Maintaining your car is extremely important to ensuring that it continues to run smoothly. Without car maintenance, your car will break down sooner rather than later and there is a higher chance that you will need to replace your car altogether before you really wanted to. In order to keep your car running smoothly, you will want to follow some of the basics, such as regular oil changes, replacing the brakes, and changing the tires. However, you should also consider these three little known car maintenance tips, as well:

Check the Spare Tire: 

Many people often overlook the spare tire that they have in their trunk when checking the tire pressure of the four tires currently on your vehicle. You should not overlook this because in the case that you need it, it will be useless if it's flat. If the spare tire is flat when you need it, you will need to hire a tow truck and spend a lot more time on the side of the road than you would have if you just had been able to replace the tire on your own. 

Protect Car from Weather Conditions: 

Even during the spring and summer when the sun is shining and there aren't many storms, dangerous winds, or snow, you will want to protect your car from the weather conditions, especially from the extreme amount of sunshine that will be beating down on your car. The sun can cause damage to the interior of your vehicle by fading the dashboard and making it start to crack. You may even notice that the material that covers the seats is starting to fade, as well. You can protect the interior by tinting your windows, which will keep the interior cool and looking nice. You will also want to look out for problems on the exterior. For example, bird poop sitting on your car can damage the paint, so it's important to wash that away. During the summer and spring when birds are out the most, you may have to opt for receiving more car washes than usual. 

Check Tire Tread With a Penny: 

Not many people are aware of this trick, but you can easily determine whether or not the tread on your tires is too low by checking them with a penny. Simply take the penny and put it in between the tread marks. If you can see Lincoln's entire head still, you will need to replace the tires because this means that the tread is much too thin. 

When you consider these little known car maintenance tips, you can be sure that you continue to drive on the road safely and work even harder to keeping your car running as smoothly as possible all year round. Contact a local mechanic, like 59 Auto Repair, for more help.