Winter can be the ultimate test for cars, with the cold often getting the better of both your beloved brum and your wallet! Transport costs are among the highest UK households face. Fuel and repair bills tend to be the biggest expense. To avoid any spiralling bills, we’ve come up with our top tips and tricks to get your car winter-ready:
A speedy windscreen defrost
As beautiful as it looks, it can be a pain waking up to a frosty morning. Knowing you’ll have to clear your windscreen before you can drive is not the best way to start the day. Lets face it, when you’re running late already, painstakingly scraping your windscreen with your bank card is the last thing you want to do!
Firstly, don’t use hot water to defrost your windscreen! It may seem like a quick and logical solution, but the temperature difference can shock your windscreen and cause it to crack. A much safer solution is to direct your car’s inside blowers to the windscreen and make your own de-icer (3 parts vinegar to 1 part water). If you’re pushed for time, cover your windscreen with an old sheet or blanket at night and voila! No frost to scrape!
Another handy tip is to use shaving foam to prevent windows steaming up. Simply spray a layer on the insides of your screens, wipe clean, and hey presto!
Boost up your batteries
Dud batteries make up one-third of total call outs over the winter months. Most of the time, the battery has been drained by us using our heating and lights more, which is totally avoidable. Protect yourself from this costly inconvenience by only using your car comforts when needed. You don’t run your house with your heating cranked up to full blast. Turning down the heating in your car too can be similarly efficient.
Also, try not to leave your car out of action for too long. If you use public transport to commute to work during the week, make sure you get your car out and give the engine a good rev to make sure the battery gets a quick energy boost.
A typical car battery lasts around five years. If yours is coming up for its fifth birthday it might be sensible to replace it before you run into problems later in the middle of a cold snap. Visit your local garage for advice on this.
Check your fluids
Winter temperatures can have a negative effect on vehicle fluids, so it’s important to give your car a quick “health check” during the colder months to avoid preventable surprises.
Investing in a good quality antifreeze (proven to -37C) is recommended, since this will safeguard your engine from freezing up – a much more expensive problem to have!
Oil levels are important too, and should be checked before the weather gets too cold. If they’re running a bit on the low side, this can cause significant damage and equally significant repair bills! Checking your oil is driving 101 – as long as the oil level is between the minimum and maximum markers on your dipstick then you’re good to go.
The 20 pence tyre tread test
Having sufficient tread on your tyres is not only vital for safety in the winter months, it’s also the law. Having too little tyre tread can result in a fixed penalty fine. The legal limit is 1.6mm, but it’s recommended to change your tyres if the tread drops below 3mm during the winter months.
The 20 pence test is a quick and easy way to check your tyre depth without needing any fancy tools – simply place a 20p into the tyre groove; if the outer heptagon band is obscured then you have enough tyre tread left. If you can see the outer band, or you can see it when you place 20p in some spots but not others, then it might be time to change your tyres and you should seek professional advice from your local garage.
Finally – stay safe!
Even in a British winter, it’s important to be prepared for any eventuality. We can get all four seasons in one day so you never know what you’re heading out into, and if you’ll be heading back in the same conditions!
Keep some spare change in your car for emergencies, along with a couple of blankets to keep you warm if you are unlucky enough to break down. Stashing a portable power bank in your glove-box is also handy to make sure you don’t end up cut off in an emergency.
How do you keep your car winter-ready? Let us know in the comments!
