Back then, just about every time you filled up your gas tank, you checked your oil level. In fact, gas station employees did that for you, cheerfully, right after they pumped your gas and just before they washed down your windshield.

Things have changed, with maintenance schedules easing up over recent decades for two reasons. First, cars stand up to more wear and tear these days. And also, the products we put into them are better made.

But your car still requires some upkeep—so here’s our list for the ten most effective maintenance musts:

1. Read your car manual. The manufacturer didn’t print it just to fill the glove compartment. Learn the maintenance schedule direct from the horse’s mouth to stay on track with your new vehicle. And really, your maintenance schedule depends on your car’s age and how you use it.
2. Check your oil level monthly. This is less often than in the old days, but many people don’t even realize they should do this. You must learn here and now that your car engine will die forever if it runs out of oil.
3. Tire pressure should be measured every month, as well. Look in your manual to learn where the recommended air pressure is posted; usually it’s on the door well. Do not go by the numbers that are printed on the tire. Tires that lose air will wear unevenly, perform below standards, and cause your car to use more gas.
4. Rotate your tires every 10,000 miles to keep them balanced. This is a good time to inspect the depth of the tread.
5. Check the cooling and heating system each spring and fall to make certain that your air conditioner is working correctly. This also guarantees proper radiator function.
6. Change power steering fluid yearly to protect your steering system and maintain your suspension alignment. Ask about transmission, brake, and coolant fluids at this time, as well.
7. Clean your car monthly to preserve its finish. If you don’t want to stand in your driveway in your bathing suit, take it through a drive-through. Laser or other non-touch washes are recommended. You’ll thank yourself when the day comes to resell it.
8. About every 3,000 miles, get a complete oil change. Some manufacturers allow you can go up to 5,000 miles because today’s oils have a higher quality base, and—just like your face cream—they contain antioxidants. However, oil exposed frequently to temperature extremes as well as oil in cars doing mostly short trips, with the attendant stops and starts, will wear out more quickly.
9. Air and fuel filters last approximately twelve months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. Changing these is a relatively simple procedure—play some Sixties music if you want to try this yourself while following instructions available on Edmunds.com.
10. When you’ve put about 30,000 miles on your car, it needs its first tune-up. Your mechanic will replace the fuel and air filters, clean or replace the spark plugs, check the spark plug wires, check belts, hoses, and lights, and flush and/or replace your fluids—brake, transmission, power steering, and coolant. This can also include other items such as looking at the PCV valve and oxygen sensor. It’s like a day at the spa for your car!

Just about all breakdowns, electrical or mechanical, can be traced back to poor maintenance. Take care of your car, and it will take care of you.

Car maintenance is your responsibility, but an extended car warranty from Warranty Direct will cover wear and tear repairs on your car. Contact us today for a free quote – we offer extended car warranty payment plans to suit your budget.

It really is astonishing that almost everyone you meet will think of themselves as good, safe drivers, but the reality is that the number of accidents on the roads doesn’t necessarily bear that out.

Driving is a learned skill, and there’s very little difference driving in various countries except on which side of the road you drive; other than that most of the planet has similar rules and regulations – whether they’re used or not is another story!

A great place to judge your skills is through this awesome MSN Driving Skills Quiz that really puts you to the test. In most cases it shows more of what you don’t know rather than what you do, as most of us do seem to forget simple things over time.

Among many other little tidbits the quiz asks is when you’re driving in fog, do you use only fog lamps, low beam or high beam? Seems pretty easy, right? You would think that driving with only fog lights on would be the right answer, but all states advise that you drive with low beams on as well, as some vehicles do not have fog lights included.

Questions like this and others like it lend great insight into what skill level you can justifiably bracket yourself, and thankfully at the end of the quiz it not only gives all the correct answers, but goes into detail on the demographic breakdown of those who complete the quiz, like scores per age, scores per gender; it even compares your score to the average from your home state, broken down by age and gender.

Amazingly enough it shows a general tendency for women drivers to be not quite as knowledgeable as their male counterparts, but you shouldn’t take this as gospel!

The main thing is that this is a quick, easy way for you to rate yourself on your driving knowledge level, and making sure you know the law on things like center lane passing, double yellow lines, intersections, and other areas of safe driving.

A little brush up will make you smarter and safer behind the wheel. Make it a fun thing, have your friends and loved ones take it too and see how you compare to each other, find out if he really does know all about driving. It’s fun, it’s free and can only help us all.

Do you know how much money you can save on car repairs? After you take the driving skills test, get a quote from Warranty Direct on extended car warranties. Once again, you may be surprised to discover you didn’t know as much as you thought you did – vehicle warranties aren’t as expensive as many people think, and you can make monthly payments through Warranty Direct’s easy car warranty payment plan.

And even though having a GPS in your vehicle can be both helpful and a major time and money saver if you use it correctly it also has some potential bad points that may bring it down a notch or two in your eyes.

One of the immediate concerns that people have is that the GPS tracks your every movement and can tell whomever is checking all about your habits. If you are speeding they have no need to clock you on radar, they can just send you a ticket; sounds like fantasy but it’s not too far from becoming fact.

The amount of information that is collected by these GPS units can be stored by whoever is gathering the data and saved, and can be used at a later time and for something that is completely not what the user had wanted or intended.

If the police get hold of your speed off of the GPS there is no way that you will be able to contest the ticket and the fine since it is your car and not the one behind you, as could be argued with radar gun tickets.

Also, as the quality of technology changes, the ability of someone to remotely do things to you inside the vehicle comes into play. How about the person on the other end of the GPS system, like On Star for example being able to lock or unlock you in a car? Or start or shut off your car should they deem it needed?

Every one of these seem like something from a science fiction novel and yet they are documented. A gentleman rented a car from Acme Rent a Car and added on the GPS package for convenience while traveling. The unit actually stored data as he drove and the next month, after returning home he found himself with a bill in the mail from the car company because the GPS calculated that he had been speeding. The amount of that bill was $450. Notice that this was not even a police ticket, merely a bill from the rental car place because he was going too fast. He fought it and did finally win the case but it certainly raises some well- founded concerns.

What is even more disturbing to me is that the courts in the case, while not making him pay the bill, also didn’t see anything wrong with the company doing that. They did not consider it an invasion of privacy or any type of violation of his rights as a renter.

There are a lot of positive advances in technology that actually help us and make our lives or the enjoyment of our lives more pronounced. However, we also have to be aware that anything can be used in a negative or bad way and it is up to us, as consumers, to help keep track of what is going on with and to us.

Although built-in car GPS units are not covered by extended auto warranties, there are many items that are, including airbag coverage. Visit the Warranty Direct web site – find out what is covered on your car, and get a free, instant quote for extended auto warranty coverage.

If your car does fully overheat, get comfortable because you are probably going to be stuck wherever you are for at least 45 minutes. If you can’t afford waiting it out, that means calling a tow truck to get your car to the nearest repair shop.

However, an overheated car can do more then just inconvenience you with downtime or a potential tow, in the long run it can likely cost you a lot of money by contributing to wear and tear on your engine, radiators, pumps, hoses and even your vehicles head gasket.

The best thing to do in this case is to be prepared with an extended auto warranty. Not only will it help cover the cost of your engine’s repair but it will also pay for that tow to the shop – that way you can move forward with your day and you also won’t have to worry about why people are looking at you funny when you put that break and shake ice pack on the hood of your car.