Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, most of us are barely going out of our homes and many used cars in UAE have been parked in parking lots for months now. Even if you barely drive your car, it is still important to maintain it during this time since keeping the car standing idle for so long can be detrimental to its performance.
Driving it once a week has many benefits
You should consider driving your car for about fifteen minutes around the block every week or ten days for important tasks such as grocery shopping after you take the required precautions. This will ensure that your car still runs smoothly when you take it out for regular drives once things return to normal.
When you go out to get grocery and other essential supplies, try taking the longer route, this will add a few extra kilometres to the meter. This is important because it ensures that the engine stays running and that parts of the car are well lubricated.
- Engine: Driving your car once a week will keep your car components such as the transmission fluid, the power-steering fluid, coolant, engine oil in good circulation and well lubricated.
- Batteries are usually the first part to get affected when the car has not been driven in a long while, just starting the battery while your car is standing still is not enough; you must drive your car for the length of at least 6 to 8 kilometre every week. Staying idle for too long also negatively affects the tires of your car, it disturbs the normal air pressure in them.
- Tyres: Moreover, standing in one space for too long can also cause flat tires due to the weight of the vehicle. Since it is expensive and bothersome to replace your tires; regular drives once a week are highly recommended.
What to do if you don’t want to drive your car at all?
- Battery: If you are not able to take out your car for regular drives at all, you should disconnect the battery by plugging off the negative terminal and the positive terminal. This will ensure that your battery remains charged till when you decide to drive it again. Use a spanner to carefully disconnect both terminals of your battery.
- Tyres: It is important to take care of your tires as well; you can put your car in neutral gear and slowly push the car backwards and forwards so that it moves a few centimetres. This will ensure that the surface of tires in contact with the floor is rotated. This is recommended only in situations where your car is parked in a flat area.
General Car Maintenance: Moreover, you should still thoroughly clean your car even if it stays in a parking lot all the time, the accumulation of dust on surfaces can be harmful to your car’s performance in the long run. Simple car cleaning or a carwash with a wet cloth can save you a lot of hassle.
You must also regularly check your fluids and fill them up if the need arises. You can buy the recommended brake fluid, coolant, power steering fluid and fill up the specific reservoirs when the levels are low. There are plenty of online resources including highly detailed video tutorials about how to change your engine oil and oil filter change. For filter and transmission oil change, you may also visit a service centre.
You can make your life easier and buy a well-maintained, certified and pre-inspected car at CarSwitch.com. We will provide you with a safe, and hassle-free process so that you can buy used cars UAE from the comfort of your home! Happy shopping and be well!
