Back in the golden age of motoring, inspecting your vehicle and doing regular maintenance was part of the course. When you didn't follow your vehicle manufactures recommended weekly and monthly routines, you knew you were going to be in trouble at some point with a guaranteed breakdown.

But with modern motor cars with electronic systems, engines that can travel around the world, new cars that state you can go 20,000 miles before a first service , it's no wonder that we no longer see any need to inspect our cars at any time.

The MOT should guarantee at least one inspection each year, but is this enough?

Cars Fail MOT Breakdown Cover

Well the answer lies in how many cars actually fail their mot, and the amount of breakdowns that the breakdown cover organisations such as the RAC and The AA are called out to each year.

On a more serious side, a considerable amount of road accidents are due to poor maintenance.

The truth is, just a small amount of time to inspect your vehicle at regular intervals, say once a month could probably detect most issues before a mot test or before an accident.

Things to check are brake pads wear (behind the wheels), tyre wear, you need at least 2mm to be legal.Issues with tyres are one of the most popular reasons for breakdown cover callouts.

Pulling out your seatbelts quickly to see of they lock, especially on rear seats that you often fold flat to create a larger boot area. Oil, water levels and brake fluid levels are also crucial.

Make sure you have sufficient antifreeze in, both in winter and summer, check your windscreen wipers, both front and rear.

Finally a quick check of your tyre pressure can not only improve fuel consumption but grip too.

This is not obviously a complete list of things to check but hopefully has given you some encouragement that by just spending a few minutes each month can reduce car breakdowns, reduce your garage costs and maybe even save a life