54 Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 Advertisement feature

westerntelegraph.co.uk

Caring for your CAR

WIN 40
*
* WIN a 40 voucher to spend at any of the advertisers in this feature

Spot the difference and

Importance of car servicing

THE importance of getting regular car servicing cannot be stressed enough.Whether its a new or used car it must be serviced regularly. Regardless of the make or sophistication level of the car, servicing it at regular intervals is essential as a car is a mechanical machine which, when driven, has thousands of working parts. Heat and cause wear and tear to those parts. Every car comes with an owners manual, which tells you exactly when to get the car serviced and describes the various levels of service needed and also what parts need to be replaced. From simple parts like the air and oil filters, to more elaborate parts like timing belts, a number of items will need to be replaced during the life of a car. Regular car servicing and inspections can help increase the life of a car. It will also mean you suffer fewer car problems and avoid the frustration associated with having a car breakdown. Some car manufacturers insist any car you buy from them is serviced by their qualified car service centres. Or if you resell your car, many used car buyers demand that the cars service history is complete. Knowing that the car is serviced regularly greatly reduces the risk of suffering a major car breakdown and paying for costly repairs.

Send your answer with your name, address and telephone number to:Western Telegraph, Spot the difference car competition, Old Hakin Road, Merlins Bridge, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, SA61 1XF.
Normal Newsquest rules apply. Closing date February 8th 2012.

To advertise in next months Caring for your CAR Call Gavin on 01437 761772

PROLEK 10% OFF

WEST WALES
Lighting Batteries Starters Alternators Wiring Faults Diagnostic Testing Cars & Commercials Air Conditioning Service

T&S MOTORS
Local Family Run Business For All Your Vehicle: Repairs Servicing MOT Tyres Welding

ESTABLISHED 1996

Happy To Support Local Charities

Your Next Full Service Dreenhill Motors Ltd

27 Pembroke Road, Merlins Bridge, Haverfordwest

01437 767885

Coupon must be presented at time of payment valid until 29/2/12

MOT Servicing Body Repairs

Come & see us for a professional job at 8, St. Peters Road Johnston
All major Credit Cards accepted.

Tel: 01437 890199

COACH W O R K S

Unit 6, East Estate, Withybush Park, Haverfordwest ACCIDENT REPAIRS COMMERCIALS Mobile Estimating Service Courtesy Cars available ALL insurance work undertaken Call our friendly team for more info. Tel: 01437-762642 Mobile: 07966970250

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SELECTION OF QUALITY USED CARS & VANS IN STOCK. LOCAL COLLECTION / DELIVERY
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Tel. 01646 603838 - 07919 462124 Pembrokeshire SA73 1SE

westerntelegraph.co.uk

Advertisement feature Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 55

Caring for your CAR

Tyres crucial to car safety
THE condition of a vehicles tyres is crucial to its safe use. Tyres are a vehicles only contact with the road. Youve probably heard many times about the importance of checking tyre pressures and replacing worn tyres. Unfortunately, too many motorists are complacent or careless about the condition of the four pieces of rubber that keep a car safely on the road. For race drivers, worn tyres or the wrong choice of tyre means the difference between winning and losing, and staying on the track or running out of control and off it. Motor racing is a good way to illustrate the importance of tyres. During a race, youll notice that race cars go through many tyre changes to maintain optimum performance and low lap times. You will have noticed that race teams change the tyres on the cars according to the prevailing weather conditions. In dry weather, slicks are used. Slick tyres have no tread, giving the tyres maximum surface area in contact with the road to grip most effectively on a dry road surface. However, slicks are useless on a wet track because without grooves to clear the water away from beneath the tyre, the tyre loses contact with the surface of the road and loses grip. A slick on a wet surface will quickly and unexpectedly slide without any means of controlling it. Race drivers refer to this as aquaplaning. It is a real danger for even the most skilled of drivers. When the track is wet, racing slicks are replaced by race teams with wet weather tyres that have plenty of tread the tread disperses water from underneath the tyres to prevent aquaplaning and to maintain tyre contact with the road. Of course, having different sets of tyres for various road conditions is impractical for normal road use.Thats why conventional tyres for road use are designed with tread patterns that maintain optimum grip in both wet and dry conditions. Road tyres must have a minimum tread depth of 1.6mm to be roadworthy. Driving on anything less is extremely dangerous in wet weather; low tread depth cannot disperse the water quickly enough allowing water build-up between the tyre and the road surface.When this occurs the car loses grip with the surface of the road and may easily and unexpectedly slide. Loss of grip from poor performing tyres is most dangerous in an emergency situation when a car needs to stop quickly, or change direction quickly. Then, worn tyres can kill. When fitting new tyres to your vehicle, ask to have the

wheels checked for balance and alignment. Its false economy if you dont.When wheels are out of alignment or balance, the tyres will wear unevenly and have a shorter life. Check tyre pressures regularly. Under-inflated tyres will also lead to uneven tread wear, not to mention playing havoc with fuel economy. Checking tyre pressures is also a good opportunity to keep an eye on the tyre tread.When the tread wears down, youll notice that small bars will start to appear across the tread, evenly spaced around the circumference of the tyre.These are called tread wear indicators, and when they become clearly visible, its time to replace your tyres.

Accident repairs
GROWING numbers of cases are emerging of motorists being effectively forced to use their insurance company's own repair business instead of the trusted local repairer they wish to, even though they have the right to choose their own.The National Association of Bodyshops (the Retail Motor Industry bodyshop division) has reported an increase in cases where trusted local bodyshops are losing business because of this. It is now common for insurance companies to insist that claimants use an approved repairer or pay an additional fee on top of their excess if they wish to pick their own. Graham Threlfall, head of NAB, said: We fully understand that an insurer wants to look after their policyholders interests. However, from examples given to us, there is a trend towards high quality bodyshops, who have successfully met industry standards, and marketed themselves to attract customers or retain existing ones, losing business. Unfortunately because of the additional fee being applied by insurers, consumers feel that, financially, they are pressured into using the insurers approved repairer. Investigation leads us to believe that, whilst not illegal as the terms are detailed in policy

documents and do not remove the right to choose their own repairer, it does penalise consumers financially if they choose to use an unapproved repairer.

& scr zacs dentsmall. No atch repair! dent too big.

No scratch too Keen pricing.

W.P. Lewis & Son

Our Reputation Is your Guarantee

r. What we offe and

..

Unit 4, (rear of 49) Pembroke Road, Merlins Bridge SA61 1LN

07800 959832 hotmail.co.uk

zac_vaughan@

ar New ,Used C Sales Van d Repairs Servicing an es to all Mak

Class 4 Cars & Vans Full Garage Services Servicing, Welding Etc Air Conditioning Service

MOTS WHILE-U-WAIT
TEL: 01437 890409

Old Hakin Road, Haverfordwest, SA62 3EP

Eddie Thomas Garage

S. C. Beff & Sons

Transport & Recovery Services

Greeneld Garage, Milton, Pembroke Dock

Tel: (01646) 651255

MOT Testing s Vauxhall Part cialists Motability Spe Hire Car and Van tract Hire Leasing & Con Specialists

Accident and Breakdowns Recovery to the Trade or Public.

QUALITY USED VANS FOR SALE OPEN 6 DAYS A WEEK

07795 694 808 01834 891 416 stuart@scbeff.co.uk

London Road Industrial Estate, Pembroke Dock

W.P. LEWIS & SON NEYLAND

TEl: (01646) 600004
Havenbridge Garage, Neyland

For Quality used cars...

Tel: (01646) 686268

Visit us at www.wplewisandson.co.uk