The underside of your car is the most vulnerable part of your vehicle as it’s the area with least protection. Abrasive particles such as stones and gravel can cause much more damage than you might think. Driving in winter greatly increases the risk of corrosion due to roads being gritted. There’s not a great deal you can do to improve the weather but you can take precautions to protect this vulnerable part of your vehicle. Regular car maintenance can save you time and money in the long run. Investing a little time and effort to protect the underside of your car can pay dividends.
Here are some of the reasons you should be protecting this area.
Rust Can Start Under the Car
Rust can be a death sentence for a car if it’s left unchecked. I It can start under the car and then spread to take over the rest of the chassis, which is why it’s essential for you to keep an eye on this area of the car. Rust can lead to extensive damage, rendering your car unsafe, and means it is much more likely to fail its MOT.
Checking the underside ton a regular basis and repairing any rust as soon as possible helps you to stop this problem before it starts. Repairing any rust patches will prevent the spread to other areas of the car.
The bodywork of your car comes into contact with all sorts of materials, some more corrosive than others. A build up of contaminates can cause lasting damage.
Corrosion
Liquids and grit from the roads can cause corrosion on the underside of your car, eating through the metal and creating holes in the structure. This kind of structural weakness should be repaired as soon as possible. If you’re not checking for this, then you won’t know whether it has occurred or not.
Certainly over the winter months, alongside regular cleaning, it’s worth keeping your car in garage when not in use to reduce the potential for corrosion take hold.
Bumps and Potholes in the Road
While driving in the winter or on roads in a poor state of repair, it’s likely that you will encounter more bumps and potholes on the road surface. Also, large speedbumps can present a problem for cars with a lower chassis if the driver drives over them at speed potentially impacting the framework underneath the car, such as the suspension and exhaust.
If you hear a noise as you go over a speedbump, then this may be due to travelling over it at too high a speed, the underside of the car coming into contact with the surface of the road. To avoid any maintenance to the car underside + repair costs remember to reduce your speed when you approach any speedbumps. If you hear the same noise every time, then there may be something hanging underneath the car that you need to investigate further.
MOT Purposes
When it comes to getting your car through its MOT for another year, the underside of your vehicle will be inspected, throwing into light any wear and tear on the car. If you catch any problems early enough, then you can get them fixed before the MOT, and by doing so, your car won’t be as likely to fail, saving you any potential repair costs.
During the test, the suspension and exhaust will be checked. If you’re not regularly checking these components, then there’s every chance they may be deemed unsafe, the car will then fail its MOT, and you will have to pay for them to be fixed and also potentially for a retest fee.
Overall, the underside of your car is very important and should be included as part of your regular car maintenance checks. For professional and friendly car maintenance advice and service, visit Windmill Garage, we’ll help you to keep your car in tip-top condition.