Getting new brakes fitted to your car can be costly, but many drivers don’t realise that the way that they are driving could be affecting the shelf-life of their brakes.

The is an infinite amount of accessories available for your car, but what is particularly good to keep in the car this winter?
We asked our mechanics which accessories they picked out themselves, and what they recommend to other car owners. The following just might serve as inspiration for what could go be a cool winter gift for your car:

Caring for and maintaining your car is the most important factor in ensuring that it enjoys a long and healthy life.

Some repairs to your car are inevitable as it ages due to regular wear and tear. However, by caring for and maintaining your car properly, many repairs can be minimised or even eliminated altogether.

The air conditioning system in your car is a complex system and on occasion, you may face issues with it not working to its optimum.

Here we look at a number of common issues that may arise with your air conditioning system and explain what may be the likely cause of any problem.

If you have never driven a car that uses automatic gears before, then it is best for you to perhaps begin to understand how you should really drive the car before you get started.

By doing so, it will mean that you get the best out of the vehicle, but there is more to it than simply sticking it in drive and leaving the car to do the rest.

If you run into problems with your transmission then it is going to be something that will cost you a lot of money to repair.

However, the good news is that there are various things that you are able to do that will successfully extend the life of your transmission and it is not even that difficult to do.

Every car owner should be aware of the simple fact that if you develop a problem with your suspension, then it is going to cost you a lot of money to have it repaired.

*There is no doubt that technology has come a long way in recent years and this is especially true when we are talking about vehicles and smartphones. *

Now it seems as if everything is handled by computers and the use of OBD diagnostic tools is now essential if you want to get to grips with so many potential issues.

However, it appears that technology has continued to move on even within this particular industry because where in the past you had to rely on the scanner and a computer, the industry has been brought up to speed by introducing the smartphone to the equation.

A quick scan on the Internet will provide you with a number of potential contenders for the best OBD scanner on the market today.

However, even though it is nice to have options available, it also makes it that bit harder to decide which one you should buy.

There are many different reasons that you might find the lock on your car door has become stuck. There may be dirt or ice inside the lock; it may have broken or it might simply need to be loosened slightly. It will inevitably happen at a moment when you have no time to spare and this can be extremely frustrating.

As your vehicle gets older, the rubber seals around the doors can become weaker and stop working as efficiently. They can dislodge themselves, become unstuck from the door frames and start to leave a space between the door frame and the rubber seal itself.

The piston is an essential part of the internal combustion engine which is key in converting the fuel which you use to fill up your car into energy to drive the car forward.

_We all like to be prepared in the event of the unexpected, but carrying around too much in your car can seriously increase your fuel consumption.

It is therefore important to be selective in the items you choose to have on standby, and listed below are a few of the most important.

The first most important thing to bear in mind when you are thinking about taking your car in for a service is that it is not the same as an MOT.

Sadly, there are many different things which can go wrong with our cars, and brakes are no exception.

State of the art cars have more and more technology on board, which is a challenge for car batteries. That is why you should check you battery from time to time to make sure that your car works reliably whenever you need it.

Standing in traffic can be very annoying and robs your time you actually want to spend somewhere else. We have taken on the challenge to find activities that will not only make waiting in traffic more endurable but actually really worthwhile.

Once you have become a fully qualified general car mechanic, you can start thinking about whether or not you would like to specialise in a particular focused area of car repair. This specialisation can lead to a more focused approach to car repair, narrowing down the types of jobs which you carry out on a daily basis and leading you well on the way to becoming an expert in your field.

There isn’t one standard route to becoming a mechanic, so you can choose the path that best suits you and your needs. Starting from scratch, it usually takes between 2 and 5 years to become fully qualified, depending on which route you take into the industry.

A garage is a one-stop shop for all automotive repairs. Mechanics have to be very knowledgeable about the workings of different makes and models of cars and an in depth understanding of how they work. Garages are the go-to place if you have any questions about your car’s performance; if you need advice about motoring matters; if you know that there is something wrong with your car and you need it fixed or if your vehicle is due a service or MOT.