ROUTINE MAINTENANCE

Maintenance

Why is an car maintenance important?

The simple answer: to help keep your car running newer, longer. By letting us perform routine maintenance, you’ll help spare bigger car trouble.

Lapsing maintenance on your car’s vital fluid exchanges, dirty filters, fussy belts and old spark plugs can lead to bigger problems like busted-up radiators, slipping gear shifts and engine failure. That’s why routine maintenance is key to vehicle longevity. Maintenance you think you can “let go” in the short term can often be an “oh, no!” down the road.

Your manufacturer has designed a maintenance schedule (found in your owner’s manual) around the specific makeup of your particular vehicle. Follow this schedule and chances are your vehicle will deliver optimal performance as you rack up the miles, help your parts last longer and save you some dough on more expensive replacement parts.

How often should I have routine maintenance performed?

Each car, SUV, truck or van manufacturer lists time and mileage intervals for routine maintenance, inspections and part replacement. Some service intervals are shorter, requiring more frequent maintenance, while other maintenance intervals are longer, occurring once or twice over the life of your vehicle.

Some vehicles have internal clocks that alert you to when you need maintenance as well. Heed those indicator lights.

Will the expense of car maintenance “pay off” in the long run?

Regular maintenance for your ride is a wise decision, my friend – both for the longevity of your car and the length of your dollar. Regular maintenance helps prevent having to replace more expensive parts.

Let’s take an oil change for an average sedan over 100,000 miles as an example. During those miles, you’d change your oil about 25 times (an oil change every 4,000 miles). Assuming the average cost of the oil change is about $25, you’ll spend $625 on oil changes overall. If you were to go without an oil change during that period, your engine would likely flood with contaminants and eventually seize. The reason? Thick, dirty oil that can’t properly lubricate vital parts, leading to metal-on-metal friction. The result? One cost-prohibitive roadblock: an engine replacement that hovers around $4,000.

You can find all recommended maintenance intervals in your vehicle’s owner’s manual.

What are the most common maintenance items recommended by manufacturers?

They vary, but here’s a good place to start:

• Routine parts and fluid inspections

• Coolant fluid exchange

• Filter (air, cabin air, fuel) replacement

• Timing belt replacement

• Transmission fluid exchange

• Spark plug replacement

• Axle fluid exchange

• Tire rotations

All inspections and recommended maintenance services will vary by your vehicle make and model. Check your owner’s manual for the specific needs of your vehicle.