Just purchased a car? What do you need to know about auto maintenance?

Just driven out of the showroom with a brand-new automobile. You are feeling ecstatic and cannot wait to roam around the roads with your new purchase showing it off to your family and friends.

New cars in the UAE are typically purchased with service contracts from agencies representing the vehicle manufacturer.

Depending on the agency, most service contracts have a coverage of 90,000km or five years, whichever comes first.

Warranties are usually offered for 3 years or 60,000km, extendable for another two years or up to a 100,000 km for a fee.

The terms warranty and service contracts terms are banded about quite often, but drivers need to be aware of what is included.

For example, Service contracts cover major and minor services only, these would exclude any auto parts that are considered consumables (e.g., brake pads and brake Discs).

Warranties usually cover the Engine, transmission and some basic mechanical, electrical parts; again, excluding any wear and tear car parts, this is a global and not just a Dubai or UAE practice.

Car spare parts not covered by warranty are numerous and can put a substantial dent in your wallet if require replacing.

If you need help or advice on Auto Spare Parts online, please do not hesitate to get in touch with our excellent customer support teamat Contact us (ajalty.com)

If you are buying a used car that is claimed to be under warranty, be sure to check for the warranty card as it will no doubt save you some hassle and expense in the event major auto parts fail.

As for vehicle service, auto parts and consumables included are as follows:

• Engine Oil (replaced every service)
• Engine Oil filter (replaced every service)
• Coolant and screen wash top ups (every service)
• Air Filter (replaced every major service but to be cleaned every service)
• Cabin filter (replaced every major service but to be cleaned every service)
• Spark plugs (replaced every 60k+ Km or 3 years)
• Engine & timing Belts (replaced every 60k+ Km or 3 years)
• Transmission Oil and filter (replaced every 60k+ Km or 3 years)
• Brake fluid change (replaced every 3 or 4 years though varies depending on OEM)

This list represents a guideline for Auto Spare Parts and consumables replaced during a routine service.

A car service is typically conducted every 10K or 6 months in the UAE and GCC countries, whichever comes first.

The intervals are more frequent than what is required in Europe and North America, this is courtesy of the harsh weather conditions cars here are subjected to from Humidity, dust, and extreme heat.

Driving style would also affect the frequency of oil changes needed.

Sticking to 10K km to the exact Kilometer is not strictly necessary, there is always reasonable leeway.

5K km Service intervals are recommended if using semi synthetic Engine Oil and 3K km intervals for mineral oil; oil changes utilising fully synthetic Engine oils can provide coverage for a service interval of 10k Km.

Fully synthetic is completely manufactured from industrial processes where molecules exhibit uniform structure, this Engine oil type is used in high performance engines and help stave away carbon deposits and corrosion.

These oil molecule chains break down with heat and usage cycles over time, this decreases Engine oil viscosity, hence its effective lubricating and sludge prevention function. Thus, oil changes are a must to extend the life of your engine.

Each vehicle has a recommended Engine Oil grade, known as the SAE values.

SAE values are typically stated on the Engine Oil filler cap as shown in the image below, and if not found on the cap, the Vehicle Owners’ manual (found in the glovebox) will have a recommended Engine oil grade.

Ajalty.com has large selection of fully synthetic premium and budget engine oils which can be found here Oils and Fluid

You can use filters to seek the oil that matches the SAE value your vehicle requires, the Engine Oil capacity/Volume needed varies according to your Engine size, the Owner’s manual will contain exact volumetric quantities (shown above for a Ford Focus 1.5L in the blue rectangle)

Ajalty.com although primarily a B2B wholesale/retail export auto spare parts online Marketplace, we seek to also assist individuals navigate car spare parts issues.