When you have your own car, car maintenance becomes your duty. Yes, it can be expensive and time-consuming, but the investment you make today will save you money in the future. Your car won’t take care of itself. Get in the practice of regular car maintenance and create a schedule to get you reminded.

Below we bring you through some of the basic things you should be doing to ensure your car stays in tip-top shape.

Check Oil Level

Motor oil is crucial to your car’s performance. Its most primary job is to lubricate all the moving gears in your engine, so they don’t rub and tear themselves into malfunction. It also transfers heat away from the engine series and traps and holds all the harmful results of combustion, sending it to the oil filter. If your engine doesn’t have enough oil, your car is at risk of going crazy.

To ensure your car always has sufficient oil, it’s essential to get in the practice of frequently checking it. Your owner’s manual probably suggests that you do this at every gas fill-up, but every other is typically enough. Checking your car’s oil level is easy. All you need is a fresh paper towel, enough light, and about three minutes.

Check Tire Pressure

Keeping the required tire air pressure will keep you safe and secured whenever you travel. Inappropriately inflated tires — and this may mean over-inflated or under-inflated — don’t work or stop as well as tires with the correct amount of tire pressure. They also increase your chance of a blowout. Plus, tires with the right pressure have an extended life expectancy and improve your fuel efficiency.

Clean Your Windshield Regularly

A messy, bug-splattered windshield is a safety hazard, as it obscures your clear view of the road. So, give it a proper washing. Using the spongy part of the squeegee, wet the entire windshield with the cleaning solution with water. Then drag the squeegee tightly from the center of the windshield to the sides, completing off the remaining streaks by pulling it top to bottom. This is highly important. After a long drive on the highway, when your windshield is littered with insect remains and using your car’s washing fluid and wipers to remove them, creates a big, smeary mess that covers your line of sight even more.

If your headlights are dusty, give them cleaning as well. Your wipers have a part to play in maintaining the windshield clean too.