Eight Ways Real Men Take Care Of Their Cars

The holiday is over!

Only the best loved cars are the most excited today while others are waiting on the calendar checking for another long holiday. This means how well you take care of your car, so it responds to you.

Good masters are known from the appearance of their servants. From appearance to quality of work done to agility and instant bounce. Can you ‘categorically’ be called a good master, it does depend on these eight things.

Here are ways to take care of your car like a real adult giving every bit of TLC (tender, love and care);

1. At least once every month, you thoroughly give your car a good clean up

You don’t need to be told to wash your car but giving is a total make over once a month both inside and outside would do you a lots of good.

2. Change your oil regularly and only use reliable oil

If your car doesn't have fresh oil, dirt will build up and eventually kill your engine, which will cost thousands of dollars and your happiness.

So what’s the definition of regular, a school of thought suggest that you change your oil every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. And remember to use quality oil, preferably not dispensed oil you don’t know the brand nor are you sure of. A healthy car gives you less headache so don’t joke with this.

3. Check your tyre pressure monthly

Incorrect tyre pressure can lead to a ton of problems, including poor braking, instability, less gas mileage, and of course, a flat tire, so check your tyre pressure with a gauge. Also, rotate your tyres often to make sure that they wear evenly, making sure you get the most before replacing them.

4. Get your brake pads replaced regularly

Neglecting your brake pads will eventually lead to your brake rotors failing and you don’t want to deal with this. Before you feel this not your portion, the experts’ view is that you get your brake pads replaced every 25,000 miles.

5. Maintain your car's interior to keep its resale value high.

This doesn’t depend on how long you’ve been riding your car but rather on how well you’ve been. A dirty, unkept interior can lead to you losing money when you try to resell your car. There are car cleaning products that reinvigorates the outlook of your car all the time.

6. Change your air filters regularly

Your car isn't going to explode from a dirty air filter, but it's possible that leaving one can cause your engine to fail and damage your combustion chamber.

7. Prevent damage to your car by parking in the shade and using a window shade.

The same way you cannot roast yourself under a scorching sun so should your car be parked to experience the torturing heat? In addition to causing interior damage, UV rays from the sun can melt plastics, crack your dashboard, and cause fading on your paint job. It also isn't the most pleasant thing to sit in a scorching hot car, so for the sake of you and your butt, find some shade.

8. Ask an expert about car trouble when you're not sure yourself.

Every Wednesday is an opportunity for you to ask questions about your car and everything you need to know about automobiles.

Cars are just as complex as they are wonderful, and you shouldn't ever force your way into fixing a problem if you don't know exactly what's wrong. There are different brands of cars and different models, it’s an expert that can help guide you accurately.

If you need the right quality spare parts and accessories for your car, get it on www.autofactorng.com

Thank you for reading.

We hope you have a stress-less week!

Top 5 reasons for car break down that you ignore

We all hate it when our car breaks down but knowing the most common symptoms should help you prevent a future break down. So here’s our top 5 reasons for car break down.


Flat or dead car battery causes break down

It’s more common than you think but battery failure is one of the biggest causes of break downs. Batteries most often run flat when we leave the car lights on or forget that the radio is left on. Other times just simple old age can mean the battery suffers to hold it’s charge, or that corrosion has affected the battery terminals. Usually these issues affect you before you start the car but sometimes even when you’re driving the alternator can fail and not charge the battery causing you to lose power to the car! Don’t forget, sometimes the manufacturing process can go awry and bad cells occur.

Overheating engine forces you to break down

Watching the temperature gauge rise in your car can be a worrying matter since an overheating engine can cause plenty of damage to the internal structure of the engine – if it hasn’t already happened. Sometimes the cause can be a leak in the cooling system of the car, meaning coolant isn’t circulating around the engine. Other times the cooling fan or water pump can be the culprit making the engine overheat. Even a clogged radiator can cause this issue too, so whenever you witness the signs of engine overheating make sure you stop immediately before more damage is done.

Tyre failure is another big cause of a break down

Whether you experience a flat tyre or a complete tyre blow-out your tyres are another vulnerable part of the car which causes break downs.  Some people may simply forget to check the tyre pressure and drive on a low pressure causing an accident. Other times tyre tread wear – if severe – can cause a blow out forcing you of the road. Most of us however will likely experience tyre failure through a nail or screw in the tyre causing a puncture but usually this can be repaired without full tyre replacement if not too damaged. Other times just hitting a kerb at speed or running over pot holes can cause a break down.

