Truck Maintenance 101: What New Owners Need to Know
Owning a truck allows you to get from point A to point B and take about as many people as you want with you. Being a truck owner might also be important if you work in a business that requires regular towing or moving larger objects that just wouldn’t fit in a car.
Truck ownership is a little different than having a car though. While you should definitely find a good mechanic who knows your make and model, you may also need to consider doing some of your own basic maintenance.
Use this guide to learn more about how you can do basic maintenance on your truck so you don’t have to pay a mechanic every time something small goes wrong or just needs updating.
Get Your Owner’s Manual
If you bought a brand new truck, chances are the dealer handed you an owner’s manual before you left the lot. That’s pretty much common practice and you should have one in your dash if you’re not sure where it might be.
Buyers of used trucks may not have taken an owner’s manual with them when they left with the vehicle however. In fact, many used cars and trucks have owner’s manuals that are somewhat difficult to obtain.
Going online and trying to find the owner’s manual for your truck is very important though. In some cases, you may be able to download one for free. You may need to consider buying a genuine owner’s manual from eBay or another classified site if you can’t find a free version.
Having the owner’s manual will allow you to easily look up basic maintenance and find truck parts California residents can buy from most auto body shops that will fit your needs.
Know Your Truck
When you first take possession of a new car or truck, one of the first things you’ll want to do is take it out for a ride. While that might be fun, and we aren’t saying you shouldn’t do it, getting to know your truck through a thorough inspection is also very important.
Getting to know your truck and where everything is located will help you make basic repairs in an emergency situation. You’d be surprised how many people who know cars are caught unable to change a headlight just because they haven’t done the homework on a recently purchased vehicle yet.