Don’t be a dipstic this winter

Research by Kwik Fit has highlighted that motorists could be putting themselves at risk this winter by not undertaking some basic car maintenance. The results suggest that millions of motorists are at risk of being a DIPSTIC and need to think about what help could be at hand to get them through the winter months.

Kwik-Fit’s research found that 13.5 million (40%) motorists are unable to check and refill coolant levels, 20% said the same of oil, and 21% admitted that they were unable to check their car tyre pressures.

Even more concerning is that one fifth (21%) of motorists are unable to top up screen wash levels and incredibly, nearly one in 10 (8%) motorists has no idea how to even open their car’s bonnet.

As many as 40% of motorists admitted that their car maintenance skills were poor or below average, perhaps hoping that the higher quality of modern cars would mean that they don’t need to do anything to keep safe on the road. Worryingly, as many as 7% believe that modern cars don’t require car maintenance, a figure that increases to 11% amongst drivers who are on the road more than three hours a day. And 9% of motorists said that they were just too busy to master the basics of maintaining a car.

As cars become more complex and our lives become busier there is no surprise that the chance of motorists being in a poor state to inspect their car is so high. However, this winter help for the potential DIPSTIC is at hand.

David White, customer services director at Kwik-Fit, commented: “Car maintenance should never be overlooked, especially at this time of year. We urge motorists to take just one hour out to get to know their car or if they can’t spare the time or are unsure about where to start bring it down to us and we will look at it for them. With winter approaching it’s even more important for cars to be in tip-top condition as they will have to deal with trickier road conditions where poor maintenance can have serious consequences.

“Anyone who is unsure on how to check their basic car maintenance should pop into their local Kwik-Fit where our qualified mechanics will undertake a free five minute tyre, oil, coolant, and screen wash check to help keep motorists safe on the roads. We will even top up motorists’ oil at no cost.”

For more information on car maintenance motorists should pop into their local Kwik-Fit centre or visit kwik-fit.com