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Autor: Midia Design | Publicado: 2011-06-30T18:21:00-07:00

In this article we will look at some general service hints that apply to  any car whether you buy it new or used. In most cases, these  maintenance costs are not covered by your factory and extended warranty,  but are important considerations in getting the best and most reliable  service from your car.The first consideration is where you take  it for service. Many people simply take it back to the dealer where  they bought it. The advantage there is that if they discover anything  that needs fixing under the warranty, they will fix it for you when you  take it in for service. But be aware that you pay a premium for dealer  service in most things, and you can often cut the cost of that routine  maintenance by 30% or more by using a good independent repair shop. And  the independent shop may be a bit more observant in pointing out other  problems with your car that you can have fixed under warranty back at  the dealership.Check with friends or business associates to see  where they get their car serviced. Many shops offer free shuttle  transportation when you drop off or pick up your car. If you have a more  exotic car, be sure they specialize in that kind of car. Since the cost  of parts can often be more than the cost of labor, you should realize  that OEM parts from a dealer usually cost 50% more than the same parts  from a good after market supplier, when available. But your dealer  always uses OEM factory parts. And items like tires, brakes, filters and  routine maintenance parts are inevitably a good bit more expensive from  the dealership.Once you decide where you want to have your car  serviced, stick with them if they do a good job for you. There's no  substitute for a good relationship with a repair shop when it comes time  for major work or diagnostics. And many a shop will take a one time  customer for a "ride", and take the easy route to fixing your problem  rather than the most cost effective one. A little story...I had  a girlfriend once with an old Ford Mustang. Her turn signals were not  working and she took it into the Ford dealership for repair. They wanted  to charge her $220 to replace the whole turn sign mechanism and wiring  harness, a big job as it involves dismantling the whole steering column.  She couldn't afford it and came to me asking what she should do.I  had a hunch and picked up a new blinker relay from the auto parts store  for $3. I reached under the dash, popped out the old one and stuck the  new one in there.Presto... the problem was fixed. I was  outraged that the dealer was going to charge her $220 when a simple $3  part fixed the problem. I went down there and complained bitterly and  they refunded her diagnostic charges anyhow.In general, car  repair shops are notorious for fixing things that don't need fixing, and  not always because they are completely dishonest... but because it's  faster than trying to figure out where the exact cause of the problem  really lies. It's the old analogy of fixing a loose nail with a  sledgehammer. So finding a good reliable service shop can save you a lot  of money over the years.I recommend you keep a log of your  maintenance. It will help you do it regularly and that will prolong the  life of your car. And it also looks good when it comes time to sell the  car.Here are some service issues that are critical and some hints that not everyone is aware of.Oil ChangesThe  average new car recommends an oil change every 7500 miles. I like to  change mine twice during that period. Motor oil is cheap and nothing  wears an engine out faster than dirty motor oil. The simple process of  combustion produces a lot of by-products, acid, carbon, and  contamination from the air. And that contaminates your motor oil pretty  quickly. I change it at 4000 but not the oil filter, and then again at  7500 and change the oil filter at that time. I maintain the same  schedule through 7500, 15,000, 22,500, 30,000 and so on.I use a  high grade of motor oil... I have always liked Valvoline. But Quaker  State, Pennzoil and other top brands are probably equally good. Stay  away from the bargain brands. Quality lubrication is essential to your  engine's longevity. In general you want it to look clear and green on  the oil dipstick... when it starts getting dark, it's time to change it,  and when it gets black it's way overdue.The exception to this  rule is that some synthetic oils which are black in appearance when new.  And unlike foods, where "synthetic" is a dirty word, in motor oils, the  synthetic variety offers better lubrication than the petroleum based  "natural" oils and costs a good bit more as well. If you have an  expensive car, it's probably well worth the extra cost for the higher  quality motor oil.People who ignore things like routine oil  changes because they are too busy are very foolish. Dirty motor oil  wears out an engine very quickly and failure to keep it clean may very  likely void your warranty.Transmission oil is another item.  Factory service often doesn't require it be changed more than every  30,000 miles. But depending on how and where you drive it can get dirty  and worn a lot quicker than than that. In general you want the fluid to  appear cherry red and have almost no smell when you pull the  transmission oil dipstick. When it is reddish brown and has a burnt  smell, then your transmission is suffering. Many cars do not allow an  easy change of the transmission fluid. It is often necessary to drop the  pan of transmission to drain it, and then that usually holds 3-4 quarts  and does not change the majority of the fluid which is in the torque  converter.Some cars like my Mercury Mountaineer, have a  separate drain plug for the torque converter and allow a change of fluid  to be relatively complete. But many others do not. My old Ford Explorer  was that way. Changing the fluid by dropping the pan only changed 1/3  the transmission fluid, so if I waited til it was brown and burnt, one  change did not do it. I installed a drain plug in my transmission pan,  and changed it 5 times running it a few miles after each change, until I  figured I had diluted the old burnt fluid adequately enough. So keep an  eye on that fluid and change it often.Manual transmissions  don't use transmission fluid... they use a 90W gear oil which generally  doesn't need to be changed very often. But keep your clutch adjusted  properly with a little bit of freeplay at the top, and don't "ride the  clutch". Be very careful about resting your foot on the clutch pedal as  the weight of the foot can partially depress the pedal, and start to  reach the edge of engagement, and this will wear out your clutch's  throw-out bearing very quickly.Older cars all used carburetors  to mix gas and air and squirt it into the engine for combustion. Newer  cars mostly use fuel injection, and while this often works really well  and controls emissions, you need to keep those fuel injectors clean.  