Spring is here, and just like your house may need a spring cleaning, your car may need a spring tune-up. Cars take a lot of abuse in the winter, especially if you live in an area prone to snow, ice and extremely cold weather. It is a good idea to take your car in once the weather starts to turn warmer to prevent a domino effect of things going wrong. If you skip regular tune-ups, and something is wrong with your car, that one malfunction can affect many other parts of your car. Before you know it, you might have a hefty repair bill!
Also, if you plan to spend your spring and summer vacations on the road, it is always important to make sure your car will get you to where you want to go! A good way to ruin a vacation is to end up spending half of it waiting for your car to get out of an unfamiliar mechanic's shop. If you would have used the place you know and trust at home before you left, you could have prevented this extra cost and delay of your vacation.
To avoid this, it is important to keep on top of your regular maintenance schedule. Check your records and see when your last regular tune-up was. If you are due for another, the spring is a good time to get it. You can make sure the car was not damaged by that constant cold weather or trips up to the mountains to ski. You may also want to have the mechanics check your cooling system. Have them pressure test the system for leaks, inspect all connections, and check the condition of your belts, hoses, and coolant mix. If your cooling system fails, you cannot drive your car. No one wants to be stranded on a beautiful spring or summer day because they didn't have their cooling system checked. Also, have your mechanic check your emission system (if it hasn't been checked in the past year).
Click here to read the rest of the article at JDPower.com