GETTING your exhaust system checked now could save you time and money when you go on holiday.

While an exhaust system failure might seem less drastic than an electrical fault, it can nevertheless create considerable difficulties and bring your car grinding to a halt.

Tenneco Automotive, manufacturer of automotive exhaust systems, maintains that many breakdowns could easily be avoided, if only motorists took the trouble to get their exhaust system checked before setting off on their journey.

For most people, checking their cars before a family holiday means checking the oil, the radiator, the windscreen wash and perhaps the tyre pressure; very few give a thought to the exhaust system, apparently preferring to run the risk of its failing en route than to replace it. Yet if your exhaust system does turn out to be faulty, the few minutes you invested in getting it checked out could well have prevented your whole holiday from going up in smoke.

Peter Dillen, Tenneco Automotive emission control group product manager, said: “It is always a good idea to check your exhaust system - not only to safeguard your holiday, but also to make sure your car passes its next MOT.”