There are lots of important parts on a car right? Obviously the engine, seats and the steering wheel seem pretty important – and your new HD radio.
But what about the car parts that you have to replace every couple of years? When shopping for new tires, a car battery or wiper blades, getting high quality parts is essential.
Tires
Your car without tires is absolutely worthless. Sorry you’re depressed now. If it will make you fell better, think about a Ferrari without tires. Also worthless.
Imagine a NASCAR race. If you were driving and got bumped from behind and you had brand new tires, you would spin round and round like the Tea Cups at Disneyland and then come to a complete stop. Heck – you’ve PAID to do that.
Now let’s pretend you had old, almost bald tires.
When you spin in a car, the tire actually flattens and the car rests on the side of the tire. Older tires will peel off the rim and the rim will dig into the road and cause the car to flip over – not a very fun ride.
But that’s more of a worst-case scenario. New tires are crucial for driving in poor conditions like snow, ice and water. Tires that grip properly will also save you about 2 miles per gallon. For the average driver, that adds up to about $200 a year – in two years, your tires pay for themselves.
Car Battery
When you buy a more expensive battery, you are buying more lead (you know – the metal you wish you could turn to gold). Lead stores energy that can be used to power lights and start the engine and the more lead in the battery, the more energy.
For example, let’s say you came home from work on a Friday and you accidentally left your dome light on. You didn’t notice all weekend, and on Monday morning you jump in and turn the key to start the car.
If you spent about $60 on your battery, the engine will make a low growling noise but won’t start. The dome light has drained too much energy and there is not enough left to start the car.
If you spent about $100 on your battery, your car will start right up, and you won’t be late for work and you won’t be fired – that’s definately worth the extra 25 bucks.
When you’re picking a battery, you’ll see about 5 different kinds that will work for you car. Get the battery that has the highest or second highest Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) which is a good indication of how much lead is inside.
Cold Cranking Amps are especially important when you are trying to start your car in the winter and it is below freezing. If you bought a cheap battery and it is minus 20 degrees outside, your car may not start.
Windshield Wipers
I admit, wiper blades are not very glamorous. They are purely functional and most of the time they are completely unnecessary.
Whenever it rains though, every AutoZone is packed with people buying new windshield wipers because their old wipers are streaky and they can’t see. And if you can’t see, you might accidentally clip someone from behind and you better hope they have new tires.