If you pay for a garage to look after your vehicle then a good time before you leave take it to them and explain your plans, they should then tailor their service around your needs, take a copy of this page if you like as later on there will be a suggested service routine that they could follow, there will also be a list of items for you to get for the journey, hopefully some of them won't be needed but there incase they are.

Chances are that if you are driving from the UK to the snow then you are going to be traveling a fair distance, I know from personal experience that from my hometown to the Alps is a trek of around 1000 miles, so if your vehicle is due a oil change then get it done before you leave, 1000 miles there, another 1000 back and depending on the length of your stay you could easily clock up the same again with the ferrying round and a few road trips thrown in for good measure. Oil change intervals differ from vehicle to vehicle, check your owners hand book or get in touch with your local dealer to find yours. Old engine oil looses is ability to lubricate your engine efficiently, and as it gets hotter it gets thinner, so a long blast down a few autoroutes could get the oil nice and hot and thin and could illuminate your oil warning light, not good as this indicates that you engine is low on oil pressure and could lead to engine seizure.

Antifreeze, little know fact, neat antifreeze will freeze at -6°c, that's all, its not until you mix it with water that the freezing point lowers. The freezing point of coolant can be tested with a instrument called a hydrometer, this tests the "specific gravity" of the fluid, beer drinker should know this is this test is used to indicate the strength of beer! A hydrometer can be bought for not a lot of money from motor accessories shops, make sure you buy the correct one as there are 2 types, one for coolant and one for batteries which we will come to later, generally they have an amount of floating balls in a clear tube, coolant is added to the clear tube and the amount of floating balls indicates the strength of the coolant usually with a freezing point. Coolant should be changed every 2 years regardless, it has corrosion inhibitors which as the name suggests inhibit the corrosion of the internals of you engine, remember that they are metal! and you've got a load of water in there ever wondered why they don't rust! and if your sat there thinking your coolant is all rusty and dirty looking then get it changed! Antifreeze also stops inter metallic reactions (electrolysis) occurring between different metals, some engines use a mix of aluminium alloys and cast iron. The strength, or rather freezing point of antifreeze should be set to about -37°c, this is about as strong as you can go without it being unsafe.

Battery and charging system. Winter, its cold, its dark and you want to stay warm and see where you are going all of these things take electricity from your battery, your alternator(or dynamo on older cars) is the thing that tries to keep up with demand and recharge you battery to replace what you've taken away so again these are important factors in the reliability stakes. Again its a garage job to get these checked properly but if you have a multi meter and know how to use it then you have half a chance. Batteries as a general rule of thumb only last about 3 years, some do last a bit longer admittedly but generally 3 years is usually their limit.
Recently there have been all sorts of new fangled battery testers which tell you the state of the battery rather than the charge that it is holding, the most likely place to find such a piece of equipment is at a battery retailer, most of the big chains will have such a tester and most offer free check, its up to you if you want to buy one from them or not!
Its not just the battery itself that can cause problems, corroded terminals on the battery or its associated cabling can cause high electrical resistance and produce symptom similar to a flat battery.
The electrolyte level of the battery should be checked periodically and topped up with distilled water accordingly, as a rule of thumb the water should be just over the plates inside the battery, normally there is some sort of level marker to assist you in topping up. One misconception is that batteries should be topped up with acid, this is not so, Im not going to go into the chemistry of it but basically there is a mix of acid and water in a battery, its the water that evaporates not the acid, so when topping up only water should be used. The strength of the electrolyte can be tested with a battery hydrometer which again tests the strength of the fluid with an amount of floating balls in a tube, refer to manufacturers literature as how to read the results. Remember also that batteries contain sulphuric acid, this stuff eats clothes and skin and is highly flammable, so put the tabs out eh!? and if it gets on you or your clothes then expect holes, wear old clothes, gloves and goggles (just covering myself like, health and safety and all that) as it really hurts in your eyes, I know, it hurts. If it does get on you then swill it off with loads of water.

Fan belts (or rather auxiliary drive belts as not many cars have a fan now a days) need to be in top top condition, the extra load your alternator is under trying to keep up with demand takes its toll on the poor little belt, small cracks, frays etc. and it knackered, they are cheap so put a new one on and get a spare at the same time, they fit nicely in the spare wheel! Make sure the belt is tensioned correctly, "V" type belts when pressed should have about 10mm of movement, too tight and it won't last 2 minutes and will put extra strain on the pulleys (therefore the bearings) of the alternator, and possibly the waterpump or what ever else the belt drives, too loose and it will slip causing the alternator not to charge, excess friction will build up and wreck the belt due to the extra heat and it could possibly just drop off! Ribbed belts are a little tighter, but if a car has a ribbed belt then they usually have an automatic tensioner, if not then 5mm of play when pressed along its widest stretch should be okay.
Alternator should be checked for output with an ammeter under load, a garage job Im afraid unless you have a whacking great ammeter. Alternators are 3 phase, and if checked with a voltmeter and found to be emitting the right voltage if there is a phase down it won't supply enough amps to keep up with demand, this will lead to a flat battery and possible mis diagnosis of a faulty battery could ensue, so get it checked properly.

Brakes, common sense really, your going to be belting up and down some right steep hills you need them more than ever, a third party checking them (i.e. a garage) ensures you have not missed something, plus a professional may spot faults you may miss.
One thing some garages even overlook is the condition and boiling point of the brake fluid, again quite a complex subject but basically as brake fluid gets older it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere to a point where it might boil if the brakes are used for a length of time, if brake fluid boils then it renders your brakes useless (called brake fade) A Hygrometer (hygroscopic meaning a fluid that it readily attracts water from the atmosphere) is used to check the boiling point and again all good garages should have one. Brake fluid should be changed every 2 years anyway, can you remember when yours was changed last? its a relatively cheap procedure normally only costing an hours labour and a bottle of brakefluid.

