Think about how many people drive cars every day, and how many people need them fixed. Sooner or later, everything breaks, and that includes those very cars. Every vehicle is a complicated machine, with many moving parts, and even a well-maintained one will need those parts replaced over the course of its lifetime. If you drive, you'll need to know about the parts you need. Alternately, you can become one of the experts that'll keep other's cars in good repair, and supply them with the parts they need. When it comes to learning about all of those different parts, there's Centennial College's Automotive Parts & Service Operations program, which is the first program of its kind in Canada. Whether it's knowing the right part, helping customers get the part, or working on the supply chain, this college diploma program will have you helping people get the right part for the job. Here are the most common things you'll be dealing with, sourced from Proctor Cars and Autoguide:
1. Tires
Everyone needs to replace their tires, and if they get flat, worn out, or punctured, you straight-up can't drive. Not only that, but worn, shabby tires will cause structural problems to other parts of your car, like the suspension, that will become trouble later on. Ideally, you want to replace them every five to seven years.
2. Batteries
Ideally, you want to replace these every four to five years. If you don't have a warning light to tell you, you'll notice your battery is dying because your car's performance is weaker. Luckily, if your battery dies, you can always use jumper cables and friend's car to get it started. In addition, keep you battery alive longer by turning off your lights and air conditioning when your car is idling.
3. Brake Parts
Brakes are a common source of trouble, and something you absolutely must keep in shape. There's a lot of different parts to a break system. Break pads naturally wear down, and should be replaced every three to five years. Other trouble spots could be hydraulics, breaking fluid or Brake Rotors, which prevent your brake system from overheating during use.
4. Spark Plugs
You know you need a new spark plug when you have difficulty starting your vehicle or accelerating. Fortunately, spark plugs aren't too costly, and you can even do the repair yourself.
5. Fuses
Fuses are designs to protect against overloads, so you may never have to replace one, but if you do, it means it did its job. You can tell one needs replacing because you start seeing problems with your wipers, flashers, heaters and other instruments. I always knew I’d blown a fuse because my automatic windows wouldn't go up. Fortunately, they're cheap to replace, the only difficulty being in making sure you have the right fuse for the car you use, something a person educated in an Automotive Parts & Service Operations program will be able to tell you.
By Anthony Geremia