7 Significant Steps to Follow If Your Car Breaks Down

Being stranded after a car breaks down can be a stressful time.

It is something that no one wants to face, but you have to find a way to get through it when it happens.

If you have mentally prepared yourself for this, it will be much easier for you to handle this if you find yourself with a car that has broken down.

 

#1 Calm Down

It is human nature to panic when a car breaks down. What you should do is calm down. Adjust to your situation and quickly can remember that you have resources at your disposal.

It is a wise idea to consider obtaining a remote area breakdown guide. It can be a helpful thing that you can put in your trunk or your glove compartment.

 

#2 Pull-Over Into A Safe Space

If this car if malfunctioning you need to keep yourself calm so that you can pull over to a safe space. Once you pull over, you need to access where you are.

If you have pulled over to the side of the interstate, you need to make sure that you are out of the way of oncoming traffic.

If you are in a remote area, make sure that you look around and survey your surroundings. Look for any sign that can tell you where you are. This is information that you are going to need when you make the call.

 

#3 Lock Your Doors

When your car breaks down, you need to lock your doors. Most cars have auto-lock features that activate when you drive, so the doors are probably going to be locked anyway once you stop.

You want to double-check, however, because you do not want anyone to attempt to harm you and your additional car riders when your car breaks down.

 

#4 Call Your Assistance

If you have any roadside assistance services, you should make the call. Having these numbers stored on your phone is going to save you a lot of time.

It is not something that people ever think about until the car breaks down. It can be cumbersome, however, to look for cards with phone numbers when the car breaks down. You save more time by having an important number programmed into the phone.

Call a friend of a family member if you do not have any roadside assistance services. It is important to know your location because this allows you to call the person that may be closest to you.

This is the strategy that you use if you want to be picked up soon. If, however, you have a desire to get your car repaired, you are going to want to make your first call to the person that you know that has the strongest mechanical skills.

 

#5 Look At Indicator Lights On The Car

You may have to reference your owner’s manual to tell what some of the indicator lights are on your vehicle.

It helps to have some idea of what has happened to your vehicle. This is information that the roadside assistance representative will need to help you get assistance.

It would be best if you tried to describe any landmarks that can help you pinpoint where you are. You can also use your phone is you have any location apps that give a better description of your location.

 

#6 Assess Your Car From The Outside

Look to see if there is any damage that you can view as a potential problem. Once you do this, you will need to see if there is something that you know how to fix. It may be a problem that you can resolve.

If this is the case, you can call the roadside assistance department back to cancel the service call.

 

#7 While You Wait

It can seem like a long time to wait when you are stuck in the middle of nowhere. This is why you should pay attention to the time that you made the call to roadside assistance.

The representative can give you an estimated time that you will have to wait for someone to provide support. You will be comforted in knowing that someone is closer to getting to your location if you have been paying attention to the time.

You can use this time to call your family or friends back. Let those that are worried about you know what you have discovered about the malfunction of your car. You should also let them know your expected wait time for your roadside assistance if you have this service.

If you do not have roadside assistance, you need to call the family member that may be coming to help you. If you know how close your help is to your location, you can look for whoever is coming to assist you.

Has your car ever broken down?