Multi-Point Checks: What Are They About?
Safety checks or inspections for cars, they come in all sorts of quantities. Some workshops say they’ll give your car a 6-point safety check. Others might offer 12-points, with a few even boasting much higher numbers than that. Everyday drivers like you and I may find these options very confusing and ask ourselves, “What’s the difference?”.
For starters, let’s understand what a multiple point safety check or inspection is. Inspections are meant to check different points all around you car for any damage or wear so that you’ll know if there is a problem that needs to be fixed or parts that need to be replaced. This serves as good way to gauge the overall health of your vehicle instead of waiting for something to stop working completely before you bring it in to a workshop to be fixed.
The number of points an inspection may have simply indicates the number of things in and around your car that they’ll check. The higher the number, the more detailed the inspection is. Depending on your purpose for wanting an inspection, a lower number of points may suffice. If you’re the kind of person who loves to know things in greater detail, then an inspection with a higher number of points may be better suited for you. Generally, the points of the car which are inspected fall into a few broad categories.
Let’s consider what these categories might be.
Under the Hood of the Car
This is probably the most crucial area covered by even the most basic of car inspection packages. All of the essentials needed to keep your car mobile is located under the hood. The engine and battery, all of the crucial moving parts as well as the fluids needed to keep these parts operating as efficiently as possible would be included in basic inspections.
This area is also important to inspect to ensure that all hoses and connections are secure to avoid any important fluids from leaking. Remember: your car is a complex piece of machinery with many moving parts inside. It is only as efficient as the connections that help all those moving parts work together effectively!
The Underside of the Car
For some workshops, mechanics will even get under your car and inspect quite a number of points under there. Think of the underside of the car as the foundation that keeps it stable as it travels down the road. Inspections done here are important as they will identify any possible leaks such as engine, transmission, or gearbox oil and fluid leaks. By ensuring that any leaks are promptly fixed, you won’t have to worry about your car coming to a halt in the middle of a highway on a long-haul drive back to your kampung, for example.
An inspection of the car’s underside will also help to check your breaks, suspensions, and the various mounts holding everything in place. While any issues found here may be slightly less urgent than say a leak, identifying and fixing them early could save you a lot of money and stress further down the line.
The Interior and Exterior of the Car
Checking the interior and exterior is also important, as it ensures that all of your lights, fixtures, indicators, instruments, and even your windshield wipers are in tip top condition. These areas are important to inspect to ensure that your drive is as comfortable and as safe as possible, particularly in matters relating to visibility. On the road, especially at night or in low-visibility conditions, there is nothing more important than being able to see the road clearly, and to have other drivers see you clearly as well!
Road Test
The road test is an additional form of inspection that ensures your car is working properly as a whole. As the name suggests, it involves someone taking your car out on the open road for a test, possibly even under different conditions, to see how it performs in real driving conditions. Doing this will help the person identify any noises or vibrations that might be indicative of a problem that requires closer inspection to identify.
What do you need?
As with almost anything to do with your car, you will have plenty of options. What is suited for you may not be ideal for another driver, which is why you need to understand what your needs are. This will also include considering the time and money you have available to get your car inspected.
For example, someone about to drive all the way across the country to their hometown may only need a basic inspection, while someone who is about to sell their car may need a highly-detailed inspection to show their prospective buyer that the car is in good shape.
Ask around, do a little bit of thinking, and decide what’s best for you!