Get Ahead of Car Repairs with Your Tax Return
Do you have repairs that you’ve had to put off? Auto repair can get pricey quickly, and it is hard to anticipate everything that will come up in a given year. Luckily, tax time is right around the corner, so it’s a good time to plan out a way to put that upcoming tax return to use—and to get the right parts at the right price.
AutoZone has all the parts, products, and advice you need to keep that small problem from becoming a big one:
Make Sure Your Brakes are in Shape
Your brakes keep you safe every time you drive, return the favor by servicing your brake system for safe stops on the road ahead.
Worn brake pads and rotors won’t be able to halt your vehicle as quickly as they should, so it’s a wise use for a welcome tax refund to get ahead on brake maintenance. At the very least, you should inspect and potentially change your brake pads and rotors, but it is also a great time of the year to do more thorough maintenance like replacing lines or calipers, if needed. Your owner’s manual should let you know what parts need to be replaced based on your current service interval.
Keep Your Starting and Charging System in Check
Not much else about your car matters if it won’t start. If your car battery is approaching the end of lifespan, it’s worth getting the right battery today to sidestep starting issues later. Inspect your battery cables, and make sure that your starter and alternator are in good working order.
Tune Up the Ignition System
Now it’s time to turn your eye to the ignition system. You can bring your car to a mechanic for a tune-up or hunker down under the hood yourself. A tune-up can include a lot of things, but it’s generally a good time to check most of your major ignition components:
- Spark plugs and wires
- Ignition coils
- Distributor cap and rotor (if applicable)
- Filters
- Belts
- Hoses
- Fluids
Inspect these parts and determine how long is left in the service interval before it’s time for them to be replaced. Replacing minor components in a tune-up can help prevent more severe damage; it can help your vehicle perform better and run more efficiently too.
Keep Your Suspension and Steering in Line
Stop that squealing, rattling, or shimmying caused by worn suspension and steering components before connected parts are affected and cost you even more money. Working on your suspension to replace components like sway bars and wheel hubs can be a decently involved job, but it’s well worth it for the better control of your vehicle the new components will afford.
It’s worth taking a thorough look at your vehicle’s suspension system, from rack and pinion to control arms and CV axles and replace any parts that are worn. You’ll feel the difference between a worn suspension and a new one.
Enhance Ride Control with Shocks or Struts
Replace worn shocks or struts now before that rough ride gets worse and damages other components. We sell all the parts you need to use a spring compressor (available through Loan-A-Tool®) to assemble your own strut assemblies, or you can turn to a dependable assembly like Duralast Loaded Struts, which come as a complete assembly for easier installation.
Help to Keep Your Engine Cool
Any work you put into your engine would be a waste without a properly working cooling system. Check out hoses, the thermostat, water pump, coolant reservoir and the radiator. A great way to keep tabs on the system is to watch your vehicle’s temperature gauge while driving. If it frequently shows temperatures at the upper range or the vehicle overheats, you look closer at your cooling system.
Does your car overheat or have a leaking radiator? Learn to replace your radiator yourself.
Fix Your Car’s AC
If you’ve got an AC problem, you don’t want summer to come around before you get around to fixing the AC. Luckily, tax time comes soon enough that you’ve still got some time for an AC job, whether it’s recharging R134a refrigerant or more involved work on the car’s AC system. Get a jump on the weather and be prepared for summer. Fix your air conditioning before it gets hot!
When it’s time to work on your vehicle you need the right tools. Whether it’s under the hood or under the car, you can depend on AutoZone for all the tools you need to do any job right. And, if you need a rarely used special tool for a job, take advantage of our Loan-A-Tool® program.
Take advantage of your extra cash. Put your tax refund to work at AutoZone today and do those preventative repairs that will save you money later.
