There used
to be a time, when proud owners of the Model T could take the car
apart with a monkey wrench and plies. They would then carry only
the parts that required change to the nearest Ford station,
get them replaced, and put the whole car back again. The entire
operation gave a great sense of satisfaction and more Model Ts were
serviced in front-yards than in garages.
 The
car since then has taken great strides forward and the modern machine
is much more complex and sophisticated. Today's cars can cover substantial
distances between services, and you could probably drive your car
for its lifetime without ever needing to know what is beneath the
bonnet.
 But
knowing more about your car has several advantages. The modern motorcar
is made of several hundreds of individual parts, and there are chances
that - inspite of strict quality control checks by manufacturers
and regular services - any one may fail. While a failure could result
in but a minor inconvenience like your car not starting, at the
other extreme it could create a potentially hazardous situation.
Regular self-checks and proper maintenance may well spot an early
fault, which had it been discovered later during the normal service
could have developed into a serious and expensive problem.
Read
on for some basic tips to ensure that your car remains in top-gear,
and experience more enjoyable motoring. | 
