Knowing How to Service Your Car Can Be Useful
Your car is a very expensive and complicated piece of machinery that needs regular maintenance to stay in good running condition. Not only does regular maintenance keep your car in good running condition it also protects the resale value and mechanical safety of your car in check. It’s very important to select a garage that you trust with your vehicle, look for shops that have certified mechanics for your specific make of vehicle and have had good reviews in the past by others. Also look for garages that offer deals, many will have combination deals that offer things like a free tire rotation with an oil change, these deals are a great way to save money.
The things that need to be maintained on your car regularly are oil and oil filter, plugs and wires, various fluids including coolant, brake, power steering, checks on brakes and possibly engine and transmission stability. If maintained regularly bigger and more costly problems are less likely to occur. Car servicing costs can be very low on these regular maintenance checks but the problems they prevent are quite costly to repair.
A great way to save even more money is to service your car yourself. Many regular maintenance tasks are quick easy and cheap to do on your own, all you need is some basic tools and general automotive know how. Doing at home car repairs can be a great way to save money but can also damage your car if done incorrectly, make sure you know what you are doing before starting any at home repairs, consider buying a repair manual for your vehicle at an auto parts store, these manuals a will be a lifesaver and time saver when doing any at home car maintenance.
When getting your car serviced never allow a mechanic or garage tell you what needs to be done, ask questions, ask why the repair needs to be done, ask how long the repair will take, ask how much the repair will cost, ask if the garage guarantees their repairs, a reputable garage will be able to answer all of your questions. Most garages will do diagnostics checks on your vehicle to tell them what exactly is wrong with the car make sure you understand the diagnostics, what they mean and what the implications of the results are. Also don’t be afraid to take your vehicle to several different garages and get several different quotes, especially for bigger, more expensive repairs.
Taking your vehicle to a certified dealership for your car’s make is always a good idea. Specific dealers often have reasonable prices and they employ mechanics that have been trained to work on your specific vehicle. These dealers are directly certified from the automobile company themselves and are much more efficient with repairs on your specific vehicle. If there isn’t a certified dealer for your car’s make near you ask the garages that you visit if they have experience with your specific vehicle or at least your vehicles make.