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Think you know how to keep your car running perfectly? Think again, some things that you swear by might be just what's killing your car slowly!
Category: Car Ownership Advice
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Everyone always tells you not to neglect your car, to keep up with the maintenance schedule and to replace broken components as soon as possible, but does it mean that everything is fine and dandy as long as you do so?
Sometimes, the result can vastly differ from your intentions. With cars, often you'll end up hurting it more despite your best intentions. Here are some things that you thought you should be doing to your car, but really shouldn't.
Cheap car wash
Nobody likes to drive around in a dirty car, understandably, you'll want to keep yours clean and fresh.
There's nothing wrong with that, but how would you do it? Would you pop by your favourite detailing shop for a thorough wash? Or would you pay for those services where one guy with a bucket of water goes around washing all the cars in the carpark?
Well, if you opted for the latter, I have some bad news for you. Just think of all the dirt and debris swimming in that same bucket of water - contamination is certain. Instead of a wash, I'd rather call them car scuffing services…
Sub-standard car wash services can cause damages to your car's paintwork, which will be costly to rectify. If you want to keep your car looking good, don’t cut corners, do it the right way.
Running till empty for a tank of fresh petrol
You must have heard that petrol turns bad overtime. That is true, petrol can oxidise and turn bad in as quickly as a month. You might think that it is a good idea to use up as much of the petrol in your car's fuel tank before refuelling.
But that would have been a serious mistake. Running a car till it's fuel tank is near empty is very harmful to the fuel pump.
The fuel pump is designed to work while submerged in fuel. Running near empty can cause the fuel pump to overheat without the surrounding fuel to aid in cooling. It can also cause the fuel pump to suck up air, overworking and damaging it, resulting in premature wear of the fuel pump.