Cars are complicated vehicles, and we can’t all be expected to fix everything that goes wrong with them. But there are a collection of small faults that can go wrong with our cars that we can take simple steps to avoid.

Mechanics often see the same faults when people bring their cars in. These common repairs are easily done, but they will cost you. Here, we take a look at some of the most common car repairs, and show you how you can avoid these through proper preventative maintenance:

• Brake Work
• Oil Changes
• Tires
• Fuel System

A common repair that mechanics deal with are brake systems. The brake systems on cars take the brunt of the wear and tear of everyday driving, and brake pads will need changing more than once in your cars lifetime. You should have your brake pads checked regularly to ensure they don’t fail and cause a much more serious fault, or accident. Brake pads are a moderately priced repair but leaving them can cause a much higher price of a disc, drum, or rotor repair.

It is recommended you change your car’s oil every few thousand miles to ensure your vehicle runs in the best way possible. Regularly changing the oil will extend the life of your engine and keeping service records that prove you’ve had regular oil changes will make selling your car on much easier in future.

Damaging a tire from a rogue nail or piece of metal is inevitable at times and tire patches or replacements are a very common issue. Repairs are fairly inexpensive but ensuring you check your tires regularly for wear and replacing them when needed is the best way to avoid more expensive repairs as the result of bad tires.

Driving with less than a quarter of a tank on a regular basis can cause your fuel pump to become clogged. Regularly changing your fuel filters and keeping your tank filled up are the best, and easiest, ways to avoid needing repairs.

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