There is a recent awareness among car owners about the factory recommended services needed on today’s cars. But, is it really necessary?

If your car is to provide you with continued reliability for years to come, a regular maintenance program must be followed. Keeping to a maintenance schedule will ensure a reliable vehicle and a higher resale value. Studies have shown that a well maintained car costs about 12 cents per mile to operate while a poorly maintained one is over 22 cents per mile due to the additional repairs and depreciation.

Today’s vehicles are made better. They are safer, handle better and stop quicker. They get better gas mileage and pollute less. They are more comfortable and have greater reliability. Much of this is due to improvements in the materials from which they are made. The fluids that are used to lubricate them have greatly improved. Motor oil, automatic transmission fluid, anti-freeze and gear lube have changed significantly over the years, not to mention the change in gasoline.

All of these changes have altered the car owner’s expectancy of a vehicle’s useful life. In years past, we had viewed a vehicle with 80,000 miles to be tired and ready for scrap at 100,000 miles. A car reaching 120,000 miles was almost unheard of. We are seeing vehicles exceeding 250,000 miles and still running well and providing good reliable service for their owner.

Nothing lasts forever. The fluids do break down and require replacement in order to properly lubricate. These fluids provide many functions besides being slippery. They need to conduct heat. They need to protect from rust and corrosion. They have hydraulic functions to perform. The detergents and anti-foaming agents need to be maintained. To wait for the engine to make noises or burn oil or for the transmission to start slipping would be too late. To wait for the anti-freeze to turn brown from rust would also be too late. In both cases, the damage is already done. It would be like saying “I do not need to wax my car because I do not see primer yet”. Obviously, that would be too late. These important properties change over time. Just as laundry detergent wears out and looses its effectiveness, the detergent property of the vehicle’s fluids also diminishes.

Back to the topic of factory recommended maintenance schedules. I am not sure where and how the manufacturer assumes the cars will be driven. Will it be driven in the cold of Maine or in the hot humid climate of Florida or perhaps in the dessert in Arizona? Will it make long runs on an interstate highway or short trips around town? The answer is “They don’t know. They can’t know.” So, we must check their recommendations and tailor it to your driving habits and conditions.

In our office, we have posted our recommendations for the typical driver and vehicle in our area. This is our guide. When it is combined with your vehicle manufacturer’s schedule, a maintenance program can be created to provide the proper care your car or truck needs. The schedule will help provide many miles of safe, reliable service. The expression “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” pertains to automobiles, too.

Happy trails and drive safely,

 Andy Walko