10 Tips on How to Save on Car Maintenance

By David K. Volkens

In general maintenance works consist of cleaning, refueling, providing proper lubrication, fixing, checking, adjusting wheels and car parts. Proper maintenance is the guarantee of a long life of your vehicle. However if you want to save on car maintenance, follow these helpful tips and discover how to have it up and running for lower costs.

Tip #1. Buy a newer car.

Does it sound rather vague to you? Some new cars from a manufacturer can last for years without any repairs. It mostly depends on your driving habits indeed. Once you have a new car you can forget your mechanic's address for a while even though regular maintenance is still required. But if you already have an old car... well, see below.

Tip #2. Get good auto insurance.

Good car insurance is the best way to save on car maintenance when it comes to breakages and failures. Try to do some research and find such car insurance which best fits your needs. When you get car insurance with a low deductible payment it will help you reduce your technical maintenance expenses considerably. If you already have auto insurance with a high deductible... hm, continue reading.

Tip #3. Do it on your own.

In case you have a mechanical breakdown, try to fix it by yourself. There are many online support services that can help you check your car and discover the fault. If you still need to take it to a repair service keep in mind that they get new car parts to change the broken ones with a high markup. Thus in some cases buying spare parts by yourself (if you know exactly what you need) will help you reduce the expenses by 4 times! Just shop around and look for better offers online.


Tip #4. Prevention is better than cure.

You can save money and prolong your car's working capacity if you take some preventive measures. By changing oil, charging batteries in time as well as doing total check-up of your car once a month, you can help your vehicle last longer.

Tip #5. Use your car wisely.

You'll be surprised how much you can save if you give some thought to the ways you use your car. One should stop the engine at red traffic lights and in the jams.

Tip #6. Maintain your speed level.

From my own experience I can say that when I speed up and pull up fast, it does good neither to my brakes nor my fuel economy. One should stick to some certain speed level. That way one can achieve the lowest fuel rate and save the brake pads from wearing out. Using deceleration technique to make your car come to a halt is better than applying the brake.

Tip #7. Check your tires.

Partially deflated tires do not help save money at all. First of all if there isn't enough air in the tires they can wear out faster. Secondly underinflation increases fuel rate by 4-6% which makes you spend more fuel than usual. You can read technical characteristics and check the best tire inflation pressure for your car.

Tip #8. New spark plugs every once in a while.

Statistics show that changing old spark plugs in time cuts fuel costs down by 25-35%. Moreover new spark plugs also help improve car's performance and capacity.

Tip #9. Wash it in time.

At first blush one could say that washing doesn't reduce maintenance costs at all. However cleaning your car in time will help you prevent if from corrosion which is caused by accumulation of mud and dust that stay wet and stimulate corrosive wear.

Tip #10. Read the manual.

When you know your car as the back of your hand you are definitely aware of what it needs, when its engine has to be tuned-up or what oil it's better to use. It's always helpful to read the owner's manual and look under the hood once in a while.

http://www.carssure.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_K._Volkens

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Daihatsu charade classy - winner: Radiator Cap

Ilham M


Ini adalah bagian-bagian yang perlu diwaspadai oleh pengguna mobil yang sudah cukup berumur seperti daihatsu charade classy atau yang sejenis. Yang perlu diperhatikan dan perlu dicek secara regular adalah radiator cap / penutup radiator.


Selain itu yang perlu juga diperhatikan adalah motor fan radiator, terutama bila pada fan radiator muncul suara-suara berisik yang mengganggu.

Cap fan radiator:
Alat ini kelihatannya sepele, namun perlu juga mendapat perhatian. Kerusakan pada cap fan radiator yang sering terjadi terutama adalah robeknya karet / seal cap radiator. Robeknya karet radiator menyebabkan uap air pada saat panas keluar dan mengakibatkan air radiator cepat habis. Akibatnya bisa fatal bila air radiator sampai kurang.
Bila ditemukan rusak, segera ganti dengan yang memiliki spesifikasi yang sama. Harga juga tidak terlalu mahal. Pilih saja yang kualitas baik karena selisih harga tidak terlalu jauh.
Di bawah ini adalah gambar cap radiator untuk daihatsu classy dan kerusakan yang sering terjadi. Bersambung..

Semoga membantu.

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Top 5 Cheap(ish) Fast Cars!

By Tony O'Donnell

This article will bring together 10 fast road cars that YOU could own... It isn't a definitive list, but a group of fast cars from all kinds of different classes that won't require a lottery win. This is only a handful of similar cars so don't forget to shop around.

