5 Things Everybody Must Know About Their Vehicle

Know Your Car

Every car has its own “personality”. Just like a nation of people, there are certain “general” attitudes that tend to define a particular make and model of vehicle. But as those countries have individual citizens, so do individual vehicles have their own issues. Sometimes you’ll get unexpectedly positive malfunctions—like the A/C being stuck “on” in a hot climate. Generally, that’s not going to be the case.

For the most part, idiosyncrasies will involve some things not working right. But sometimes, knowing your vehicle requires you to go further, and be knowledgeable about specific model trends.

As Sweden is known for Ikea, and Germany for sausages, the Volkswagen Winnebago Rialta is known for having a weak transmission in the 1999 model. If you know such information, you can handle yourself at the repair shop or your garage more efficiently. With that in mind, following, we’ll briefly explore five things you really need to know about any car you own.

1. Known Issues Or Benefits Of A Particular Make And Model

This was glossed on earlier: know what common issues assail a given vehicle, or manufacturer. Some vehicles, like the PT Cruiser, are notorious for engine issues. Knowing this information beforehand can help inform your maintenance.

If you’re not savvy on vehicle issues initially, research the car you’ve purchased to know what you might have to deal with later. It could save you thousands in repairs should you catch a problem quick enough.

2. Do Any Unique Problems Exist?

Beyond manufacturer issues, it’s important to figure out the “personality” of your unique vehicle. There’s almost always going to be some problem with a given car eventually. Maybe it shifts a little rough, but the transmission isn’t going out; that’s just how the car shifts.

Knowing that could keep you from spending money unnecessarily diagnosing the issue. This bit of advise is only really possible after you’ve driven the car around a while; or if a previous owner let’s you know from the outset.

3. The Overall Value Of The Vehicle

Kelley Blue Book or NADA can help you understand what the true value of your vehicle is in varying levels of repair. Aftermarket parts can keep a vehicle at a baseline in terms of value, but sometimes there’s not much you can do to increase how much the car’s worth. When you know the worth of your car, that will help you retain some level of equity when it’s time to sell.

4. How Available Parts Are

Older cars are closer to their end-of-life moment. Sometimes it’s just a single repair that separates a vehicle from the junkyard. If you’re driving a late-model vehicle, parts may not be available except for salvage; and salvage could be hard with rare makes or models.

5. Specific Vehicle History

Lastly, what things have happened with the vehicle during your ownership, and that of the previous owner? New vehicles off the assembly line don’t have a history. However, if you buy a car used, and there was an engine rebuild in the last 50k miles, that could mean unique issues later on. If you know this, you’ll know where to start when issues in operation arise.

Understanding Your Vehicle Helps Maintain Or Maximize Value

When you understand good or bad mechanical features defining a particular make or model, what unique problems your car has, its associated history, Kelley Blue Book Value, and parts availability, you’ll understand how to keep it on the road, repair it, and what you can expect in terms of value for a sale.

To learn more about this and other key pieces of information pertaining to vehicular ownership, be sure to explore our blog at Anybody’s Autos!