How to Keep Your Car in Top Shape: A Guide to Regular Maintenance

Owning a car comes with a lot of responsibilities. Regular maintenance is key to extending the life of your vehicle and can help keep repair costs to a minimum. To ensure that your car is in the best possible condition, it is important to perform certain checks at least once a month. Even though you don't have any problems with the car, as a conscious vehicle owner, you should take care of your car so that it remains a reliable and safe mode of transportation for as long as possible.

Most experts recommend having professional car service and maintenance every 6 months or 10,000 km, whichever comes first. The maintenance schedule is a chart that tells you how often your car needs to be repaired and what work needs to be done. While you can check your owner's manual for lots of maintenance checks, knowing what to look for on your own will give you a better idea if you need to repair your car. The best method to detect signs of problems or malfunctioning parts is to properly examine your car and give it regular maintenance.

Tires also require maintenance at this point, and it is essential to perform wheel balancing, wheel alignment, and tire rotation during car maintenance. If you want to go further, you can also clean and polish your car with wax to help protect the exterior and preserve the new look of the car. Not only can you end up with costly engine damage if your car is not regularly serviced, but the other parts of the car will wear out faster as well. In general, car manufacturers recommend an interval of 10,000 km or 6 months, depending on the date above; however, according to your driving style, it is also possible to check your car at least every 5,000 miles to avoid any problems.

Some cars also come with an automatic diagnostic system that will notify you when your car is ready to be repaired. Most mechanics still recommend the so-called 30-60-90 service interval, which places a car in the shop for scheduled maintenance at 30,000 miles, 60,000 miles and 90,000 miles.