My name is Kelly Michel and I’ve owned and operated Kelly’s Auto Repair and Service for over 25 years. I’ve been maintaining and repairing cars for almost 43 years. For this reason I am a huge proponent of vehicle maintenance.
It’s no secret that a vehicle purchase is a huge investment. Some vehicles can cost more than a home. To protect that investment proper vehicle maintenance saves you money on expensive repairs, prevents inconvenient breakdowns and makes your vehicle safer.
While the vehicle itself has evolved over the last few decades the mechanical workings of your vehicle are basically the same. Your engine, transmission, brakes, cooling system, power steering, differentials and air conditioning still operate with the same types of fluids they always have. The difference is that these components are now more complex and way more expensive. That is why maintaining these components is even more critical today.
In recent years car manufacturers have been trying to sell the idea of a maintenance free vehicle. While this is a great concept it just isn’t possible if you want your vehicle to last. The fluids used in your vehicle are better than in the past but you still have hundreds of moving parts causing friction as well as hot and cold conditions that cause fluid breakdown resulting in lack of lubrication. When this occurs it causes mechanical failure.
I firmly believe that the single most important thing you can do for your vehicle is change the oil before it gets dirty. Most manufacturers recommend about 7500 miles between oil changes. I’ve seen firsthand what this does to the inside of an engine. A semi-synthetic oil change costs about $32. If you have it changed every 3000 miles that will cost you about $130 per year. That’s a little over $10 a month or about $.36 a day. But your oil will never have a chance to breakdown and you will never have a mechanical failure due to a lubrication problem.
The other systems on your vehicle also need similar maintenance but not nearly as frequently.
The proof is in the pudding. My wife and I have owned several vehicles that have been maintained in this way and have gone 300,000 miles. Most people have the belief that shops like mine want the big repair jobs. The truth is, we’d rather perform maintenance on a vehicle than repair a vehicle.