Top ten car maintenance tips

Check your oil once a month. Wait until the car has been stationary for five minutes so the engine is cool, and open the bonnet for an accurate reading.

Make sure the oil level is above the minimum mark and below the maximum mark. Top up accordingly – check your vehicle handbook for the correct oil.

Open the bonnet and ensure your water levels are topped up correctly.

It’s important to see if your brake fluid is at the right level – but don’t change it yourself – leave this to the professionals.

Don’t open the container or touch it yourself. If a bit of dirt gets in this can damage the whole system.

You wouldn’t get into an aeroplane which hasn’t been checked regularly by an engineer, so why not do the same for your car
Try and make sure your car gets checked regularly, and have an awareness of its condition.

This will extend the life of your tyres and you’ll save up to 10% on fuel if your tyres are pumped up correctly.

The minimum legal requirement is 1.6mm of tread depth which is a safety requirement too.

Worn down tyres can skid – if this happens it’s likely your tyres are nearing the end of their life. Try and get them changed as soon as possible.

It’s really important to have brake pads changed and your engine checked. Brake pads could get worn down and lose their stopping power, so it’s worth paying for a service. Air filters may need changing every 6,000 miles and any other problem will be identified.

This will also improve the value of your car and keep it fuel efficient.

Warning signals are your car’s way of telling you something is wrong, so don’t ignore them – you could run yourself into expensive damage.

Your windscreen wipers should be changed once or twice a year, depending on their usage. You can change these yourself.

Try and get any bodywork damage fixed right away – otherwise rust can set in.