Teaching your Teen how to maintain their first car

A teenager’s first milestone is getting their driving licence.

It’s an exciting time and also an opportunity for them to learn about the responsibilities of owning and maintaining their first car, to keep them safe on the road and to avoid costly mechanical bills.

The last thing on a teens mind after passing their test is performing checks on it, and it’s not something that gets taught in their driving lessons so it’s important to give them a heads up on some simple car maintenance tips.

Top tips for car maintenance for your teen:

• Read the car manual. An obvious one but often the most over looked. That seemingly boring little book in the glove box should be the first thing your teen reads before driving their new car for the first time. The manual will provide information on the cars features and basic maintenance tips such as what oil to use. Every car is different so knowing how the one they’re driving works is tip number one!
• Check the fluids and tyres regularly. Show your teen how to check the fluid levels of their vehicle, what they should be and how to top them up and make sure they know how much tread their tyres should have to keep them safe on the road.
• Service the car regularly. Whether your teens car is brand new (lucky them!) or second hand, maintaining the service schedule is extremely important to keep the vehicle running safely and effectively. Make sure they look in their owner’s manual and keep tabs on when the service dates are due. They should also know what the service light looks like on their dashboard to remind them.
• Keep fuel topped up. Encourage your teen to keep their fuel level to at least over a quarter of a tank at all times. Not only is this better for the car engine, it will help avoid inconvenient calls to mum and dad to come and help them out when they’ve ran out of fuel on the way to work!
• Look into any changes. If the steering feels funny, the engine is overheating or any lights come on the dashboard, don’t ignore them! These signs are telling you that something needs looking at and ignoring them could make the vehicle unsafe.

Teenagers give their family enough to worry about and them getting their drivers licence only adds to this worry!

By teaching them a few basic tips on how to maintain their vehicle may prevent any accidents or breakdowns from occurring and gives you one less thing to worry about!