Free Winter Car Health Checks

Article written by Bush Tyres

Winter Car Health Checks

Christmas is just over the horizon, Bonfire night and Halloween are distant memories and the drive both to work and the drive home again in the dark and wet are well upon us.

It’s at this time of the year that any frailties within your car are highlighted, there’s the squeak of windscreen wipers, the glare of oncoming traffic with just one headlight, the roulette wheel of will the car start and then there’s that little wobble under breaking or the feeling your car washed a little wide in the last turn in the wet.

The un-seasonally warm and dry weather we’ve mostly experienced this year and with the squeeze on many motorist’s finances has sadly led to a glut of vehicles on the road with illegal tyres.

Tyres that are worn below the legal limit no longer provide the grip and stopping power you need in the colder, wetter winter weather.

Ultimately as a motorist in general your vehicle has four contact patches with the road, and it’s these contact patches provided by your tyres which determine how your car handles and stops.

At present, the legal minimum tread depth for a tyre is 1.6mm, anything below that depth is illegal and if you are stopped by the police and are found to be driving with tyres below the legal limit you could face a fine of up to £2,500 and three-penalty points being added to your driver’s licence and that’s per tyre.

That MOT that we all need as motorists only means that your car was deemed road worthy on the day of the test.

In all of our Bush Tyres depots we offer free winter car health checks including tyre specific checks. Following the inspection we will let you know what we feel is your best course of action, whether you need a tyre replacing immediately or whether you have a few thousand miles left. At the end of the day all we will do is advise, it’s up to you then to decide what to do.

As the average daytime temperature steadily falls, making the decision to switch over to winter tyres which are designed to operate at temperatures below 7 degrees is a sensible one. Winter tyres are made from softer rubber compounds which makes it easier for them to grip on colder wetter and icier roads. Summer tyres conversely are made of  harder rubber compounds to cope with warmer operating temperatures.

At present we are offering free battery tests as part of our suite of free car health checks as predominantly most car batteries fail during the winter months. In addition, for getting your battery tested in any of our retail depots, we will give you a voucher for money off your next battery should it fail following the test this winter.

Should you be in ant doubt whatsoever as to the safety of your tyres, brakes or the condition of your battery, simply visit your nearest Bush Tyres depot and we will inspect them as part of our “Winter Car Health Checks” for free and offer impartial expert advice.

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