#cartricks

Tips and tricks make getting things done easier and cheaper. However, it could cost you if following the wrong instructions.

There are several vehicle tips and tricks you will find that promises to save you money or help you do things yourself. However, some of these can harm your car.

Let's get into it.

Driving off immediately after starting your car will save you some fuel, but it will not save your car.

Revving your car before it warms up. That is not a superb idea. Your car has not lubricated crucial parts when it is cold. Therefore revving will wear and tear on your rings, valves, crankshaft, cylinder walls, bearings, and other parts that require lubrication.

Drive on low fuel. That might save you time and money however, you are increasing the amount of sediment that is transferred to your fuel line and filter.

Leaving others in dust when slamming your accelerator or quick brake slams makes you cool. Well, you are damaging your car and you are putting yourself at a higher risk of collision. Your brake pads will wear out quickly and you are using more fuel than necessary. Plus, you are stressing your engine and shortening the lifespan of your rotors. Press brakes and pedals lightly.

Placing your hand on the gear is convenient.  Unfortunately, your transmission’s bushings and synchronizers are experiencing pressure from you and that is not convenient for your car.

Parking brakes are not necessarily important to activate. Not using your parking brakes when parking your car is not saving you time. Leaving them activated makes your car unhappy. Applying your parking brake will help prevent the weight of the vehicle from resting on the parking pawl.

Put all the extra things in the car boot. Listen up, if they have no use or are not the emergency equipment that you need in your car, empty them. These items affect the weight of your car. The repercussion of that is adding stress on your suspensions, brakes, and other important components. Oh, you are not saving up on fuel.

Replace car fluids only when they are empty. That is a recipe for disaster. Change or refill fluids before things get out of hand. Visit Chat2cars Blog on how to refill fluids yourself.

Warning lights on car dashboards are not that important to pay attention to. If you follow that tip, you will enrich your mechanic in no time. Pay attention to any warning light or strange sound in your car.

Using any fuel for your vehicle is fine. You must then also make plans to replace your engine. Car engine is expensive if you did not know. Check your owners manual to know which fuel to fill in your tank.

Your vehicle is your asset and should be well taken care of, to save you from spending money unnecessarily.

No pandemic should stop you from achieving your driving goals this year.

You might have planned to teach your teenager or spouse how to drive this year. Or as a teenager or a spouse, you thought it’s about time to put pressure on someone to teach you how to drive.

Then life happened. We were all locked down in the house for a couple months. Fast forward we can now carry on with our lives, however with many restrictions.

Well, all hope is not gone. You can still learn how to drive with the rest of the months left. With the relief during the pandemic, you can now teach or learn how to drive.

Note the following while taking the bold step of achieving something significant for the year.

Your safety is important. If you are using a familiar car, make sure it is safe to be in by disinfecting it. Read how to sanitise your car.

Wear your mask and wash your hands, whether using an instructor or family member or friend.

If being taught by a family member or friend, ask them to teach you on a testing ground so you can familiarise yourself with how you would be tested. Find out when and if it is appropriate for you to use the grounds.

Drive around as often as possible. There ain’t as many cars on the road in this season. It is still busy. But you have enough room to build your confidence in driving around.

Stay positive! You can do this.

If you are uncomfortable letting a family member or friend teach you how to drive, that’s ok, get an instructor.

You are already anxious, the last thing you need is someone yelling at you.

Having an instructor allows you to learn what’s more important in your driving test, rather than just learning how to drive.

However, using a family member or friend will help save cost. You can then pay for 3 classes where an instructor shows you what they will expect of you before you go for a test. Or, as advised earlier, ask them to take to the testing ground.

When you are confident with your driving skills, don’t sit back. Write your learners test if you have not already gained it (which you should have, you are supposed to learn how to drive with it). If you want to use an instructor, you must have your learners certificate.

If you are still to write your test, prepare well for it. You can ace it once or have to write it more than once.

When you have your learners, you can drive around with a person who has a driver’s license. This will build your confidence and allow you to visit places already. Just be careful to follow regulations. Hey, we have curfews now.

The next step is to register to test for your driver’s license, this you might also have to test more than once. You will be asked to provide an application fee, your identity document, and two passport photographs.

But ensure that you are fully prepared for this. Do your research and make sure you know what you need to know before going out there. We wish you all the best with that.

Whenever you are ready to get your own car or buy for someone, visit Chat2cars. We have a car that meets your budget, personality and status. 

We have experienced a decrease in fuel prices in South Africa, because of lockdown in the past few months.

However, we expect an increase at the end of this month as the oil market rebounds.

Fuel prices are to rise in the order of 35 cents a litre for petrol, 68 cents for diesel and 63 cents for illuminating paraffin.

Times are hard, and we need to budget efficiently. Here are some tips to help you safe fuel during the price hikes.

How to Save Fuel?

Do not let your car be idle for a long time.

Use throttle sparingly.

Drive slightly slower than usual.

Use your brake as little as possible when in traffic.

Keep your car in good condition and check your tyres often.

Plan your route before heading out.

Use public transport if possible. Do not forget to keep safe, wear a mask and keep your sanitiser handy.

We are a couple of friends that are sharing the same passion: DIY Auto Projects! Here we will be publishing ideas, projects, photos, blogs.. anything we like and do. 

Stay tuned and give a shout-out to our main blog: