Summer comes with lots of opportunities to jump in the car and take off to your favorite destinations. If you take the time to prepare your car for those trips at the beginning of the season, you'll be ready to take off on a moment's notice. Here, you'll find a few tips to help you prepare your car for any of those last-minute road trips this summer.

Get an Alignment

Many people go years without getting their car aligned. Unfortunately, the chances of your car staying in alignment for years aren't very good. Sometimes, you'll notice a change in the way that your car handles, or you'll notice that your tires are wearing unevenly, but other times, it can be so slightly out of alignment that it's difficult to tell. Then, you continue driving your car all of those miles and end up eating through the tread on your tires and potentially damaging other components in the steering and suspension system.

Get the Oil Changed and Fluids Checked

If you don't stay on top of your oil changes every 3 to 5 thousand miles, make sure that you're at least getting an oil change before taking these long summer trips. Running old, dirty oil will cause problems that are dreadful to repair.

While you're getting the oil changed, have the technician complete a check of all of the fluids in the car. You don't want to get a few hundred miles away from home and have the car overheat because the antifreeze was low.

Tire and Brake Checks

Tires and brakes are two elements that commonly need to be replaced. If you catch the need for brake replacement before they chew into the rotors, this typically isn't an expensive repair. When you have the brakes checked, the technician will give you an idea of how many miles you have left on the existing pads. Take note of the mileage and make sure to have them checked again before they begin grinding.

The tires should all be checked for tread and condition. Just because the tread is good doesn't mean that the tires are safe – this is especially true if the tires are several years old or have been sitting in storage for a while.

Start getting your car ready for your last-minute trips today. Hopefully, you'll have everything ready for the first trip of the season and you'll just be able to pick up and go as you please.

Contact an auto service like Dualtone for more information.