They say an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and the adage applies very well to keeping your car running right. Here’s 7 common sense things you need to be checking on your car on a regular basis to save yourself a lot of money in the long run. We found the tips in the summer 2007 issue of our USAA member magazine. They’re all pretty obvious, which is why you’ll be smacking yourself in the head if you don’t do them, so read up and make sure you’re on schedule.
1. ENGINE COOLANT AND ANTIFREEZE
How Often: Check twice yearly, once before summer and again before winter; change if coolant has brown tint or rust bits.
Pay Now: Free to check; up to $5 to top off with correct mix of water and coolant or antifreeze. If you don’t use the right coolant for your car, you could damage your engine.
Or Pay Later: Without coolant, you can damage the water pump ($50 to $100) and possibly your engine.
2. OIL
How Often: Check monthly; change every 3,000 to 6,000 miles
Pay Now: Free to check; $20 to change yourself (oil, disposal fees); $20 to $40 at a shop.
Or Pay Later: Not changing the oil can void your warranty. Increased wear will shorten the engine’s life span. Rebuilt engines cost $1,000 to $3,000, plus labor, depending on the car.
3. AIR FILTER
How Often: Check monthly; change when less than 50 percent of the filter lets light through when held up to a 100-watt bulb.
Pay Now: Free to check; $15 to $50 to change yourself; add another $20 or so for someone else to change it for you.
Or Pay Later: 10% increase in fuel consumption; if gas costs $3 per gallon and your car holds 20 gallons, you’re wasting $6 with each fill-up–$156 a year, if you fill up every two weeks.
4. TRANSMISSION FLUID AND FILTER
How Often: Check monthly; change every three years or 36,000 miles.
Pay Now: Free to check; a few dollars to top it off; $30 to change it yourself; $40 to $80 to for someone else to do it.
Or Pay Later: Dirty or low fluid can cause problems with shifting and transmission failure. Transmissions cost $1,000 to $2,000, plus labor, to repair or rebuild.
5. BRAKE FLUID
How Often: Check each oil change; change every two years or as needed if your brakes feel soft.
Pay Now: Free to check; $3 to $20 a quart, depending on the fluid; $65 to $165 for a mechanic to change the brake fluid.
Or Pay Later: $60 or more to replace pads; $2,5000 or more, depending on your car’s year, make, and model, for a complete brake job. Brake fluid absorbs moisture over time, reducing the brakes’ effectiveness, which can lead to accidents.
6. TIRE TREAD
How Often: Check monthly; buy new tires when you see all of Lincoln’s head on a penny stuck headfirst in a tread.
Pay Now: One penny to check; $40 to $200 per tire to replace, plus labor.
Or Pay Later: As much as $25,000 or more for a new car if you wreck due to a tire blowing.
7. TIRES FOR PROPER INFLATION
How Often: Ideally once a week, but at least monthly; inflate as needed.
Pay Now: Free to check; 25 to 50 cents to inflate.
Or Pay Later: $40 to $200 per tire, plus labor, to replace improperly worn tires.
(Photo: hehatemeMAN)
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There aren’t any “disposal fees” on DIY used motor oil in any jurisdiction in which I’ve lived. Just take it to the local Jiffy Lube, where they will happily take it for nothing.
@snowmentality:
In order for rust to form you will need oxygen. Nitrogen is not Oxygen.
@pretzelgreg:
Which is, of course, crap. Different models may require more maintenance than others. Buying a Pinto over a Beat because the Pinto was “made in America” would be just as stupid as thinking an M3 will break down more often than a Mustang.
The major difference is in parts. Dealer parts for a foreign car which has no or few plants in your country are going to run more than local parts. Depending on where you live, labor may be substantially higher as well – it will be more difficult to find someone to service your Ferrari in the middle of the bayou than it will in New York.
That still doesn’t make the Ferrari break down more often, when properly maintained.
@niteflytes1:
Many “Change” or “Check” lights will also be tied to the odometer. You should follow a schedule, but (assuming everything is working properly) it won’t kill your car. Risk management.
@GloStix:
Too bad the air we breathe includes oxygen. And all the water that gets on your wheels during the rain is 1/3 oxygen.
@iMike:
Please don’t do that. They’re liable to recycle it to use in those $20 oil changes.
Oh, one important thing that hasn’t been mentioned is SALT.
If you live in an area that puts salt on the roads during the winter, you *need* to buy that undercoating, and you *need* to keep a quality paint job on your car. “Quality” means “Not Maaco,” it means a rather more expensive and more complete job that includes sanding and priming.
You can do without it, if you don’t mind having your car rust out from under you. If that’s too much maintenance, buy a nice stainless-steel DeLorean!
A good wash will help avoid the above, as well, but if you’re in an area that salts the roads, you probably don’t want to be hurling water on your car.
FOr AC on with a minimal mpg loss try light weight and or underdrive pulleys.
