It’s simple to get bogged down in the small things when taking care of something big like your car. Don’t worry, though. We have everything you need to know about preventative upkeep and more. You can read everything or just skim to the part that interests you the most. This information will help you keep your car in good shape for as long as possible.
What Is Keeping Your Car In Good Shape?
A quick way to explain preventive maintenance is that it means giving your car regular check-ups. The inside and outside are both checked during these checkups to make sure everything is in good shape. Routine preventative maintenance on your car is important to keep it safe to drive and to make it last as long as possible. Both of these are important parts of having a car, but preventative maintenance also saves you money in the long run.
Preventative Maintenance Is a Great Idea
The company that made your car tells you to do preventative upkeep for a reason. It works. If you don’t have these predictive diagnostics, things can get worse. If you plan ahead, on the other hand, you can have less trouble and a smoother time on the road.
Maintenance Gives You Peace Of Mind
Now, let’s say you and your family are ready to go to the major theme park. Your trip has been planned for months, and it cost you a lot of money to do so. The day has finally come. As you pull out of the driveway, everyone is ready to go. The kids are quietly excited. To find that less than an hour into your trip, you’ve already broken down for no apparent reason.
When you do preventative maintenance, things like that don’t happen as often. It’s possible for skilled workers like us to find and fix problems before they happen. Safety checks give you and your family peace of mind as you drive off into the sunset.
It Makes Good Financial Sense
Having a car has been on your mind for some time now. It’s almost time to let go, and you’ve been making plans for your next car. While you can’t wait to trade in the old one for a new one, you’re also waiting to see how much the old one is worth. There’s a big problem with your old car a few days before you take it to the shop to trade it in. There will be no new deal. You have to decide whether to fix the old car or buy something from ten years ago.
These terrible choices don’t have to be made if there is preventative maintenance. You should know that a big mechanical problem is coming up and have fixed it or taken it into account properly in your quote for the trade-in value. Preventative repair can save you money and also help you learn more about how much things will cost in the future.
Does It Really Save You Money?
Cost to Fix Things
Of course, one easy way to save money over time is to do regular preventative maintenance on your vehicle. With these regular checks, issues that aren’t really issues can be found and fixed for a lot less money than bigger fixes. If you don’t want to do your own preventive maintenance, the cost of bigger repairs that could have been easily and cheaply fixed with a routine checkup is much higher than the cost of the checkup itself.
How to Avoid Accidents
As you drive down the road, heavy rain starts to fall. You say, “Okay, I’ll just turn on the wipers.” As you turn them on, though, you remember that they weren’t working so well during the last light rain, when you looked closely through the raindrops on the window. Still, it’s not so easy now that it’s raining hard. You meant to change the wiper blades, but you never got around to it for some reason. On a wet day, it’s tough to remember. You have to pray or try to pull over and hope you don’t crash.
We hope that no one ever has to deal with this, and if everyone did their regular upkeep, they would never have to. At Ames Ford, we can easily change broken or worn wiper blades before they fail to do their job. But what if your broken window wipers caused you to get into even a small accident?
If an accident happens because of a simple broken part, it’s not just a bother to you. It costs a lot too. The safety benefits of preventative maintenance checks also have a financial side to them. Regular preventive maintenance checks can help drivers keep their cars safe and avoid accidents that cost a lot of money and are risky.
Auction Value
No one wants to buy a junker. Taking care of your car the way the maker suggests will save you even more money. People who take great care of their cars and follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter will be able to sell them for more when the time comes. It’s not because they care about the next driver. Instead, it’s about the raw return you get from selling a car that is surprisingly in great shape for how old it is. That could get you more money when you trade it in or extra value on your next trade-in.
How Well Fuel Works
It just burns less gas when your engine is going like it’s on fire. A lot of engines sound good and run well, but what’s going on inside can be very different. As parts of the engine wear out, the gas mileage can drop. This is easy and quick to fix with preventative maintenance. Different parts of the motor are checked for wear and damage and replaced or fixed as needed, before they start to affect your vehicle’s gas mileage. Don’t forget to get your car serviced regularly as suggested by the maker. This is one of the best ways to save money at the gas station.
Preventative Maintenance Schedule
You can find your car’s unique preventative maintenance schedule in a number of places. Yes, that is true. The people who built each car have set up a plan for preventative maintenance that should be followed. The manufacturer made this plan based on what they think could go wrong with the car at different times and want to avoid.
As you know, we suggest following the manufacturer’s schedule for preventative maintenance. This is especially important if your car is still under warranty. However, there may be more to the process than just checking and changing what the manufacturer says on the vehicle maintenance checklist. As your car gets older, both in terms of years and miles driven, you will need to deviate from the suggested maintenance schedule even more.
The preventative maintenance plan for your car is in the booklet that comes with every car, but no one reads it. Now is a good time to pull it out of the glove compartment and make a note of when and why you need to bring your car in next. If you bought a used car that has been well taken care of, you might still be able to get that guide. If you don’t know what your plan should be, you can often find one online. But the best way to get a good preventative repair plan is to talk to a reputable mechanic and find out what works best for your car.
Some parts of car repair are easier to do on cars with manual transmissions. One thing is that you don’t need to flush out the transmission oil. Instead, the fluid can be drained and put back in. Aside from the pricey clutch, most of the time, the costs of maintenance are cheaper than with an automatic car.
Keeps You and Others Safe
What might happen if one of your tires blew out? What if you were driving fast when it blew? The best-case scenario is you maintain control of your automobile and are able to pull over to safety. The worst-case scenario is you lose control of your vehicle and cause a serious accident. Preventative maintenance keeps you and others safe on the road by preventing dangerous situations such as tire blowouts.
When you take all of this into account, it’s hard to ignore your vehicle’s preventative maintenance schedule, which you’ll find in your owner’s manual. University Auto Repair in Flagstaff, AZ, employs certified technicians who are experts in maintenance services. Call us today to schedule an appointment. We’ll get you in and out quickly and safely driving down the road.
