So many people worry about taking
a car in to a garage to have an MOT, have repairs done or a service. Unless you
understand mechanics and know a lot about your specific make and model of
vehicle, you may be a little bit in the dark as to what work may need doing on
your vehicle and how much it is likely to cost.
If you have to take your vehicle
in for a problem that needs investigating, you may worry that you are going to
get ripped off and told you need more work doing to the vehicle than you
actually do.
The only way to do this is to try
and find a reputable garage. If you can find a garage that you can trust then
it is worth sticking with them and also recommending them to others. A garage
that values its customer’s opinions and is trustworthy will not want to
jeopardise their reputation to make a few extra quid.
If you have not found a good
garage yet then why not ask around your family and friends, also take advantage
of social media platforms such as Facebook and ask for recommendations on
there. You can often also read reviews on the social media sites about a garage
before you make the decision to use them.
Diesel Particulate Filters or
DPF’s for short were introduced in 2009 for Diesel cars only. They are designed
to prevent soot, or particulate matter from entering the atmosphere therefore
being kinder to the environment. Although they can help to do this and therefor
lower emissions, they are often a bit of a nightmare for many diesel owners,
especially ones that do not do many long journeys. The way a DPF filter works
is that it it collects this very fine soot that is produced by the engine.
Every so often the soot is burnt off at extremely high temperatures, which
leaves a tiny ash residue. This ash residue will overtime build up and will
need specialist cleaning, but often this doesn’t need to be done until around a
hundred thousand miles.
In order for the DPF to regenerate
(burn the soot to ash) it needs to reach a certain temperature. The best way to
do this is to drive the car at high revs for about 20-25 minutes. If you often
do very short journeys and at low speeds then your car may struggle to clear
the DPF. Often you will get a warning light on the car saying that it needs to
regenerate. At this point you should take it on a good run on a motor way or
road you can drive at about 50-60 mph for a period of time. If you do not do
this it can become blocked and require professional cleaning.
An oil leak is a common issue on a
car and it can happen at any time. There are a number of place sin which oil
can leak out from and it can be hard to diagnose sometimes. Often the only way
you know you have an oil leak is when the move the car and find a patch of oil
underneath it, or when you check the dip stick and the level is really low.
Ideally the car needs to go up on
a ramp for a mechanic to be able to check where the oil is leaking from.
Sometimes it is obvious to them and other times it may need more investigation
work. It is important not no drive the car too much when you have an oil leak
and to ensure that you regularly top it up if you are having to drive it to a
garage.
If you have recently had the car
serviced then you may find that they have not replaced the sump washer or that
they have not fitted it back in correctly. This can cause the new oil to leak
out quite rapidly. If this is the case then the garage that did the service
should replace the part and the oil free of charge. If your low oil light comes
on when you are driving, be sure to stop immediately as driving with no oil
will ruin the engine of the car.
If you are looking to buy a new or
used car from a garage then they may give you the option to part exchange yours
in. Park exchanging is when you hand over your old car to the garage and they
use the money they give you as a part payment towards a new car. You can
sometimes even part exchange your car when it has outstanding finance on it as
they will obtain a settlement fee from the finance company and include this in
the price.
There are many advantages to part
exchanging your car such as cutting out all the hassle of having to try an sell
it privately, not having to spend ages cleaning it and getting ready for sale and
not having to worry about letting people test drive it etc. The one downside to
part exchanging your vehicle is that you usually do not get as much money for
it as you would if you sold it privately. Depending on the make and model and
also the age and mileage, this could range from a few hundred pounds to a couple
of thousand pounds difference in price. Some people don’t mind getting a little
less for it in in part exchange to cut out on all the hassle.
If you are looking to buy a new
family car but want something that is good down little country lanes as well as
motorway runs, then why not opt for a 4 x 4 vehicle. There are a number of
different types of 4 x 4 vehicles and they can vary a lot in price. 4 x 4’s
usually hold their value really well so you may find one that is 10-15 years
old is still in excess of £4000. They tend to often be diesel and usually
automatic although you can find manual versions.
Some people have a 4 x 4 to use
off road on their farm or down tracks others have them to go round town in and rarely
take them off road. If you do want to go off road then you need to do plenty of
research to find out which ones would be best suited to you.
If you are looking for a 4 x 4
that is within a £5000 budget then you may be a little limited on choice. Some of the more expensive models such as the newer
Range Rovers or Discovery’s will probably be out of that price range or will
have extremely high mileage on them. You could opt for the Land Rover
Freelander, but these have not always been known for reliability. The
Freelander 2 is supposed to be a better model than the first but they are prone
to having electrical faults, which can end up being expensive. The BWM X3 is a
great choice for a 4 x 4 that is nippy but also economical. You can choose from
diesel or petrol and there is a good number of manual versions out there if you
don’t want automatic. If you are buying a vehicle that is high mileage, then
you may want to stay away from the automatic gears boxes as if they go wrong,
they can be very costly to fix.
The BMW X5 is another great choice
when it comes to 4 x 4’s. Bigger than the X3 it boosts more leg room and room
in the boot but it is not very efficient and you may be lucky to get 25 – 30 miles
to the gallon. Pick up trucks are becoming a popular choice for families, especially
if you have dogs or bikes etc you want to take out with you.
You will often find taper roller bearings used in the wheels of cars and other vehicles, and they can cope with horizontal and vertical forces at the same time. They might also be found in gearboxes and engine motors, as well as being used in other industries.
Taper roller bearings will consist of inner and outer rings, with tapered rollers to allow the surface of the raceways, and the roller axles, to meet on the axis. The cones’ motion is coaxial and there is no sliding motion to worry about. Always use the right taper roller bearings for your application, and achieve perfect operation.