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Preventive maintenance saves money
Like the human body, a car needs regular checkups to maintain its optimum health. The investment in preventive care is well worth it. By catching problems early, it translates into less shop time for your car, less inconvenience for you and lower repair bills for your pocketbook. As Martha Stewart would say, “It’s a very good thing.” To help drivers better understand their cars, Dave Seifert, owner of Crow River Auto in Hutchinson, has taught several preventative car maintenance classes through Hutchinson Community Education. He also taught part time in the automotive department at Hutchinson Area Technical Institute and later at Ridgewater College for five years. Seifert recommends that people begin their preventative maintenance program by reading their car’s owner’s manual. Included in it are the manufacturer’s recommended guidelines for maintenance. “This is the best place to start,” he said. “It tells you everything you need to know about your car.” Seifert believes so much in the value of preventive maintenance that he’s made it part of his shop’s oil change package. As part of an oil change, he and his staff conduct a 25-point check of a car’s systems ranging from tires and pressure to belts, air filter and lights. The mechanic marks his findings on an inspection sheet that ranks each inspection point from “needing immediate attention” to marking it as a “future concern.” As a consumer, this is a useful planning guide for current and future car repairs. “It’s important to ask when getting an oil change what is included (with the service),” Seifert said. “Not everyone does the same thing. At Bob’s Fast Lube, they vacuum the car. We don’t do that.” Car owners can do some preventative maintenance on their own. Then, there are things that are better left to a shop with a mechanic who can use a hoist to check a vehicle’s undercarriage. That’s something that is difficult to do at home. The following is a general checklist for things a consumer can do: Tires: Check the tread for wear. Unusual wear in a specific area of the tire may mean your car’s alignment is off. Tire pressure can impact fuel economy. The correct pressure is printed on the tire. It is also included in the car’s owner’s manual. Seifert is a believer in rotating a car’s tires, too. He recommends rotating a car’s tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles, and for a four-wheel drive vehicle every 5,000 to 6,000 miles. Brakes: Check brake fluid once a month, fill as needed. Also check to make sure brakes are working properly and listen for noises such as squeaking or grinding. Seifert is quick to caution car owners to take extreme care in checking and replacing a car’s fluids. “It’s easy to make a mistake,” he said. “If the wrong fluid is used it can cause damage.” Engine oil: Seifert recommends following the guidelines in your car’s owner’s manual in regard to changing the oil in your car. Typically, it is recommended to do it every three months or 3,000 miles. Many people check their oil when they get gas. The oil filter should be replaced every time you change oil. Check the air filter, too. Transmission fluid: Like the brake fluid, check the transmission fluid about once a month. To make this check, the engine should be running. For exact instructions, check your owner’s manual or ask your mechanic. When adding fluid, it’s important to not overfill. Lights: Check lights on a regular basis to make sure headlights and brake lights are working. It’s important to check signal and hazard lights, too. Battery: Check it with every oil change. Battery cables should be secure and free of corrosion. If the water level of the battery can be checked, that should be done. Antifreeze: Never remove the pressure cap when the engine is hot. This could result in injury. Check antifreeze and coolant levels. Refill as needed. It’s a good idea to have your antifreeze checked before winter. Belts: Belts should be checked for wear and tear, as well as slack. There should never be more than one-half inch of slack between the pulleys. Exhaust: This is probably best left to a professional mechanic, but it doesn’t hurt to “eyeball” your muffler system. Look for holes, rusted parts or loose clamps. If the muffler sounds louder than normal or coughs, have it checked by a professional. A professional mechanic can check things such as U-joints, brakes, wheel bearings, shocks, struts, suspension system and steering linkage. Just as doctors recommend an annual physical for their patients, Seifert encourages his customers to schedule annual check-ups for their vehicles. The quality of today’s cars are greatly improved from years ago. But they still require tune-ups. Seifert said vehicles should last at least 10 years, if they receive regular maintenance checks. To be able to provide the proper maintenance and keep up with all the changes in car systems, Seifert, who has six full-time and two part-time employees, has the mechanics attend school eight to nine times a year. They also participate in programs sponsored by local parts stores. Although mechanics now use high-tech computer equipment to diagnose a car’s ailments, it still requires old-fashioned know-how to fix it. Computer diagnostics will only identify the general area of the problem, Seifert said. The mechanic has to figure out which component or wire is bad and then pinpoint what’s wrong. Something that can speed up that process is if customers keep records of previous services to their vehicles. Seifert recommends keeping systems checklists in the glove compartment. Often those checklists, like the ones he gives his customers after an oil change, can give clues to a problem that has developed. Doctors use charts, too, with medical records that can help track health troubles. Often, serious problems can be avoided if the patient has a good relationship with his or her physician. The same can be said about automotive mechanics. Building a relationship with them can pay dividends today as well as down the road. |
