From time to time, life naturally gets exhausting for all of us.
When you are caught between looming work deadlines, restless nights, a pile of dishes that you know you know needs to be dealt with, and all sorts of other distractions, it can be very tempting to just ignore that blinking light on your dashboard and hope it goes away.
Unfortunately, though, cars are not people, and they don’t spontaneously heal from maintenance issues and damage.
Here’s a handful of reasons why you should never wait until the last minute, or cut corners when it comes to maintaining your car.
Getting genuine, well-matched parts can drastically enhance the longevity of your vehicle
If you’re driving a particular model of Toyota and need to replace a part, then getting genuine Toyota parts from a reputable retailer may drastically enhance the longevity of your vehicle as opposed to if you had used another part that wasn’t as well suited to that particular model of car.
Often with DIY maintenance and repair jobs, certain corners are cut, and options are utilised that may appear to deal with the issue in the short term, but which nonetheless are unlikely to lead to a very enduring or robust solution over the mid to long term.
Save yourself a future headache by getting the best matching parts you can, and avoiding the temptation to cut corners today.
Early warning signs often mean a minor expense and repair job – ignoring them can mean an eventual write-off
When you notice a strange sound coming from your car or a warning light on your dashboard that doesn’t seem to be totally critical, there’s a good chance that you will be reluctant to get it dealt with immediately, because you know that there will be some upfront cost and frustration.
It’s important to keep in mind, though, that minor issues with cars almost never remain minor issues as time moves on, but instead become major and sometimes catastrophic problems that can cost you much more to resolve, and that may even lead to your vehicle being written off altogether.
Deal with the early warning signs now, to avoid a much more costly repair job down the line.
A worst-case scenario is for your car to malfunction or breakdown on the open road (especially when you’re trying to get somewhere important, urgently)
It may seem inconvenient to get your car down to the garage at the moment. There’s a good chance that you will have a compelling set of reasons to delay.
Maybe there’s a lot going on at work, or your budget for the month is already stretched, and so on.
Remember, though, that a real worst-case scenario is for your car to malfunction or breakdown on the open road in a way that can endanger your life and the lives of others around you.
Even if the event isn’t life-threatening, it can be devastating to experience a breakdown or a major auto malfunction when you are trying to get somewhere important, urgently.
