
If there’s one factor you possibly can depend on throughout a British winter, it’s unpredictable climate. Rain, hail, ice or snow — the season throws all types of climate our manner, resulting in some pretty unsettled and treacherous driving situations.
With a view to get from A to B safely throughout a bout of horrible wintry climate, it’s vital to regular up and provides your self extra time to succeed in your vacation spot. Whereas this would possibly add time on to your commute, it’s going to preserve you secure — and that’s not the one good thing about driving just a little slower through the winter.
Additional to this, gasoline financial system specialists, Redex, advocate driving easily with out labouring the engine to attain most gasoline effectivity through the winter. They stated: “Earlier than an engine has warmed by means of, it’ll burn gasoline much less effectively. Engines are additionally extra prone to put on and tear within the first few miles of a journey, so strive to not gun it earlier than it’s had time to heat up.”
Verify Your Fluids Repeatedly
Chilly temperatures can result in the event of all types of signs beneath the bonnet, however provided that you neglect to maintain your automobile’s fluid ranges effectively topped up — particularly coolant/antifreeze.
Coolant/antifreeze circulates by means of the engine to manage its working temperature, and with out it you’d nearly definitely expertise a breakdown. Throughout the winter, coolant/antifreeze will freeze within the engine if the right ratio of antifreeze and water isn’t current. To stop your engine’s coolant/antifreeze freezing stable and ruining your engine, use a top quality product that’s been examined in temperatures all the way down to -37°C.