Electrical faults are becoming a common break down cause

More and more these days our cars rely on electrical components to monitor and help drive the car. However this means there are naturally more instances of electrical failure when it comes to break downs. The complexities of the electrical system in the car can make it difficult to self diagnose, hence why garages are now equipped with computers to hook up to our cars and pinpoint the exact issue. You may also find the diagnostics team has to spend time discovering the fault if the car’s computer doesn’t show any problems.

Transmission failure leads to break downs

Another common break down symptom can be contributed to the transmission including the clutch. If not serviced regularly to keep the transmission lubricated and working smoothly, the parts in the transmission system may stress and wear down, leading to early failure of the components inside the transmission. Therefore it’s recommended you keep to your service schedule no matter the age of the car to prevent a costly bill.

PROTECTING YOUR CAR PAINT: FRIENDS AND ENEMIES

In keeping your car paint intact and new, it is important one puts into consideration some key factors. Some call them the Dos and Don'ts; we call them the friends and enemies of your car paint.

>> FRIENDS <<

o GARAGES, PARKING STRUCTURES AND CAR COVERS
Any time you can park your car in the shade (without that shade coming from a sappy tree) you’re contributing to longer life for your car’s paint finish. If you’re a stickler for protection and are willing to take the time to use one — a car cover made of cloth or synthetic material is a great investment, especially if you don’t have access to a garage.

o CLEAR COAT PAINT FINISHES
Back to the clear coat paint finishes. Since the late 1980s and with increasing prevalence since about 1990, car companies have been using so-called clear coat paints as final “sealers” on new cars. As the term indicates, the clear paint is used as a protective film over the pigmented (colored paint) base paint layer. When applied at the factory, the clear coat paint is applied as the final step to the car’s finish to enhance paint luster, depth and protection from the elements. Yet, it is not a substitute for wax because it can still (1) breathe, (2) erode, and (3) absorb moisture, collect grime and stains (tweeting and sappy tree droppings) on its surface.

o WAX
Good ole wax. Through the test of time, there’s that loyal and humble friend to your car’s paint. It works — it helps clean, enhance and prolong luster, creates a thin protective film to help insulate from the elements … and some waxes even have, yes, sunscreens!



 >> ENEMIES <<
 
It’s not that clear coat finishes are not helpful on automobile paint finishes, they are a great improvement in paint “technology.” And we’ll come back to clear coats in a moment. What’s more important right now is recognizing that the foes to your car’s paint, with or without a clear coat finish, still haven’t changed — and they’re pretty formidable. Let’s start with the biggest one:

o THE SUN
Oh, yeah, the sun. UVA rays and all that stuff. Thought you’d heard enough about how important it is to protect your skin from the sun? Good. Now it’s holistic car care — cars have skin, too, you know. And your car’s paint finish breathes and even has pores! In the hot sun the paint’s pores expand and can absorb more dirt and moisture.



o BIRD DROPPINGS
From that gargantuan ball of fire to those pretty little tweeting birds. When we go out for picnics we look for nice shade trees with no ants and no … birds (at least above us). Great. How about when parking that car? Bird droppings are highly acidic and can erode paint and clear coat paint finishes. A couple of my exotic-car owner pals have even made cracks about watching out for “low altitude air-to-surface missile” raids when driving by Santa Barbara’s lovely bird sanctuary!



o SAP FROM TREES
It’s easy to think about those times you’ve discovered the clear sticky blotches of tree sap. They seem like magnets for other particles of dirt, dust and grime — unless you remove them quickly (which you should do!). But more importantly, a lot of trees can drop small mist-like droplets on your car’s paint — the kind of sap that you can’t see unless you look very closely. Again, in hot sun this stealthy foe of tree sap will bake into the pores of the paint surface and can leave stains. That is why it is important to remove tree sap from cars.



o SALT AIR
“But I love the smell of that ocean air!” OK, but do you know what your car’s paint thinks of living in Santa Barbara? “Nice views and great weather, pal, but this salt in the air isn’t doing much for that ‘mirror-like’ sheen you expect from me!” your paint would tell you. “Especially when the sun’s out and with that ‘terrific ocean breeze’ combined with salt in the air, boss,” it would go on to say. “Salty moisture all over me — yuck!”



o AIRBORNE CONTAMINANTS
Even though Santa Barbara has much higher air quality than many larger metropolitan areas, there are airborne particles in our air that can damage our cars’ paint surfaces. By-products from construction, small manufacturing operations and even your own home chimney can contribute floating elements into the air that threaten your car’s paint finish.