6 Situations Where Car Knowledge Would Be Advantageous
Knowing how your car works can be a truly advantageous skill, for a number of reasons. This article aims to highlight a handful of these reasons so that you can see why exactly it is so helpful to know what makes your car tick.
Table of Contents
1. When Your Mechanic Needs to Ask You Questions
Sometimes, to help them along in determining what is wrong with your car, your mechanic might ask you some questions about your car and how it has been working. If you can answer these questions in detail and giving specific aspects of your car that have been worrying you, then you would likely be able to help your mechanic far more than you would have if you did not know anything about cars or how they are supposed to work.
2. If Your Mechanic Tries to Trick You
Another issue with mechanics is that, unfortunately, there are those who use people’s general lack of knowledge of cars to overcharge and otherwise shortchange their customers—sometimes going so far as to invent issues that never existed. If you don’t know about cars, then you will stand no chance of understanding or even realizing what is going on, which means you are more likely to be fooled by such a tactic. However, if you know how your car works, then chances are, you will not fall for such a charade, which means you will be able to protect yourself from financial exploitation.
3. Breaking Down on the Side of the Road
In the unfortunate event that your car breaks down on the side of the road, detailed knowledge of your car and how it works could be extremely useful, potentially saving you from hours spent waiting for roadside assistance to come and help you. If you are able to diagnose and address the issue with the vehicle, you might even be able to get the car rolling again without having to call anybody out to help you fix it.
4. If You Want to Fix Up an Old Car
In addition, if you are interested in the hobby of buying old clunkers and fixing them up again, then you will need to have a working knowledge of cars in order to be able to pursue the hobby with any amount of success. In particular, it is useful to know where you can source used car parts, such as used engines and gearboxes from Germany and Europe, or used sparkplugs and steering wheels from America.
5. Identifying an Issue with Your Car
When you have issues with your car, a knowledge of how it works will be fantastically useful in identifying the problem and deciding whether it warrants a visit to the mechanic. Small issues could likely be dealt with directly by you, too, therefore reducing mechanic costs that you would otherwise have to incur.
6. When You Need to Know the Value of a Car
Finally, one of the most valuable uses of an understanding of cars is that, when you are looking to buy a car, you will not fall victim to any misinformation about the car you are buying. You should be able to understand exactly what you want, and which car will give it to you, making your shopping experience far more enjoyable.
Also check: Pros and Cons of Using Car Cameras