Your local auto parts shop sells a number of brands of fuel injector  cleaner and I recommend adding it to a full tank of gas at least with  every oil change. It's a lot cheaper than having your fuel injection  system overhauled. And change that air filter regularly or whenever it  starts to appear dirty. Nothing slows performance more quickly and gunks  up your carburetor or fuel injectors than a dirty air filter.Tires, Brakes and Shock AbsorbersOther  items like tires, brakes and shock absorbers are generally not covered  by warranties... they are considered routine maintenance items. Choose  your tires carefully... there are a wide range of tire grades, priced  accordingly. Invariably those bargain prices you see advertised are junk  tires and not worth your time unless you are just fixing the car up to  sell. Many tires will offer long mileage warranties, but read the fine  print... often that's "pro-rated" and applied to the "list" price of a  new one, not the highly discounted price you bought them for. This is an  old scam. Put 20,000 miles on those 50,000 mile tires and you may find  the adjusted price of a new pair under warranty is higher than what you  can buy them or a comparable set for outright.In general,  always buy tires at least in pairs. Never put one new tire on one wheel  when the other has considerable wear. Generally, it's best to put your  new tires on the front to take advantage of better steering and handling  with a new tire. But if your car is rear wheel drive, be aware that  badly worn tires in the back will cause your car to skid and lose  control quickly in wet or slippery conditions. If you rotate your tires  regularly, say every 7500 or 10,000 miles at least, then your tires  should all wear out around the same time and it's best to replace all  four as a set.When putting on new tires, you should have them  balanced and the front end aligned. Bad alignment or balance will wear  out new tires much more quickly and can severely impact the handling and  ride quality. Often, balancing tries when they are new, does not mean  they will still be in balance after 5-10,000 miles. I like to buy my  tires from a tire dealer that offers free rotation and rebalancing for  the life of the tire. I look for tires which handle well in wet  conditions and avoid aquaplaning. Those are usually high end steel  belted all-weather radials which also work pretty well in snow as well.Remember  you life and that of your family is riding on your tires. Invest in  good quality tires... it's a sound investment. And one more thing, these  new "low profile" tires that look so cool on these sport sedans. The  low profile means a short sidewall, which means little give and flex  there which, while it can contribute to better handling, also means a  stiffer less comfortable ride, and more wear on your suspension, since  the tires are not absorbing the road irregularities as well, leaving it  all up to the more expensive suspension parts.Shock absorbers  are another important and often overlooked component. Worn shocks mean  faster tire and suspension wear, particularly the ball joints in the  front end. It's relatively easy to check a shock's performance. Push  down swiftly on the fender of your car over each of the four wheels. New  shocks should be pretty stiff and recover from a hard shove with only a  single rebound. If the car bounces up and down several times above the  wheel, the shocks are worn and should be replaced. These are not  expensive and a good tire dealer can stick in a quality set like Monroe  Shocks for little more than $100 for all four on many models of cars.Also  not covered by most warranties, the brakes should be checked regularly  (whenever you rotate your tires and replaced when they get low. Driving  with worn brakes (typically they squeal badly when you come to a stop)  will quickly score your brake rotors or drums and make replacing them  essential as well as brake pads or brake shoes. Front brakes usually  wear out first, and again depending on how you drive, you can probably  expect to replace them every 30,000 miles or so. A good brake shop will  turn the rotors or drums, replace the pads or brake shoes, and rebuilt  the calipers or wheel cylinders as needed. If you replace them often and  the rotors/drums look good, sometimes you can get away with just a new  pair of shoes or pads.Also keep an eye on your brake fluid  under the hood. As the brakes pads or shoes wear, the fluid level will  drop. That is normal, and you will need to add a bit of brake fluid from  time to time. Be casrely not to spill any on the car's paint as it is  highly corrosive and will eat through the paint in a matter of moments.Car Paint and InteriorIn  order to preserve the value of your investment, you also want to  maintain your car's finish and interior. Keep the car washed and clean.  Be careful about automatic car washes. Many news ones do a fine job, but  some of the older ones with stiff brushes can scratch your paint badly.  If you can keep your car in a garage or under cover, do it. That old  junk you have piled up in the garage while your $35,000 car sits out in  weather is a poor investment decision. Remove bird droppings and treesap  as quickly as you possibly can. I keep a plastic bottle with water and a  soft rag in my trunk and wipe off bird droppings as soon as I notice  them. The acid in there will eat into your paint very quickly and cause a  blemish to that paint job. But blot don't rub. Bird droppings typically  have sand in them and that can easily scratch your paint.You  can remove tree sap and road tar with turpentine or paint thinner from  your hardware store. It won't hurt the paint and will quickly dissolve  the sap or tar. But is also removes car wax so use it sparingly, and if  you do it often, treat your car to a fresh turtle wax a few times a  year. A freshly waxed car will cause water to bead up in little round  beads on the surface. When those beads start to disappear it's time for  another coat of wax. Wax will protect your car's paint, keep it from  becoming porous and weathered and making the removal of things like bird  droppings and sap much easier.Remember factory paints are  baked on and are in general much more durable than repaints. So it pays  to keep up that factory paint job.I like to use Armorall on the  car's interior vinyl... it keeps it soft and pliable and prevents  cracking and it looks sharp. I also highly recommend using some kind of a  windshield protection screen in hot weather if you park out in the sun  all day. It will keep the car's interior cooler and also protect the  car's dash from cracking. And if your car has leather seats, treat them  to a quality leather preservative on a regular basis. Nothing makes a  car harder to sell than cracked worn leather seats.