The most effective way to save money on Car repairs is to stop them happening in the first place.
Of course its never going to be possible to totally eradicate breakdowns as all Vehicles are made up of Mechanical and Electrical components and something is bound to wear out or just break eventually. However there are a few simple things we can do to help ourselves and others keep things running a bit better. So thinking about the above sentence lets talk a little more about this. Mechanical Components:Ranging from a wheel of a bike to a Rolls Royce engine, they are all made by Mechanical Components of different shapes and sizes. Lets break this down a little further, and use a Bike as an example, and yes I know its not a car or a truck etc but it is a good starting point. Imagine using your bike everyday to travel to work, you jump on and away you go and all is great, keeping fit and saving time in traffic not to mention the saving on fuel, absolutely brilliant. Then comes the day you bump onto the bike track and bang, out pops the front wheel and down you go head first onto the tarmac, Ouch.
So now you have a few injuries and not only a damaged wheel as it ended up underneath a passing car but you also have twisted Forks and a nice rip in that expensive jacket your partner just bought you, oh oh how to explain that one. I know you may be thinking what’s a bike wheel got to do with my Car or Motorbike or Truck etc, well if only the Biker had kept a proper eye on things then maybe the wheel wouldn’t have popped out landing them in a heap on the tarmac. I’m sure you get the general idea. If we now compare this to the Engine of a vehicle, imagine if the Oil or Water is never checked the results could be pretty damaging to say the least, and please believe me I have seen this happen so many times during my time as a mechanic, and on many occasion when I ask the Vehicle owner if they had any warning lights showing, the answer can well be YES but I didn’t know what it meant. There are a couple of simple things you can do right now that will certainly help reduce the chance of a Breakdown.Learn about your vehicle This does not necessarily mean spending days on end reading and researching but it should mean at least knowing the basics like how to check your Oil and Water, what tyre pressures should be, what visible checks are possible etc. A good tip would be to take a good look at your vehicle hand book, you may be surprised at the wealth of information in there, you will usually find a section telling you what should be getting checked on a regular basis and remember you do not need to be a mechanic to complete these tasks. 
As a mechanic myself I have absolutely no problem with taking a look at a Vehicle hand book to find all of the Fuse locations and numbers etc, it can save loads of time and to be honest why not use what is already there and is provided specifically for that vehicle.If you don’t have the handbook then you could contact a dealer and purchase a new one there or how about searching online for information. (if you can’t find anything then Contact Us for help no problem). Get into a routine You know a bit about your vehicle so now make a little check list, For example on a daily basis you should at the very least take a walk around your vehicle, is there a soft tyre, any damage appeared overnight, cracked or damaged lights that you didn’t know about, I’m sure you get the idea. Here is a little check list that should take just a few minutes to complete and remember, if your checking anything then its better than checking nothing and that one check may prevent a breakdown.Lets for now just think about 3 main areas. (Always complete checks in a safe area away from moving traffic and with the Engine switched off, hand brake on etc). Outside your Vehicle- Visible check of bodywork, windows and lights, also do all the lights work
- Tyre’s condition and pressures, look for any odd looking bumps and lumps, how is the tread looking, is there visible tread, 2mm of tread is the lower limit, all tyres have little wear markers in the tread and will begin to show when the tyre is worn out. If in doubt have it checked at your garage.
- Wipers and washers, during freezing weather take care with wipers sticking to your screen, don’t pull the wipers away from the screen as you could ruin the blade by damaging the rubber, also be sure not to switch them on if frozen as this can definitely cause a problem. (I have attended breakdowns many a time for this reason).
- If its possible and safe then do a visible check under the vehicle, look for things hanging down etc, you will soon get to know your own vehicle and spot things that look out of place.
- Do a check of your exhaust at the back end, even a little tap with your foot can reveal a loose or rattly exhaust back box.
- Under the Bonnet / Hood with Engine OFF and Cold, also Ignition keys in your Pocket
- Check all fluid levels, these include Engine Oil level, Coolant Level, Power Steering Oil, Brake fluid.
- IMPORTANT NOTE: NEVER OPEN THE COOLING SYSTEM ON A HOT ENGINE
- IMPORTANT NOTE: NEVER CARRY OUT ANY CHECKS OR WORK WITH THE ENGINE RUNNING
- Did you know that the caps on fluid reservoirs that can be topped up are quite often Yellow in colour,also most reservoirs can be visibly checked as they are clear plastic and the fluid can be seen.
- Engine Oil levels on most vehicles can be checked using the dip stick, this should be done when the engine is cold, some modern vehicles have an electronic sensor that checks the oil level for you.
- If you are unsure about what and where your fluid levels are then as mentioned earlier check your Handbook or just ask someone that will know, ask them to explain what they are checking and what they expect to see. You will find in most cases any decent mechanic will be quite happy to explain a few things.
- Once you get to know a bit more of what goes on under your bonnet then its very easy to keep an eye on things.
- Be observant when starting your vehicle, listen for anything different like a squealing noise or any rattles etc. (squealing can be sign of a slack alternator or power steering belt and a rattle well could be something worse)
- When you first switch your Ignition on you will see a few well known lights in the instrument pane, this of course depends on your vehicle make, model and age.
- Instrument lights on older vehicles may only include a Battery light and Oil warning but modern vehicles now include Battery, Oil, ABS (Anti Lock Braking), ESP (Electronic Stability Program), Engine Light, Seat Belts, Air Bag, Engine Temperature, Fuel Light, Emissions, DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and more.
- Yes I agree there are a lot of warning lights but they are there for good reason and that is to give you the driver fair warning when something goes wrong.
- And again I say take a little time to get to know your own vehicle and what to expect with ignition ON and then what to expect with the engine running.
- Most available warning lights will usually light up for a few seconds when you switch Ignition on, during this time the Computer system runs a series of checks and then extinguishes the lights if all seems well.
- However not all lights will go out until you fire up the engine, you will usually still see the Battery / charging light and Engine Oil warning lights until the Engine is running, then once the charging system is working and Oil pressure good then the lights should extinguish.
- Other things to check inside the car are your controls and switches, seat belts etc.
- My tip of the day would be to keep everything working as it should, for example, if a window wont open properly or maybe just an interior light wont work then get them fixed asap as all of these little things can add up and de value your Vehicle and may eventually cause a breakdown.
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