Simple maintenance that keeps an older car reliable

A short, useful read for the UpdateSee community.

Most breakdowns in older cars come from a short list of neglected items: tyre pressure, oil level, coolant, brake fluid and the battery. A ten-minute check once a month under good light catches almost all of them. Keep a small notebook in the glovebox with dates and mileage so you notice when something starts to need topping up more often.

Most breakdowns in older cars come from a short list of neglected items: tyre pressure, oil level, coolant, brake fluid and the battery.

Change the oil and filter at the interval in the handbook rather than when a light comes on, replace wiper blades every year, and have the brakes inspected when the tyres are rotated. These small costs are far below the price of a single roadside recovery, and a car that is looked after this way often runs comfortably past two hundred thousand kilometres.