Top O’ The Mornin’ To Ya
If you read that ^^^ with an Irish accent, you get extra points. How many times have you had to rely on luck to get your vehicle through to the next day or the next trip? If you are starting to count how many times, that’s not a very good sign. Relying on luck to get your car from this St. Patrick’s Day to the next will leave you with way less green (money, that is) then you’d like. Don’t go searching for a pot of gold just yet though, take in some of our vehicle maintenance tips first—and we promise, this was not written by a Leprechaun…no tricks here!
Know Your Stuff
So, you hear a weird sound coming from your car and you have two options:
Ignore it and leave it to luck to get you through
Address the sound and determine the issue
One of these options comes with less anxiety, ehem OPTION #2, but there’s more to it than that. It’s important to know the standard operating level of your vehicle. If your engine tends to be a bit noisy then there may not be an issue. It’s best to determine what’s normal and what’s not by visiting professionals (like us) who will support you to get a good understanding of your vehicle’s baseline performance. The more you know, the better!
Mountains Out Of Mole Hills
Oftentimes, we hear from customers who say they felt or knew something was off with their vehicle but didn’t do anything out of fear of uncovering even more issues. This is a common pitfall for vehicle owners that we want to address. To that, our best advice is don’t wait. Even if there are other issues to be discovered, waiting will only allow those things to get worse and eventually cost more money. So, don’t wait if you feel something is off. Most of the time, a fix will have way less of an impact on your budget if your vehicle is serviced sooner.
A Once-Over
Even if you consider yourself a ‘lucky’ person (we don’t really need to know about your lucky underwear), there are still ways to assure yourself that your vehicle is in good running condition. Now, you don’t have to be a certified mechanic to give your vehicle a good look over 1-3 times a month. Here’s how to do it:
Check the outside of your car visually—look for signs of burning, dents, and check your tires for any damage.
Next, sit in the driver seat and turn your car on. Check to see if it’s slower to start than normal or if you hear any odd or new sounds during start up.
The next step is to look for any indicator lights on your dash. Look for activated check engine lights, oil warnings, battery warnings, or other indicators that may be lit up…this is often your first warning sign that something may be wrong.
After that, take your car for a small drive and pay attention to your vehicle. Listen for sounds, rattling, or a shaky car during idling…these are often signs that there is something that needs to be looked at.
That’s really it. Four easy steps to skip the luck button with your vehicle. If you want some practice on what to look for, just ask your service tech the next time you visit.
Leave the Luck to the Irish
We cannot stress enough how important it is to service your vehicle routinely and have it looked at whenever something feels off or changes. The more our team gets to know your vehicle, the more we can do for you and your budget—and that only happens when we see your vehicle on a routine basis. Let’s just be honest here, if you are leaving it all up to luck, you are really causing yourself extra worry and anxiety, which nobody likes to feel. Throw on some green and follow that rainbow all the way to BCC. If you find a pot of gold, can we split it? See you soon!
Modern Cars and Classic Service—only at Boalsburg Car Company.