5) Ford Mustang - Believe it or not the mustang first arrived in 1964, making a cameo appearance in Goldfinger. More recently in 1994 Ford began production of the forth generation, with the Mustang GT available as a coupe model V8 outputting 260 horses and producing a 0-60 time somewhere around 6 seconds. Of course if you're not worried about pricing issues than naturally you'll want the limited edition Cobra GT, or even the Ford Mustang Shelby GT... She's a beast of a muscle car.


4) Golf Gti (MKIII) The MK3 arrived in 1991, it had a larger chassis than previous versions (now weighs over a ton) and this time was built to last, but boy aint it fun?! You can grab one of these cars with a 2.0L 16v engine that will punch out 115BHP. This will do 0-60 in 8.7 seconds and a top speed of 124mph, not too shabby when you can get a high spec version for less than £2000 now a days...

3) Honda civic type R Although the new Civic is more weighty than its predecessor, its still very quick for its class, it has a 0-62mph time of 6.6 seconds. The top speed hasn't changed and remains at 146MPH. The suspension set-up has also been changed, Honda claim it's now more responsive and rigid. You can pick one up for around £9000, don't forget though this is new and you're paying for quality here. Read the full review of the Honda Civic.

2) Nissan 300zx The Nissan 300zx is no longer a production car, but you can easily pick up a good used model for under £10,000 and even reaching as low as £5000. Performance wise the twin turbo packs 276BHP, which gets you from 0 to 60 in 6 seconds and with a top speed of around 155mph - it will please. Read the full review of the Nissan 300zx.

1) Daihatsu Charade Gtti This truly is a little gem. It's the fastest and most powerful 1litre production car EVER. It produces 100BHP and goes from 0-60 in an unbelievable 7.5 seconds. This thing will keep up with your 318i, your Golf Gti and your Escort RS turbo. Granted, its not a family car - it's a pocket rocket. You can pick one up in a good condition for under £2000 and don't worry its very economical too in comparison to your standard sports car! Impress your mates and buy this...

Article in association with Nippon Automotive - Japanese Car Parts.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_O'Donnell

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The Four Generations of the Daihatsu Charade

By Joe Thompson

The Daihatsu Motor Co., Ltd. is an automobile manufacture who has its base and headquarters located in Japan. This Japanese car manufacturer is commonly known as Daihatsu and it is famous for its production of compact cars and small cars that are known in Japan as kei jihosha.

The Daihatsu Charade is actually one of the cars that this automobile manufacturer has produced. And this vehicle is actually a subcompact car, making it fit nicely in the line of vehicles that this company has been producing.


The Daihatsu Charade was born in the year 1977. It lived through several decades up until the year 2000 when its production was halted. However, the company thinks that this vehicle is actually a large compact car. This is most likely because the Daihatsu Charade is the largest compact car that the company has produced compared to all the other compact cars in its line up of vehicles.

Last year, 2005, the Charade name was actually brought back in the automobile market in the United Kingdom and in Australia as well. In fact, the vehicle that holds the Charade name is actually a rebadged Daihatsu Mira which is more known as the Daihatsu Cuore in other markets in Europe.

The previous Daihatsu Charade was known in the automobile world to have gone through four specific generations. The first generation was known as G10 and it lived through the years 1977 up until 1983. It was made available as a hatchback that either held three doors or four doors. Its power came from a 993 cc engine with three cylinders and could produce 50 units of horsepower.

The second generation, known as G11, lived from 1983 up until 1987. The body styles offered were still the same. However, as per the power, there were several variations of the engine. There also was a five speed manual transmission made available.

As per the third generation of the Daihatsu Charade which was known as G100, it lived from 1987 up until the year 1994. This time around, the subcompact car had trim levels available for this vehicle. The vehicle also had features like a sunroof, power windows, air conditioning as well as a power steering. In the United States, the Daihatsu Charade was sold with a high price and was not marketed well so much so that it sold poorly in this area.

The last generation of the Daihatsu Charade was known as the G200 and this generation started in 1994 and it ended in 2000, which also was the last year for the Daihatsu Charade. This time, instead of just having a hatchback version, there also was a sedan version made available for the consumers.

Auto Parts Discount, ensures that the quality of Daihatsu parts like those top of the line projector headlights you purchase will complement the excellence of your Daihatsu vehicle.

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Joe Thompson is the owner of a successful auto body shop in Ferndale, California. This 38 year old is also a prolific writer, contributing automotive related articles to various publications.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Thompson

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Masalah panas pada daihatsu charade classy (2)

Ilham M
Masuk tomang dan slipi, indikasi suhu menunjukkan 1/2, wah ini mulai ganjil pikir ku. Mulai ada rasa was-was. kenapa yaa. Tiba di tol bekasi barat sekitar jam 8:00, pas sesuai dengan target. Keluar tol menuju kranji. Di depan grand mal bekasi, tiba-tiba indikator mesin dah menanjak naik lagi. Ku hentikan mobil di depan grand mal bekasi untuk sesaat sembari menunggu dingin mesin. Karena buru-buru tidak ada pikiran untuk mengecek lagi.

