Breakdown Cover Articles

You might not be able to prevent your car from breaking down, but you can make it less painful!

There are few people in the UK who can claim that they have never suffered their car breaking down at some time or the other. There will a be a lucky few for sure that more by accident than design have beaten the law of averages and have escaped that moment when their car stops moving forward and grinds to a halt. Breakdowns can also mean a car’s engine failing to turn over, running out of petrol up to and including the car’s engine blowing up and bursting into flames. Although this rarely happens!

There are two ways of taking the pain our of car breakdowns. The first, and the most fundamental, is to make every effort to keep your car in as roadworthy a condition. Never put of a service when it comes due, and if your budget can support it, take it a reputable garage and not some “back street grease monkey.” The extra money that it will cost you will inevitably prove to be a wise investment.

Day to day maintenance should remain the responsibility of the car owner or at least the person who drives it most. That means checking engine oil levels regularly as well as making sure that water in the radiator is kept topped up. Letting fuel levels run too low on a regular basis can cause a lot of problems as a lot of unfriendly particles which build up in the fuel tank will drawn into the engine and will eventually clog up the carburetor. Carburetor problems will occur more often as the fuel jellifies during cold weather, and if fuel doesn’t reach the pistons, the car will break down.

Statistics show that most car breakdowns happen during the winter months, even though cars travel more during spring, that’s why it’s a very good idea to carry out a pre-winter check where the garage will look out for potential problems in the car’s electrical, steering and braking systems, as well as the state of the tires and wheels. Adding antifreeze will prevent engines seizing up in the cold and the major expense that it is likely to bring.

Once a car owner has made sure that they have made every effort to prevent their car from breaking down, the next step is to accept the inevitability that it will happen, and take out car breakdown insurance. By doing so, they will have taken even more of the pain out of breaking down.

< back