Car and trucks are just like people when it comes to health issues. Failure of an alternator or the starter can be seen months in advance just like the signs of a serious illness in a person. Many times the signs for a car can be seen by just taking a close look or listen.
The tires are the first area to inspect if the tread wear is different on each tire or if the wear is strange on a single tire there may be more of an issue then the wheel itself. A strange wear pattern on a tire can indicate a bad alignment, bent control arm, bad bushing or something even worse. These issues can all be detected with a simple visual inspection which can save hundreds or thousands of dollars.
There are other areas that can be visually inspected such as the brakes or the engine itself. The brakes will show signs if there are going to be future issues, these signs can be as simple as grooving on the discs or leaking from the caliper or lines. Proper brake care is important since they are what slow the 3000lbs piece of metal that we all get around in.
When inspecting the motor it is a good idea to look at all the belts and check for extreme cracks or areas of the motor where there is oil leakage. If a belt were to snap in a motor not only will the car have to be towed to a repair shop but if it were to be the timing belt that was to snap it may destroy the motor. Leaking from gaskets in the motor is a sure sign that some attention needs to be paid to that area. Leaking of oil or coolant will eventually lead to failure if not addressed and can be very costly to the owner of the car.
There are many systems in a car and knowing what to check for can be the best preventive maintenance. Fixing an issue before it happens will always save money and time plus avoiding the headache that will inevitably follow any serious automotive breakdown.
