When you first buy a car, you expect that it will take care of itself. You don’t think about things like brake pads, oil changes or tire wear. If you invest in a brand-new car, you have even less reason to worry. You should get a few thousand miles out of that vehicle before anything goes wrong – right? Unfortunately, cars are fickle things that will break when you least expect them. Performing regular car maintenance prevents the chances of a roadside breakdown eating up your finances.
The Essential Equipment that Saves Your Car
With all this in mind, let’s review some of the best equipment you can keep in your new car or home, to save your vehicle from wear and tear.
Starter Cables
You should keep starter cables at home just in case you get a flat battery one day. It happens far more often than you might think. This piece of essential car equipment can help your friends and neighbors avoid a trip to the garage.
A flat battery doesn’t have to mean something is wrong with your car. It could be that you left the lights on, or that a door was slightly ajar and a warning light on the dashboard was blinking all night. Whatever the reason, you will need to inject enough battery power into the battery to bring it to life again. Usually, this requires jump starters.
When cold weather drains your battery, use your starter cables to jolt electricity into the battery. Sparking life into it allows you to start the engine, which lets you get to work on time. Jump starters are essential because they save you money.
Air Compressor
Air compressors and inflators are two pieces of kit that we use to monitor and adjust our tire pressure. An underinflated tire results in a more expensive journey as it wastes fuel. An overinflated tire, on the other hand, could pop at any second.
Luckily for the non-car-savvy, tires come with the ideal pressure written on the side of them. The only thing you need to pump them up is therefore the machinery to do it with. An air compressor will tell you how much pressure is in your tire. An inflator will help you add to it. You should check your tires before every long journey.
The Jack Stand
This is a good one to keep at home, should you know how to change a tire. You can even keep it in the vehicle, under the seats or somewhere you don’t notice it. When you do burst a tire on the road, a jack helps you live the vehicle safely so you can change it out for a good one.
A typical stand will lift a 3-ton vehicle. Make sure yours is strong enough for your car.
An Emergency Triangle
This might not be something that saves your car, but it could save you. If something does happen to you on the road and you break down, you place the triangle on the road a hundred yards behind your car. This is the international symbol to other drivers that there is a breakdown up ahead.
Such a thing might sound trivial, but when you break down in the dark on the side of the freeway, it just might save your life.
