Maintaining Your Car Will Make It Last Longer

Regular maintenance of your vehicle will extend its life perhaps well beyond what you or others may think is its normal lifespan. Today’s cars can easily top the 100,000 mile mark with many cars on the road exceeding 150,000, 200,000, even 250,000 miles. Ask owners of high mileage cars how they got to that point and most will point to their own rigorous and disciplined maintenance schedules as being the chief factor. By carefully and diligently following a maintenance schedule, you can extend your vehicle’s life too. Let’s take a look at several important maintenance steps you must take in order to avoid costly repairs and to help you hold onto your vehicle longer. Regular oil changes – The 30 minute oil change specialists recommend that you change your oil every 3,000 miles or three months, while some manufacturers state you only need to change your oil once every 7,500 miles or six months. Opt for more frequent changes than lengthy manufacturer recommended intervals, but change your oil [and oil filter] every 3,000 miles if your car is subject to hard driving. Change your air filter – Your engine will run better and cleaner if you change your air filter at least once per year; more so if you do a lot of “stop and go” driving or put on many more miles per year than average. Rotate your tires – Evenly wearing tires will help ensure that your car stops properly and stays on the road. Have your brakes and shocks inspected too to avoid potential handling and control issues. Transmission fluid – Your transmission isn’t guaranteed to run forever. Change your fluid at manufacturer recommended intervals, generally once every 30 or 60 thousand miles. Neglect it and face costly repairs and potentially fatal [to the car] consequences. Drain the radiator – Periodically draining the radiator and replacing the antifreeze will help flush out rust and dirt particles that can clog up your cooling system. When the coolant’s rust inhibitors get used up then corrosion will show up within the radiator as well as in the engine block Change the spark plugs – Some manufacturers have installed long life spark plugs meaning that changing spark plugs once every 60 or even 90 thousand miles or more is a possibility. Keep in mind that the longer your spark plugs sit in place, the more difficult it may be to remove them later. Optimally, replacing your spark plugs once every 30 thousand miles is ideal. Examine your exhaust system – Your muffler, catalytic converter, and remaining exhaust system parts can wear out. A poorly functioning exhaust system saps your engine of needed power. Wash and wax – Yes, your car may mechanically run well, but if the body falls apart, then what do you have left? Regular washings and a once a year wax job should do the trick. Other stuff – Replace your battery, fuel filter, PCV valve, belts, and hoses as needed and every other part that wears out. Sensors come and sensors go; usually you will only have to replace your knock or oxygen sensors if and when a problem arises. Ultimately, refer to your manufacturer’s repair book for guidelines as to when to perform maintenance. The key to extending your vehicle’s life is in doing the maintenance when needed to head off costly repair bills. Otherwise you will be neglecting your car to the point where it “dies” prematurely. You can extend the life of your vehicle. If you aren’t up to the task, hire a qualified mechanic to service your vehicle regularly.

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When to Replace Brake Pads

Worn brake pads can adversely impact your ability to bring your car to a halt. This can be especially dangerous in an emergency situation when adequately working brakes are a must to help you stop your car promptly. There are some telltale signs of pending brake problems; do you know what they are? Awareness of a problem is the key to avoiding potential harmful consequences; let’s examine some well known warning signs. Signs of pending brake trouble include the following:

