Car maintenance is crucial in winter. After all, the old weather can really take its toll on your vehicle and if you are not careful then you may end up paying out way more than you need. If you want to get around this then there are a few ways that you can keep your car running efficiently without having to break the bank.

Take your Car for a Free Service

A lot of garages will give you free or even discounted winter car checks. Now is certainly the time for you to get this done. According to recent studies, half of the car problems experienced in winter can actually be prevented if you give your car a regular check-up. This can save you a ton of money when you look at the cost of repairs, and it can also help you to stay on top of your vehicle’s maintenance too.

Cracks

You have to make sure that there are no cracks in your windows or even in your lights. Sure, they may be small but if a crack traps water then this can mean bad news for your car. The water inside can expand, and before you know it, you have a crack that is ten times bigger than what you first started out with.

Screen Wash

Cheap screen wash is great if you want to save money, but there is a high chance that it won’t be doing you any favours. This is especially the case when the cold weather hits. You have to make sure that the screen wash is more than suitable for colder temperatures. If you don’t then the screen wash can freeze inside the engine and cause you a world of problems later on. If you find that the screen wash you have isn’t suitable, then you need to run it out and then just top it up again with one that is suitable.

Antifreeze

Antifreeze is another essential item that you need to have ready. Not a lot of people know this, but your engine should always have a mixture of 50% water and 50% coolant. A lot of people do top-ups during the year and when this happens, the antifreeze gets diluted and it freezes when exposed to cold weather. This can make your engine overheat and if this happens then you have a very large bill on your hands. If you need to prevent this then a simple top-up of 50% coolant and 50% water will help. Over time, you will get the right levels in your car and this can really help you to avoid any nasty disasters on the road.

Insurance

Now is a great time for you to look into your auto insurance policy. If you do not have a good policy, then you need to get one. So many accidents happen in winter and this is because there is reduced visibility and ice on the roads. As if that wasn’t enough, you also have bad weather and snowstorms happening intermittently. You can’t really stop things like this from happening, but you can make sure that you are covered in the event of an accident.

Rubbing Alcohol

If you have woken up in the winter to find that your car has completely frosted over then you have nothing to worry about. Rubbing alcohol should always be in your car for this very reason. By keeping some in a spray bottle, you can be sure to remove any frost on a cold winter morning. Simply spray the window down, and before you know it, it will remove all of the ice without causing you any further problems. Air conditioning will also demist your windows much faster than the heater, so do keep that in mind.

Tires

Your tires are the only point of contact that your car has with the road. If you have not given your tires a good check over recently then you need to get that sorted out as fast as you can. If you don’t then you risk skidding when you are driving on sheet ice and you may even find that you lose control of your vehicle as well. With a little time and effort however, all of this can be avoided. If you do have to invest in some winter tires, then you have nothing to worry about. You can easily buy them second-hand and you can save a small fortune by doing this. You should note that they will need replacing sooner rather than later.