Buying a used car is the most accessible route to getting your own daily driver – especially in times where major investments are a little harder to justify than usual. But driving a used car can be a risky and even uncomfortable endeavour, owing to its pre-owned status. What can you do to make your used car safer and more comfortable to drive?

Change the Oil

The first, and single most important, thing you can do for the health and improved performance of your used car is to change the oil. You should do this regardless of what the dipstick tells you; even if the oil is ‘topped up’, there is no telling how long it has been in there, and how damaging it could be to run around your engine.

Emptying out the old oil also empties out any debris it has picked up in its time – debris which can erode parts of the engine during use, and risk irreparable damage in the process. New oil ensures the engine is well-lubricated and can run to the best of its ability. This can, in turn, reveal to you how the engine is actually running, potentially pointing you to new repair jobs.

Air Con Regassing

Moving briefly to the interior of the car, we come to address a less-essential part of the car: air conditioning. Driving needs to be a pleasant experience, and particularly so in the stifling temperatures of the modern British summer. Used cars of a certain vintage may not have any air conditioning to speak of, but it has become much more common in recent years.

But air conditioning is not a ‘set-and-forget’ system. It too can fail over time, reducing in effectiveness and negatively affecting the climate in the cockpit. Aircon regas technicians can revitalise the air conditioning system, allowing you to drive in fresh comfort.

New Tyres

Another functional change you should be making to your new used car is to change the tyres. Again, there is little guarantee that the tyres on it, even if appearing outwardly fine, are suitable for continued use. A fresh set ensures you don’t risk a blowout, and that you are well above the legal tyre tread minimum. Good tyres can also eliminate certain bangs and bumps in driving, allowing you to get a clearer idea of how it handles.

Interior Valeting

Lastly, but certainly not in the least, we come to the interior of your car – the cockpit, if you will. Addressing this will do practically nothing for the performance of your car, but will do absolutely everything for how it feels. Dust and dirt can get in all manner of nooks and crannies, and with a used car none of that dirt will be of your making.

Giving your car the most comprehensive interior cleaning possible, from scrubbing its door and dash panels to removing the seats for a deep-clean, will have the car feeling and smelling like (practically) new. This is a blank slate, and the final piece of the puzzle to shedding that ‘pre-owned’ feeling from a car which is now fully yours.