Its cold and its wet and the damp and dreary weather is starting to take its toll - no more so than on your car.

Rather than run the risk of problems, MotorNuts recommend a few basic checks and some prep you can easily do to get your car in shape for the winter weather.

-          Antifreeze

Running without enough antifreeze in your engine is risky business - worst case scenario resulting in major engine works. Simply test your levels with an antifreeze tester and top up ready for the cold weather.

-          Windscreen – washer, wipers, scrapers, cracks!

It’s all about visibility

1)      Top up your screen wash as grit on the roads means you will need to use much more.

2)      Are your wiper blades up to scratch, a simple replacement can make such a difference to a smear and squeak free wipe.

3)      Frozen up – get yourself a good scraper and some de-icer at the ready for the mornings.

4)      Windscreen cracks are more dangerous in winter when the water gets in and freezes.  The guidelines on windscreen chips state that anything over 10mm within the driver’s line of sight (width of the steering wheel) causes and MOT fail and need dealing with.

-          Bulbs

Dark mornings, dark evenings – dark days if we’re really lucky, all adds up to extra use of your lights making it more important than ever to check your bulbs.  It’s not just headlights – it’s also a legal requirement that your brake lights and tail lights are working, you also need to check your sidelights, indicators, reverse lights, 

number plate light and fog lights. We at MotorNuts love a super bright bulb and recommend performance upgrades which give off 5,200 lumens of bright white light as opposed to 500 from standard Halogen bulbs.

-          Cold start – no start

No one wants battery problems, particularly on the cold mornings. Dark nights and cold temperatures mean lights and heating used lots which pouts extra strain on your battery – particularly if doing lots of short journeys so your battery doesn’t have chance for a long recharge.  Get yourself a battery tester and if required invest in a new battery, or if it needs a boost a charger.

There are other bigger jobs that you can do too, such as fitting winter tyres, or investing in some snow socks or chains.

We’d also recommend our winter essentials basics pack and winter survival packs, and check out the rest of our winter products here.