Unfortunately, the summer is long
gone, and we are faced with the prospect of the cold and frequently wet winter
months ahead. Some people do not worry about preparing their cars for winter
and expect them to start first time and run well every journey. With a brand
new car this may be true but if you find yourself driving a car that is more
than a few years old it is a sensible idea to plan ahead for the winter months
saving yourself the worry of the car breaking down.
One of the most important issues
for a car in winter are the condition of the tyres. It is worth investing in
specialist winter tyres on your vehicle if you can afford it as safety should
be a priority, if however the current tyres are still roadworthy an extra set
of wheels with winter tyres on them could be put on to the vehicle and changed
back in the summer months. Often a set of wheels can be purchased cheaply from
a breakers yard and for a small charge a garage can swap them over for you.
Probably the part of the car that
fails more frequently during the winter months is the battery. It is worth
getting it checked to make sure it is maintaining its charge and if not, a new
battery should be purchased and fitted.
Cars can be costly to run and
repair and so any jobs that you can do yourself will help keep repair costs to
a minimum. You do not have to be a trained mechanic to work on vehicles but
many modern cars are so overly complicated that it can be hard to do so without
a good sound knowledge. Some more simpler jobs may be able to be accomplished by
watching video tutorials but you should only attempt to do so if you are
confident you are able to finish the job as intended and safely.
One job that many people do themselves
is to fit new brake pads and discs. This is often straightforward as long as
the callipers are easy to remove.
When buying the new parts, you
need to make sure the fitment is the same. Ideally you want to remove the old
ones and double check the part you are ordering is correct. If this is not possible
then you should make sure that you can return the part for a refund or exchange
if it isn’t the right one.
Try and avoid doing jobs on a car when
you are on your own, especially if you are going to have to be going under the
vehicle whilst it is jacked up.
If you discover
that you have a small dent on your car, on the paintwork, then you may not have
to go to the expense and hassle of having to have it filled and resprayed. Depending
on where the dent is and how bad it is, it may be able to be removed by a specialist
company simply by pushing the dent out from behind or pulling it with a special
tool. If the paint on the car has been
scratched then this will not help with that but by removing the dent you will
then only need a touch up or respray rather than having to have the panel
filled.
Not all
garages will offer this service, but before you go down the route of going to a
main bodyshop to get the repair done, why not search paint-less dent removal
companies near you and pop it to them first. If someone has opened their door into
yours for example then they can often pop the dent out easily for a fraction of
the cost of a respray. Ideally you want
to avoid getting the car re-sprayed if at all possible as you may find that you
then have problems with colour matching, overspray and if not done correctly,
peeling paintwork years down the line.
Cars can be
costly to run and we all hate it when those unexpected repairs crop up. Prices
for the same job can vary drastically from garage to garage, so it is always
worth obtaining a few different quotes before you decide who to go with.
If you want
to save money you may be better to avoid using main dealers and use a local
garage
Main dealers
often charge a lot more for parts as well as their labour rate so the overall
price is usually higher, but you may find that you need to go to the main
dealer if the vehicle is still under a warranty for example.
It is
important to ensure that when comparing prices that you are comparing like for
like. For example, when it comes to having a full service done, some garages
will not include the cost of replacing the spark plugs or the engine oil and
others will.
All garages
should check with you before completing extra work. If you have not authorised
work to be done then you could complain to the garage and say you are not happy
about paying for it.
When it
comes to buying cars you have many different options. You may decide that you
want to buy a brand-new car that has no miles on the clock and you are
registered as the first owner. Often there are some great deals to be had on
brand new cars but they are usually the most expensive way of buying a car.
You could
opt for a used car that is either only a couple of years old or one that is
quite a bit older. If the car is only a couple of years long it may even still
have some manufacturers warranty left on it. Older cars only come with a warranty
if they garage you are buying it from offers one or you buy one from a third
party.
If you are
in the market for a new car then why not look at buying an ex demo car. Ex demo
cars are often vehicles that have been registered by a main dealer either to
meet a target or to be used by their salespeople. The mileage on them car vary
from less than 100 upwards of a few thousand. The great thing about an ex demo
car is the chunk of the value it loses when it is first registered has already
been swallowed so you often get a great a newly new car for a lot less than if
it was brand new.
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.