toolbar powered by Conduit
Search
CPD banner

 

Tax & fuel calculator

 

 
 

Don's skimp on service or protecting your car in hot spell

publication date: Jun 30, 2009
Download Print Send a summary of this page to someone via email.
Previous | Next
 
ROAD Safety experts GEM Motoring Assist is warning that tight family budgets caused by the current financial crisis could have a direct impact on the reliability of family cars just as the main holiday period is beginning.
GEM Chief Executive, David Williams, says, “More and more people are planning to take their summer break in the UK which means families are setting out on long journeys on unfamiliar roads in cars that have been heavily loaded.

"Many have treated car maintenance as a low priority in these difficult times and we tend to over-rely on the reliability of modern vehicles.

"There is a real danger in breaking down on a strange road with all the family on board and a car full of luggage with children keen and excited to get to the destination.”

He said that what can make matters worse is that motorists have tried to save costs by not joining a road-side rescue organisation adding to the potential wait and challenges of being picked up.

“While rescue organisations will pick you up, if you are not a member it could cost a great deal of money and eat into a tight family budget,” he explains.

He claims that people towing caravans and trailers may also have avoided having them checked for an extended period.

Research by a leading insurance specialist shows one in three cars will suffer a mechanical failure annually and incur repairs hard- strapped families can ill afford.  It also reveals a third of owners are considering extending their service interval this year to save money.
Motorists are being urged to prepare their cars for what is predicted to be a hotter-than-average summer in 2009.
Autoglym warns that extended periods of intense heat and high levels of the sun’s harmful UV light can do more damage than freezing winter conditions – fading paint, causing rubber and plastics to degrade, and baking corrosive contaminants on to paintwork.
Autoglym’s top ten tips for summer car care:
1. Put on a protective coat of quality wax or polish as a defence against UV light
2. Apply a protective dressing to revive and preserve faded bumpers and plastics
3. Wash your car out of direct sunlight to avoid cleaning products drying on to the vehicle
4. Wipe away bird droppings as soon as possible – on untreated bodywork, paint damage can occur within just 30 minutes
5. Spray on an insect remover to avoid having to rub at paintwork when washing
6. Use a specialist tar remover to dissolve dried-on road tar spots from bodywork and wheels
7. Clean windscreens with a quality glass polish to get rid of dried-on bug splats
8. Top-up screenwash – at summer dilution – to help remove insects and road grime when on the move
9. Treat leather seats and trim with a leather care cream to prevent them drying-out
10. With cabriolets, apply a specialist fabric-hood cleaner and protector to revive appearance and reproof against summer storms.
The Highways Agency is also advising drivers to ensure they have checked the fluid levels in their vehicles before a journey and ensure they carry plenty of water to drink and do not drive too far without stopping to rest or eat.


Download the Wheels Within Wales toolbar for your quickest way to keep in touch with everything that's happening on Welsh roads and in showrooms or use our RSS feed for the headlines you will not want to miss


toolbar powered by Conduit

 

Warranty direct gif file
 
Flying
Cardiff to Paris?

Have a car waiting
when you land

Welsh travel services

PARK FOR LESS
AT
CARDIFF AND
OTHER AIRPORTS