Help with new car maintenance?

I am a new driver and my parents bought me a nissan titan in mid april with about 11,000 miles starting out.

I honestly have no idea about how to take care of this car. I'm a girl, and so most of my guy friends usually have to tell me how to maintain my truck. I don't even know what all needs to be done and when. I want to keep it looking well maintained and shiny. how often should I get a carwash, oil change, tire rotation etc?

--Thank you!Help with new car maintenance?
READ THE OWNERS MANUALHelp with new car maintenance?
Please note, the BEST answer is: read the owners manual. If you don't have the owners manual, go to a dealership and BUY ONE for your car. The below information is more or less 'general' car maintenance schedules.







';how often should I get a carwash';



When it's dirty. The car should be WAXED every 2 months, at the very least. The best indicator of when a car should be waxed is when water runs off it in streams, instead of gathering in beads on the hood.





';oil change';



Well, I change my oil ever 3-5k miles. I wouldn't go any more than that. The typical mantra of car guys is ';3k miles or 3 months, whichever comes first.'; But I do admit that's a LITTLE more than I think is necessary. WHATEVER you do, be CONSISTENT. If you change the oil every 3k miles, ALWAYS change it at 3k miles.





';tire rotation';



Check your manual. It'll tell you what the rotation pattern is and when it should be done. Personally, I rotate my tires every time I do an oil change.
The owner's manual probably has a chart showing at what mileage to do routine maintenance at - meaning oil changes, belt replacement, tire rotation. (it's probably in your glove box)

If you don't have that, you can buy one off Amazon or Ebay.

Be as nice as you can to that truck. You're young so you're probably pretty broke, and regular maintenance can suffer.

You absolutely have to make sure it's never low on oil - and make sure you always get the oil changed on time. The old stand-by answer for how often to get your oil changed is every 3000 miles. Many newer cars are made to go 5000 miles between oil changes. If you don't have the manual that tells you, go with 3000 miles.



Truly, if you have to choose one thing to never let slide, it's engine oil.

You can replace brakes, belts and tires whenever they come up as needing it. You'll notice your truck doesn't stop well when you need brakes. The engine will chirp loudly when you need a new serpentine belt. And the tread on your tires will start slipping in the slightest of puddles when they're bald.

But there's no way to avoid extremely expensive engine repairs if you don't take care of the oil.
All that information should be in your owners manual. If you don't have 1 call your local dealer and ask how to get 1. Depending on where you live rust is always a problem. If you wanna really take care than think of undercoating it to prevent rust. I am a retired auto-mechanic and let me tell you 90% of the cars out there need front-end alignments right now. Everytime you hit a bump, pothole, curb or whatever you bend front-end parts. That is normal, don't worry. An alignment is actually adjusting the front-end to make up for slightly bend parts. Tire rotation saves on the life of your tires as well as balancing. Usually all these things can be done either 1 or 2 times a year depending on how much you drive. 0-5,000 miles a year than 1 time, 5,000-10,000 miles ayear than twice. An oil change and new filter, alignment, tire rotation and tire balance in the spring or fall and/or spring and fall depending on mileage.

Most shops always do extra checking for free, that is how they make sells. They will check your brakes while the wheels are off for the rotation and balance. They will check for loose or worn front-end parts when they do an alignment. They will look underneath when it is on the lift for rusted exhaust or holes and/or broken hangers. Grab yourself a milk crate or something like that and put it in your trunk. You might wanna keep a few quarts of oil in that, some coolant, maybe some power-steering fluid and brake fluid, washer fluid and some rags and hand cleaner. You might have someone show you how to use those car wash stations and here hoses and how to clean your engine and keep it clean. As long as you don't spray directly into the carberator and dont get the distributor wet you should be fine. Don't forget to reach under the car, too and clean that with the pressure cleaning wand. You might wanna keep some windex and paper towels to clean the windows once in a while. If you know how to use tools, a small tool box with tools is nice to have, maybe some road flares and make sure you have a good spare tire and a jack. Do a radiator flush and fill when the fluid in the over-flow looses its bright green color. Get use to popping your hood at least once a month if not to just look around. Look for bulging radiator hoses ready to burst, look for leaks, don't forget to look unedrneath on the ground, too. Look at your belts for cracking and while egine is off, grab each belt and check the tension. Should be very little, say 1/2 inch of play for every 1 foot of length. Turn on your lights and walk around the car making sure they all work, blinkers, too. Reverse should light without the engine started. Just turn the key and put in reverse with the parking brake on. Remember, if you start hearing noises or smelling something and see warning light on the dash then something is in need of concern. Never ever think you can drive with a temperature or oil light on for more than 10 seconds. Get a good insurance company that offers towing just in case. Now, 1 thing I might add is a new car has break-in oil so it doesn't need to be changed the first time untill your owners manual says. Always use the correct oil type and gas octane. If your engine pings and knocks with the cheap gas, try the midgrade of even the high-test 92 octane. Find out where your fuse box is and learn how to check them. Keep a few handy in your glove box along with your owners manual and registration. I always but a book when I get a new car. Whether it be the chilton books for $10 or so or the books from Helm that covers everything for $100, I would at least get a book for learning repairs. Just in case your stuck out there in the middle of nowhere and all you needed was a 10 cent fuse. With a book at least you would know what to look for and fix it. Good Luck!