Segera kustart mesin dan menuju kranji. Tiba di kranji, jemput orang tua ku kemudian menuju ke Ciputat. Sebelum berangkat, kucoba cek lagi radiator. Ternyata kembali berkurang. Hem, kemana yaa airnya. Curiga semakin menjadi-jadi. Tapi karena diburu waktu harus tiba di ciputat jam 9:00, tidak ada pilihan lain selain kembali menjalankan charade classy ku menuju tol JORR. Masuk dari tol bintara menuju JORR pondok indah. Tidak ada halangan berarti selama di tol. Jam 9:00 kami sudah tiba di pintu keluar tol pondok indah. indikator suhu naik lagi. Kami cari tempat berhenti yang teduh dan menemukan di sekitar SPBU lebak bulus setelah terminal lebak bulus. Di sini kami berhenti dan menunggu mesin dingin. Cek lagi radiator wow, kosong lagi. Kemanakah air nya hilang???. Yup karena diburu waktu, tidak ada pilihan untuk berpikir panjang, langsung kuisi air di radiator (tentunya setelah mesin agak dingin). Kupacu lagi menuju lokasi tujuan.
Singkat kata tiba ditujuan setelah berjuang mengatasi problem demam. Kuparkir mobil ku. Singkat kata, setelah bersilahturahmi sesaat, kami harus berangkat lagi menuju ke Kebayoran. Nah akhirnya demamnya sudah tidak tertahan lagi, Kami berhenti lagi setelah berjalan selama 10 menit. Kami berhenti di SPBU. Untungnya di SPBU sehingga nyaman untuk menunggu mesin dingin. Dikala menunggu ini, istriku memberi nasihat untuk mengecek kenapa masalah ini terjadi. Kebetulan di depan SPBU ada bengkel. Segera saya berjalan menuju bengkel tsb.
Akhirnya di bengkel tsb dicek lah. Air diisi, terlihat air menetes deras dibagian bawah mesin sebelah kanan. Teknisi bengkel bilang, water pump bocor pak. Yah, akhirnya ketemu juga problem nya. Sebetulnya saya dah lama pengen ganti tuh water pump, cuman belum kesampaian, sampai akhirnya rusak juga.
Nego biaya-biaya, disepakati langung dikerjakan.
Total perbaikan:
1. Water pump merek GMB baru
2. Selang radiator di bawah manifold diganti
3. Jasa perbaikan di atas.

Kerjaan menghabisakan waktu cukup lama, karena harus mengganti selang yang bocor, yang posisinya juga sulit.
AKhirnya setelah menunggu cukup lama, perbaikan selesai juga. Hasilnya cukup memuaskan, problem teratasi.
Kembali kami melanjutkan perjalanan pulang ke bekasi dan cilegon.

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Masalah panas pada daihatsu charade classy (1)

Ilham M

Ya, sekali lagi mobil daihatsu charade classy kesayanganku mengalami demam. Kejadian ini saya alami setelah menempuh perjalanan yang cukup jauh di hari kemerdekaan RI yang ke 63 ini. Setelah diperiksa dan diperbaiki, mobil ku bisa kembali membawa diriku dan keluargaku.Ceritanya seperti ini:

Kami sekeluarga berencana menuju bekasi dari Cilegon. Pagi-pagi sekali kami bersiap-siap. Jam menunjukkan pukul 5:30 pagi. Mobil ku start untuk memanaskan mesin. Belum sempat jalan, sekitar 10 menit setelah dipanaskan, indikator suhu menunjukkan setengah. Wah kenapa yaa? Langsung kumatikan dan coba cek kondisi air di radiator. Kubuka dengan hati-hati tutup radiator dengan menggunakan lap kanebo untuk mencegah air panas muncrat. Uh betul saja, ternyata air di radiator tidak penuh alias kurang. Kutambahkan airnya. Belum ada kecurigaan mengapa air berkurang. Pikirku, mungkin karena sudah lama tidak dicek saja jadinya air berkurang.
Jam menunjukkan pukul 6.00, langsung tancap gas menuju tol cilegon barat. Target tiba dibekasi jam 8:00. Ku pacu kecepatan hingga 120 km.jam. Hem bandel juga nih mobil, pikirku karena mampu dengan enteng menembus 120 km per jam. Ok tidak ada keanehan apa-apa sampai saat ini, indikator suhu masih 1/4. Jadi terus kupacu saja. Masuk tomang dan slipi, indikasi suhu menunjukkan 1/2, wah ini mulai ganjil pikir ku. Mulai ada rasa was-was. kenapa yaa...
(Bersambung)

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