This cold weather is certain to strike our cars at the weakest link: the battery.If your car won’t start, it will always be inconvenient. It may even lose you business, or make you late to pick-up a loved-one.

It’s easy to be blasé about your car’s battery. For years it works fine and then suddenly one frosty morning your car won’t start. Of course, you can call a breakdown service but with the RAC and AA reporting 40,000 calls in just one day this week, how long will you have to wait to be rescued? Battery failure is the number one reason motorists call a breakdown service. And it is just one of many common faults that are caused by a lack of basic maintenance.

The good people at Haynes Publishing say: “With the help of a Haynes Owners Workshop Manual you can avoid being stranded and save yourself money. For example, often the first sign of battery trouble is that the engine is reluctant to start when cold, with the starter motor turning more slowly than usual. That’s the time to get the battery checked and replace it if necessary – a Haynes Owners Manual gives you step-by-step instructions.

“There are many other simple DIY maintenance tasks detailed in Haynes Manuals – replacing wiper blades and bulbs, checking the tyres, monitoring engine oil and coolant levels and so on. With the average labour rate at a UK dealer now £85 per hour, a Haynes Manual costing under £20 could save you a fortune – a good deal in these financially challenging times!

“Of course, having your vehicle serviced regularly is important but it does not stop there. Over the years manufacturers have greatly increased the service intervals, therefore there is an even greater need to carry out safety and maintenance checks in between these long periods. Carrying out such checks will help avoid unwelcome bills and minimise the expense or the inconvenience of a breakdown.

“Although many car owners believe that modern cars are too complicated for them to work on, this is not so. Routine tasks can be done by anybody - if they know what they are doing.
This cold weather is certain to strike our cars at the weakest link: the battery.”

Haynes, the world-leading publisher of automotive repair manuals, is renowned for teaching millions of car owners how to carry out routine maintenance and repairs. The manuals provide authoritative and accurate step-by-step information for both basic and more complex tasks. Over the next few months, our mission is to give you a greater understanding of your car and provide you with essential tips, advice and tasks that will aid trouble-free motoring. For example: how to check tyres and engine fluids, replace wiper blades, light bulbs and spark plugs, how to conduct a pre-MOT test check and what to do before taking your car on holiday or abroad.

Visit the Haynes site for valuable tips to help take care of your car ,so that you can travel with care.Click here for Haynes Publishing

Haynes Publishing has put together a must-have Desk Diary for 2009.

You can be amazed all year round in 2009 with this very fine publication,hardcover bound with an MG Sports car depicted on the cover. Maybe you owned a Hillman Imp (August), or a BMW E3 saloon (December); or, you know someone who did.

Haynes Publishing has put together a must-have Desk Diary for 2009. One week to view,there is a planner for each month which has dedicated to it an incredible cutaway illustration of a classic car from the 1960s,1970s,or 1980s. Represented in Terry Davey’s unmistakable style are the Peugeot 205 (January),Ford Escort Mexico (February),Datsun 280 ZX (March),Rover 3500 (April),Pontiac Firebird(May), and seven more. There is short history that goes with each monthly illustration which tell of models,engines and relevant dates,and other fascinating information for the motoring enthusiast.

Terry Davey worked for Haynes Publishing for 40 years, a period which included the last decades of the twentieth century. His amazing cutaways were drawn in pen and ink,using the basic draughtsman’s tools for curves and lines.

There is short history that goes with each monthly illustration which tells of models,engines and relevant dates,and other fascinating information for the motoring enthusiast.

The contents of the Haynes Desk Diary 2009:

In addition to the the monthly cutaways with planner, you are provided with

• One Week To View

• Year Planners for 2009 and 2010

• Conversion Factors

• Number Plate registration area identification letters

• UK distance chart

• A brief history of Haynes

Oh, I almost forgot, the endleaves are very attractively decorated with small images taken of front covers from various Haynes Publications.

If you need to follow the days carefully next year, and to have plenty of space to write notes, be also amazed each month, as you turn the pages to a new cutaway. Click here for retrostoreworld.com

If you are taken by the cutaways produced by Terry Davey then you should have a look at another Haynes publication as well which shows more of his work in:
The Classic Cutaways, click for the inretrostore website