Taking Care of Your Car: Auto Maintenance Mistakes

Today’s cars can practically drive themselves. Wouldn’t it be helpful if they could take themselves to the mechanic when necessary? Fortunately, many cars have self-diagnosis reports and warning lights that give maintenance alerts. Foolishly, however, some of us disregard the warning and delay the visit to the mechanic, hoping to save money or time.

The reality is that you’ll have a safer ride and actually reduce costs if you pay attention to the warnings and address the problem immediately.

Here is some advice on how you can avoid auto maintenance mistakes:

• Get used to referring to your car manual when you see a check engine light. Follow instructions and go to a qualified mechanic to address the issue as soon as possible. Delaying could create more problems.

• Keep your scheduled maintenance routines. Delaying maintenance could save some money in the short run, but you’ll have to deal with bigger and more expensive problems in the long run.

• Monitor your tire pressure. Underinflated tires will wear unevenly and reduce gas mileage. Over inflation will result in faster wear.

• Do not neglect fluid levels – coolant, brake, transmission.

• Do not continue to drive when your car is overheating.

• Change your fuel and air filters regularly. This will keep your car running efficiently.

• Only use qualified shops to service your car. Once you find a shop you can trust and that’s reasonably priced, build a relationship with the mechanic. It’s just like having a doctor who gets to know you and your expectations.

• Avoid using generic parts for your car. Unless you know what you are doing, use original equipment manufacturer parts.

• If you don’t replace brake pads on a timely basis, the result will be a grinding down of other parts – a safety issue and a cost issue.

• If you don’t know your car, you won’t be able to communicate accurately with your mechanic. Learn the sounds, smells, feel of your car when it is running well. Then, you’ll be able to recognize when there is a problem. Keep a log of what you see, smell, and hear when there seems to be a problem. Be as thorough as you can be when speaking with your mechanic. You might want to go to AutoMD.com for a free online car diagnosis tool that provides questions a mechanic might ask.

• Don’t offer your diagnosis of the situation. Let the mechanic do his job. Of course, if you know your car and believe he may be wrong, don’t hesitate to question him.