If you’re favour riding a bicycle to work during spring and summer and are gearing back up to start driving again in the chillier autumn and winter months, you might be surprised to know that your car might need a little bit of attention to better prepare it for the unique driving conditions these months present. No need to worry, though – there are actually a few car care tips you can do yourself, and in this article, we take a look at a few of these things to help you better prepare for winter driving.

Simple things to start working on

Although you might think that car prep would require dropping a bunch of money on a car service in Sydney, this is far from the case – there are a lot of things you can do yourself to help prepare your car for the colder seasons. The first thing you should be doing is changing your windscreen wiper blades – it can get very wet during Australian winters, particularly in cities like Melbourne, so ensuring you replace worn out wiper blades can ensure that the new rubber can tackle any amount of rain with ease. As with your wiper blades, it’s also a good idea to check if there are any cracks or leaks in any of the hoses of your engine, as now is the perfect time to get a professional to fix up any such issues before you start your rigorous winter driving. Another quick, simple and important thing you’ll need to check is your tyres. In addition to having a look over the tread wear to ensure you won’t be slipping and sliding in the rain, it’s also a good idea to adjust pressure to better prepare your tyres for the change in temperature.

A few more things to keep an eye on

If you want to keep the insides of your car looking as nice as possible during winter, it’s a good idea to change your floor mats if they’re made of cloth or similar soft material. This is because the heavy rains during winter will do no favours for these kinds of mats, and if they get wet it can even cause them to start growing mould due to the dampness (and mould is the last thing you want in your car, believe us). Lastly, we highly recommend that you get a technician to test your car battery, particularly if it has played up recently. This is because batteries can be a bit temperamental with temperature fluctuations, particularly those that are several years old, so to prevent your car not starting on a cold, wet work morning, double check that everything is as it should be – a little bit of money spent here will mean a lot more money is saved by a roadside visit as well.

Are you prepared for winter?

If it’s been a while since you’ve done any basic maintenance on your car or have had issues in previous winters, doing some basic check-ups for yourself can help save a lot of grief during the cooler months of autumn and winter. Even if it’s still warm, start planning now before everyone else does the same!