It doesn’t take much to maintain your car after returning from holiday: here are 5 really useful (and not obvious) tips to take care of your vehicle and preserve its quality.
Post-holiday car maintenance: why you need it
You have been using your car for travelling, and now the holidays are over: while it is true that returning home can be a bit “traumatic” in itself, not checking on your means of transport could lead to further displeasure (and unexpected expenses). In order to be ready to leave again, it really only takes a few tricks: specifically, follow these 5 tips for car maintenance when returning from holiday.
Checks should not only be carried out a few days before departure, but thorough post-holiday car maintenance is essential. Why? To increase the life of the vehicle itself, by banishing the spectre of wear and tear (and the mechanic).
Let’s start with the visual checks, which will take you a few minutes, but are essential to instantly outline the state of the car, as in a “photograph” of the vehicle. In fact, among other things, we recommend that you arm yourself with a smartphone and take photos of the car often, so that you can document its general condition. It will come in handy when you have to go to the mechanic, tyre shop, body shop, spare parts store.
Post-holiday car maintenance: the 5 key points
The first check concerns the condition of the tyres, especially if you have travelled many kilometres in the heat: add to that the overloading of the car due to passengers and luggage, and there is a considerable increase in tyre wear.
So check the tread, the size of the tread marks and any abnormal wear, calling on a professional if you have any doubts: never forget that good tyre health is essential for maximum road safety.
Is the car very dirty? All it takes is a journey of a few hours with rain, sun, wind, bird droppings, sand and pine resin to get the vehicle abnormally dirty. Moreover, car cleaning is often neglected on holidays, so it is time to take action.
Caution: don’t neglect the car underbody, which is particularly exposed to salt, which with its high corrosive power corrodes the metal and thus also the suspension. This is where our third post-holiday car maintenance tip comes from: keep your car in a safe condition, especially if you have travelled in the mountains, and then take care to check the condition of the suspension. Don’t forget to visually check the brake wear.
Fourth piece of advice: as before the departure, it now remains to check the fluid level; engine oil and filters, coolant, windscreen washer fluid. It is not pleasant to find yourself on the road with a dirty windscreen and then discover that the fluid has run out, and even less pleasant is to run the risk of ruining your engine by not checking it before restarting. Here is the fifth and final piece of advice, which sometimes seems obvious (but is not): don’t forget to check the condition of the front and rear wipers, and your car will be as reliable as ever! Many people neglect them, and then no longer clean them properly: remember that the wipers should be wiped with a soft cloth and gently placed back on the car glass.
