How to Prepare your Car for a Vint-tro Road Trip

Here at Vint-tro, we love to spend time with members of the Vint-tro Community, and our legendary European road trips offer the perfect opportunity for us to do this. Since they first launched in 2018, they've proven popular with our customers, and we're excited they're back for 2023.

A great opportunity to spend time with like-minded car enthusiasts, we'll be taking 15 cars across four countries between Thursday, 6 July and Sunday, 9 July, and we can't wait!

When signing up for a Vint-tro road trip, we want you to have an unforgettable experience with memories you'll cherish forever, which is why it's important to ensure that your car is 'road trip ready'. After all, you don't want to experience a breakdown and have to cut your road trip short.

Undertaking regular maintenance on your car will provide peace of mind and hopefully give you a trouble-free experience. To assist you with this, we have compiled a list of some of the most important maintenance checks you should perform to get your car ready for a road trip.

When on a road trip your car will be working hard. If you want to get to your destination and back reliably without the risk of breaking down, you'll need to make sure your car's mechanical maintenance has been carried out.

A couple of weeks before the road trip, we'd recommend taking your car to a skilled mechanic for a detailed check-up, or of course, you can do this yourself if you are confident of your abilities.

Major components such as the engine, transmission and other mechanical elements of the car must be inspected to ensure they are working as smoothly as they should.

If you have had the car for a long time, it's also worth considering checking the condition of the suspension and steering.

The art of a good mechanical inspection is to spot any minor issues before they become more problematic and costly, particularly paying attention to the fluids. If these have not been changed for a while, you should start with the most important fluid, the engine oil.

We recommend you regularly check your fluids, at least once a week, as part of your regular car maintenance. However, when preparing for a long road trip, it's best practice to check them a few days before you're due to leave.

The electronics are the part of the car which is often overlooked. We'd recommend starting by checking the battery. If it's not a sealed unit, check if you need to add any distilled water or acid to the battery. It's also worth checking if the battery terminals are showing any signs of corrosion, and if so, clean the terminals with a wire brush and add an anti-corrosion application spray.

Electrical components such as headlights, air conditioning, and cooling fans all need to be checked, particularly if there is any driving after dusk.

For us, the most important elements of your car are the tyres, and these have to be in the best condition possible for a safe and smooth trip. You really do not want to experience tyre blowouts and brake failures, which are the most common causes of incidents on the road. We’d recommend replacing the brake fluid and checking the condition of the brake pads to ensure that everything is in good order.

Checking the tread of your tyre and general condition is paramount. If your tyres are over five years old and showing any signs of perishing or cracking, we suggest having these replaced before you leave.

It's also best to gather all items you may need before you embark on the trip. Items such as jump leads, tyre inflator tool, in-car mobile phones charger, and check that the car jack and wheel nut wrench are present. It is a good idea to add a longer breaker bar with the correct size wheel nut socket.

All these measures will help make your road trip experience better should any small issues arise, as you can fix them along the way. And, of course, the Vint-tro Community will be there to assist you should you need any help.

After putting all the above effort in, there is nothing better than setting off in a nice clean, shiny and prepared car. Why not wax your car or have your car detailed before you leave on your road trip?

Finally, make sure your insurance covers the territory of where the road trip is heading, for example travelling through Europe or further afield.

We hope this provides valuable insight into how to prepare your car for our road trips.

If our top tips have whetted your appetite for a road trip, our 2023 European Road Trip is now live and taking bookings. Travelling across five countries in four days and three nights, it's all set to be a fantastic few days.

To find out more, view the full details of our road trip, Vint-tro European Road Trip (Package A) or Vint-tro European Road Trip (Package B).

Peace & Love as always