Have you neglected your car this winter? Because it was damp and miserable over the winter months, have you not given it the attention it deserves? This could compromise your safety and cost you more on repairs and maintenance in the long term. So, mark Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 March - the weekend before the first day of spring - in your diary. This is when you should wash your car properly and give it a thorough check over to ensure you enjoy safe, reliable motoring through the warmer months.
Below are 10 tasks from Haynes that you should perform as part of a spring check-up. Haynes is the world's leading publisher of automotive repair manuals and is renowned for teaching millions of car owners how to carry out routine maintenance and repairs. Haynes publishes manuals for more than 500 cars and vans.
Wash your car thoroughly – paying particular attention to the wheel arches, behind or beneath the bumpers and the sills below the doors.
Clean inside the engine bay and remove any soggy leaves.
Clean the wheels using a proprietary cleaner. (You can do a better job if you remove each wheel in turn, but only if you know how to do it safely - see your Haynes manual!) Also check the condition of the tyres.
Now, vacuum the interior thoroughly – including inside the luggage space. Remove rubber mats and scrub them clean; use a suitable cleaner on upholstery and carpets.
Polish the paintwork – one panel at a time, so you can keep track of what you’ve done.
Check for chips and scratches in the paintwork and touch these up.
Clean thoroughly all glass – inside and out – as well as headlamps and other lights, plus door mirrors.
Check the condition of the wiper blades, which will have been used a lot in the winter. Don’t forget the rear wiper.
Inspect the exhaust system for corrosion.
Finally, lightly lubricate all hinges and door locks and apply a little petroleum jelly to the battery terminals.
These useful tips are just the sort of vital information you'll find in Haynes manuals. And they're not just for advanced home mechanics. As well as overhaul information, each manual contains sections showing simple weekly checks to keep you on the road; servicing - complete, fully illustrated step-by-step procedures; fault finding - information helping you to pinpoint specific problems easily; plus Haynes Tips - valuable short cuts to make many tasks easier.
Written from hands-on experience gained from the complete strip-down and rebuild of cars in the Haynes project workshop, these manuals can help you understand, care for and repair your car. Haynes staff do it themselves to help you do-it-yourself and, whatever your mechanical ability, the practical step-by-step explanations, linked to numerous photos, will help you get the job done right. Regular servicing and maintenance of your car can maintain its resale value, save you money, and make it safer to drive.