Other things to check are the Oxygen Sensor, Throttle Possition Sensor, Mass Air Flow Sensor, drive belts and or chain, spark plugs, etc.
@pinecone99: Exactly! If something is wrong on your car, fix it! If you think something is wrong, get it checked out! It’s expensive, but this is not quantum physics, people.
Aside: My Accord’s brake indicator goes on with the handbrake, when the fluid is low, or when it’s humid and/or cold outside. Makes for some interesting mornings…
@tkozikow: If you use the correct oil for your car and follow the proper maintenance schedule, the additives will last. Changing the oil early than the schedule actually causes more wear because of the new additives being broken in.
In my VW diesel, the recommended interval is 10,000 miles and they mean it. My gasser VW also has a 10,000 interval. I had the European versions of each car with the oil monitoring system, I could stretch the interval out to 20,000 easily, which I may do anyways after a UOA (used oil analysis). And yes, I do use a VW spec 507.00 synthetic, but it’s cheap when you look at the $/mile cost.
The 3 months or 3000 miles is just propaganda put out by the oil and lube shops and believed my millions who don’t know how to RTFM or maintain their vehicle.
@snowmentality: I have nitrogen in my tires and I love it. The shop where I bought the tires filled them with nitrogen for about $10 total when they put them on, about 18 months ago. I’ve been by twice since then to have the pressure checked, and there’s been no loss in pressure. (I’m really, really bad about checking tire pressure.)
A friend put the same tires on his car but with normal air, and has to put air in every month or so. I’ll never give up my nitrogen.
OMG my tires eat pennies!
All of those can be done in the time it takes for your gas pump to fill your tank. I do this about every third fill-up. It’s not rocket science. And don’t fill your tires with nitrogen at $5 a pop. That’s just dumb.
Don’t forget to look at the tread itself. If the tread is wearing more one one side or another, you better get it in the chop and have them realigned.
Shop, not chop.
meh. Buy Japanese and don’t bother with most of these things. My Honda Acura has 150,000 miles on it, I’ve never changed the oil or the coolant, or the air filter for that matter. Never had it serviced. Just put new tires on it, had the break pads changed about 50,000 miles ago. It’s like the freakin’ Energizer Bunny. How much more than 150k do you want from your car anyhow? As for me, I’ll drive it till it dies, then buy another Honda.
There’s no evidence that tires with nitrogen deflate any sooner than those with air. Even if there was a difference, it would have to be minimal since air is 78% nitrogen already.
It’s much more important to check their pressure regardless of what they are filled with.
@dawime: said; “Very few cars nowadays need their oil changed every 3000 miles. My car manual says every 7500, and my wife’s car is every 5k.”
I’ve never had an oil related problem with since I’ve used Mobil 1 synthetic oil in every car I’ve owned since it came out in about 1975.
My oil change intervals have always been between 8500-9000 miles with a filter change about halfway through that cycle.
brake fluid is powerful. I ate a tire with it. bad brand tire or not..it really happened. A shop isn’t a bad idea..unless you can remeber the trials and errors
Regarding the AIR FILTER, you can squeeze some extra life out of it if you have access to an air compressor. Locate and remove your air filter then shine a trouble light behind it and gauge how much dirt is caught in it. Blow the debris out of it with compressed air. Afterward, you should be able to see more light through the filter.
When you decide to actually replace the air filter, most retailers have a reference book for customers to look up their car’s model and year. A few brand options will be listed. Generally, the cheapest one will suffice. Done and done.
@cheesebubble: As for the air filter, grab a K&N. Yes, they do cost more. But they can go between cleaning longer, better efficiency, and cost the same or cheaper (depending how long you own the vehicle). Mine cost me $55, and that was for the filter and cleaning kit.
After spending $550 on new brakes for a piece of shit Taurus, I’m never going to let my brakes get bad again. Then again, my brakes going out on me was more a schedule issue of never having the time to replace them, but from now on, I’ll make time if I have to.
@sir_eccles: I like the fresh air, so one window stays partially open.
@banmojo: Riiight…. I got my T-bird past 200K but I took care of it. Three years later, someone else is still driving it. Betcha it’s at 300K by now.
I should forward this post to a friend of mine who paid $500 for an oil change thought it was a full service.
@kc2idf: This changes around 45 – 50 MPH according to a mythbuster’s experiment. at that speed the windows being open do effect the aerodynamics.
Also opening your truck bed doesn’t help, it is actually worse.
Another very important thing to check, is to not ever let your car get below half a tank in winter, and below a quarter of a tank in summer. This is especially so if you live in a colder climate where freezing is possible. If you do, throw some fuel system cleaner in your gas tank and it’ll save your engine a lot of gunk inside.
Porsche Boxter oil change recommended at 15,000 miles (of course dealer will likely suggest more. B/c, you know, what does the manufacturer know?).
Oh, engine coolant. Sears tried to tack that check and replacement on to an inspection once for a low prices of $70. Yeah, I said no.