Tyres, most obvious thought when thinking of driving in snow, good tyres are a must, snow tyres are even better although they can be sometimes quite difficult to track down in the UK. Snow tyres have a chunkier tread pattern and more "sipes" which are small cuts made into the knobbles of the tyre, the sipes bend and create teeth when the tyre is put under load giving them more traction, on the downside due to their tread pattern they can be quite noisey at higher speeds, after a few miles the drone from the tyres can be quite irritating. A little know fact is that snow tyres (marked M+S, for Mud and Snow) have 2 sets of tread wear markers, one at the UK minimum tread depth of 1.6mm and one at 4mm, this is because Mud and Snow tyres are regarded not to be useful in the mud and snow at tread depths below 4mm.
What most people tend to do is use normal road tyres and snow chains when the need arises, snow chains can be purchased quite cheaply in areas where snow is an issue, buying them in your home town miles away from any mountains can be quite costly if its an area that never gets snow!, Prices from snow chains seem to start from about € 50 (2004) in supermarkets. The same things will cost 2,3 or 4 times as much in resorts so it pays to shop around. It also pays to practice fitting them in warmer weather because when you need to get them on in a hurry you won't want to be outside too long! Basically speaking snow chains are a basket of chain that is attached to your driven wheels, be careful not to use them for too long on hard surfaces as they can damage your tyres, stick to the manufacturers instructions and you'll be fine. Most modern cars are front wheel drive meaning its the front wheels that are driven by the engine, obviously this is where you want to put your chains, again your owners handbook will tell you if your car is front or rear wheel drive.

Screenwash and wiperblades. You will use your wipers more in the mountains and on the motorway than ever so its important that they are in tip top condition, just get in the car and give them a try, do they clear properly? without juddering? and smearing? get out and inspect the blades, are they torn at the edges? if so then you need new wiperblades, dead cheap and dead easy to replace, don't bother with those refill things as they are a pain to fit and often aren't much better that the ones you took off and a lot of the time its wear in the plastic fitting that holds the blade assembly to the arm that's worn that causes them to judder so get to your local accessory shop and buy some new ones. While your there pick up some screen wash and top up your Screenwash reservoir with neat fluid, water it down and you'll raise its freezing point and the Screenwash could freeze, not really a problem until you go to use them and the fuse blows because the pump motor is frozen! more grief!

Locks. You can buy special lock lubricant, in a small aerosol tin with a straw attached but good old WD40 will do fine, get the straw attachment and poke it into the key barrel and give its a good squirt till fluid runs out, catch the excess with a cloth, why? because every time you wash your car or it rains then water collects in your locks, take your car somewhere cold and this water will freeze causing your locks to freeze up! not good WD40 acts as a lubricant and a de watering agent, so any water in there will be brought out with the excess oil. Spray grease or service spray is better but can be costly and difficult to find, plus everyone has a can of WD40 somewhere! While you've got it handy just give the latch mechanisms a bit of a squirt too, that's the goldey looking bits you catch your clothes on when you get in and out!

Fuel. Not really a problem for you petrol guys but diesel owners need to be a little More careful see diesel turns to wax at cooler temperatures, this can be avoided by using winter diesel which from the pump already contains additives to stop it waxing, but if you find yourself in a the cold with normal diesel and temperature is dropping rapidly, or you already have winter diesel in and its below -15°c then you can mix unleaded petrol into the diesel to stop it waxing.

DO NOT ADD UNLEADED PETROL TO DIESEL THAT HAS ALREADY WAXED!

• Check lights.
• Check windscreen washers and wipers for operation and correct aim of jets.
• Check correct operation of warning lights.
• Check condition and operation of seatbelts.
• Lubricate all door locks, latches, strikers and hinges. Don't forget fuel cap!
• Remove spare wheel and check condition and inflation pressure.
• Check for presence of tool kit, wheel brace, jack screwdriver.
• Check condition of wiperblades.

Lift bonnet.

• Top up screenwash reservoir with neat screenwash.
• Check strength of coolant.
• Check boiling point of brakefluid.
• Check auxiliary drive belt (fan belt) for correct tension and condition.
• Check electrolyte level in battery, top up as necessary with distilled water.
• Carry out battery test.
• Carry out charging system test.
• Check condition of cooling system, signs of leaks, fins of radiator etc.

Half raise vehicle.

• Check all tyres for condition, damage,inflation pressure and signs of misalignment
• Check all wheel bearings, suspension and steering components for damage, alignment and excess movement.
• Remove all wheels and brake drums where applicable and check brakes.
• Replace drums and wheels if no faults found, fit winter tyres if they are to be used.

Vehicle fully raised.

• Check underside of vehicle for damage and corrosion.
• Check exhaust for damage, corrosion and security.
• Check all brake pipes and flexible brake pipes for condition, security and corrosion.
• Check hand brake cables for condition and security.
• Check the rest of the steering and suspension system.
• Check fuel lines for condition, corrosion and security.
• Grease steering, suspension and transmission joints where applicable.
• Check engine for excessive oil leaks.
• Check gearbox oil level.
• Remove sump plug and drain engine oil, remove oil filter and fit new, replace sump plug washer with new sealing washer if applicable.

Vehicle lowered back to floor.

• Top up engine oil, run engine and check for leaks, turn off and reset oil level.
• Carry out repairs for faults found on service.

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Talent borrows, Genius steals, shit copies. MitDR