Getting to Know Your Car
With today’s economy showing no signs of immediate improvement any time soon, there exists an increased need for us to save money in any way we can. One of the things that we can do to accomplish this is to give more attention to maintaining our vehicles. With the auto industry being hit by the global recession and auto sales is still on the decline, more and more people are learning how important it is to get to know ones vehicle.
At Auto Parts Place, we get the unique opportunity to speak with a lot of people who are either looking to do minor repairs on their cars or are into performing some preventive maintenance. Though, a lot of these are indeed commendable in their interest in keeping their cars in top condition, we have seen how a handful still has not taken the opportunity to know their cars well.
This post is to assist the enthusiast and even the normal car owner to get to know ones car better. This will not only be useful when the time comes when you need a repair or a part replaced but also in caring for your vehicle.
Car Registration and Certificate
These two important documents are a good place to start in getting to know your vehicle better. You probably remember these papers after you paid for your car. The car registration code is probably in your vehicle’s glove compartment already with your car insurance card. Once you have made sure it is there already, look for your car’s title as well. Though these documents include some interesting information like your license plate number, the lien holder and even the last odometer reading upon purchase, what you are to look for are the following:
- Year and Make of your vehicle
- The model of your car
- The body style
- The vehicle identification number (VIN)
It is good if you know this information already. It won’t hurt to verify that you have your facts straightened out though. This is especially important if you bought your car from somebody else instead of a dealership. In these documents, you can also see your name and address, as well as information about your lessor or security interest holder.
The above mentioned information is essential if you are planning to buy parts for your vehicle or is planning to have it receive service from an auto technician. Remember that your mechanic or your auto parts store dealer will want year, make model and style, not how awesome your car is, what color it is or what its name is.
Engine Size
The next question your auto mechanic will probably ask you is about the size of your engine as well as whether your car had manual or automatic transmission.
I assume that you can easily tell them what transmission your vehicle has. The engine size however is something you might want to look at your owner’s manual. Usually this information is either measured in cubic centimeters (cc), liters or cubic inches. Your engine size is thus the volume of the cylinders multiplied with just how many cylinders you have. Considering that 1000 cc’s make a liter a simple computation will tell you that there is approximately half a liter of space inside a 2-liter, 4 cylinder engine. To convert liters to cubic inches just multiply it with 61. To convert cubic inches to liters, on the other hand, multiply it by .0164. If you cannot find this information on your manual (which I doubt) you may alternatively look at your engine or for a sticker under the hood which may denote this.
The VIN
At Auto Parts Place, we encourage a lot of our returning customers to know their vehicle’s VIN number. This unique code identifier, though a little gibberish actually contains information about your engine, transmission, chassis, date and location of manufacture depending on your car make. The VIN is such an important identifier that it is actually located in cases of car theft or engine transplant.
To learn more about your VIN and what it means you can refer to your owner’s manual or to the service manual of your vehicle. Here is an example of what the VIN may contain:
This VIN from a Chevrolet (1G1AZ377XRD101234) for example tells me that your car was manufactured in 1994 and that it has a 350 cubic inch V8 engine with electronic fuel injection.
The service Manual
The service manual contains more information about your vehicle that you are encouraged to know. This includes your engine size, number of cylinders, type of fuel delivery system, method by which it is cooled, filters it uses and the grade and amount of oil it needs.
My suggestion is you keep all the information taken up in here in a card so you can access it anytime you may need it. Aside from the above mentioned, it will definitely help to identify the following and put it in an easy to access card in your vehicle.
- Engine displacement
- Number of cylinders in engine
- Cylinder firing order
- Engine oil type and capacity
- Carburetion and fuel injection
- Fuel tank capacity and recommended octane
- Sparkplug type and gap
- Distributor type numbers
- Air filter part number
- Fuel filter part number
- Oil filter part number
- Drive belt part number
- Radiator capacity and recommended coolant level
- Manual transmission fluid type capacity
- Automatic transmission fluid type and capacity
- Power steering fluid type
- Battery size and CCA (cold crank amps)
- Tire size and pressure
Following these steps may sound complicated at first but it is actually very simple as long as you have your car documents handy. If you are familiar with the above mentioned facts, you will surely save a lot of time in the future not to mention that you will have the assurance that your vehicle is operating as designed.
