How to keep your car in good shape
These are a few simple tips to keep your car looking good and performing well:-

• Hose off surface dirt once a week
• Have the car professionally washed at least once a month
• Have the car professionally waxed at least once a year
• Check tyre pressures fortnightly, when tyres are cold. If they fall below recommended pressures, this can affect tyre wear and fuel consumption
• Get the car serviced at manufacturer’s recommended service intervals, to prolong good mechanical life.
• If you do frequent short suburban trips, consider getting your engine oil and filter changed at 6 monthly intervals to preserve engine life.
• Don’t ignore any warning lights that may appear on the dash, especially the oil pressure and engine temperature lights.

Using Ethanol in Petrol-is it good for your car?
Ethanol contains about 33 per cent less “energy” than petrol-so if you use a litre of E10 fuel in your car-assuming its engine management systems can handle it-you won’t go as far as you would on a litre of straight petrol.

If you choose E10 fuel, you ought to balance the lower pump cost against its lower energy level and consequently inferior fuel economy.

Ethanol is more compatible with racing engines-where fuel economy is less of an issue-because of its higher “octane” level, which can give superior performance.

Before using petrol containing ethanol, please check your car’s owner manual, to ensure that it is compatible with such fuel.