Squealing brakes

Pulling of the car from one side to the other

Wheel grabs

Brake pedal pumping

Sudden and hard brake pedal

Spongy brake pedals

Grinding of the brakes While some of these problems may necessitate you replacing other brake components, an inspection of your brake pads should reveal that they are worn and are in need of immediate replacement. Your next course of action depends on your expertise, your time, and on your wallet. Most garages offer a free brake inspection and this can be a wonderful opportunity to have someone else inspect your system to confirm your findings. Ask your mechanic for a complete diagnosis of your brake system and an estimate on what parts and repairs will cost you. A good garage will give you a print out showing a fairly close estimate of what your costs will be. Throw in your local taxes and the price quoted should be within 95% of the final cost, barring an unforeseen additional problem being detected [for example, brake master cylinder failure]. If you feel reasonably confident that you can do the work yourself, you stand to save yourself plenty of money, at least in labor costs. You can save money with parts, too, by shopping around; the highest prices you pay will likely be through your dealer’s parts department. Prices at a national auto parts supply store should be lower, while prices through an online wholesaler should be about the lowest available as they purchase directly from the manufacturer. If you decide to purchase online, only obtain parts from a reputable dealer selling parts from trusted manufacturers. Be careful of those sites selling generic parts from overseas merchants. Make sure that you can return what you purchase, if needed, to address in based in the U.S.

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You Can Examine Your Brakes

Regular brake inspections are an essential part of good automotive maintenance that can save you money and keep your car from wrapping itself around the first tree out of your driveway. Make sure that your brakes and rotors are receiving the proper maintenance by following the steps outlined. Your safety as well as that of your passengers, pedestrians, and other drivers is at stake. 1. Time for a free inspection. Many local brake shops as well as national brake repair chains offer customers free brake inspections at no obligation to you. The inspection typically includes the following steps:

Check your vehicle’s brake pads and shoes for signs of wear;

Fill and/or replace hydraulic fluids;

Examine rotor/drum wear and calipers;

Examine the anti-lock brake system [if you have one] An annual check up of your brakes is wise, but do it more often if you drive well above the national average [about 15,000 miles per year] or if you do heavy stop and go driving. 2. Awareness is the key. Most brake system problems can be avoided if motorists would pay attention to certain signs of pending problems including:

Your brake warning light comes on.

Your brake pedal is either squishy, difficult to push down, or you must pump the brakes to get them to work correctly.

Your brakes grind continuously and you hear a loud metallic racket when you push down on them.

Your car pulls to one side when you push down on the brakes, instead of stopping in a straight line.

Your car jerks to a halt when you push down on the brakes.

One or more wheels are strikingly hot even after a brief trip.

You observe fluid leaks in the vicinity of any wheel or in the engine section near the master cylinder. If you are an at home mechanic, you can complete your own inspections and fit your vehicle with top notch replacement parts including brake pads and calipers. You can save on parts by purchasing them from a reputable online wholesaler such as Pit Stop Auto Parts who can offer to you top quality parts at sensible prices, typically much lower than what your dealer or an auto parts store would charge you. Take care of your vehicle and it will take car of you especially in an emergency situation where a properly working brake system is an absolute must.

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Is America Ready For A Tiny BMW?

I wrote previously about Mercedes’ foray into the small car market. As strange as that may seem to many Americans, both Mercedes and BMW have long produced smaller and less costly models for the European market. Now, it appears that BMW is considering doing the same: introducing to the North American market a truly compact car, smaller than any BMW that has ever graced our highways and back streets. Is this a good move for the German automaker? Or, will it water down a prestigious brand name? Part of any automaker’s marketing strategy is to convince you, the consumer, what their vehicle line is all about. Dodge would like you to believe that they sell sporty cars and rugged trucks; Scion touts their youth oriented vehicles; and both BMW and Mercedes, like Cadillac, sell luxury vehicles. Millions of dollars of advertising is spent per year to reinforce brand image which is supported by consumer surveys of that particular sentiment. Speaking about Cadillac, in the early 1980s GM’s luxury brand briefly marketed a compact car – the Cimarron – that ultimately bombed, in part, because it strayed far from its big luxury car base. Sure, the car was little more than a rebadged and re-tweaked Chevrolet Cavalier, but it contradicted the entire Cadillac mystique. Even a slightly larger and much later model, the Catera, also failed as the car was perceived for what it really was: a remade Opel. So, now the dilemma: will consumers accept the “1 Series” BMW’s planned entry or will it cause confusion and diminish the BMW name? As a backgrounder, the current 1 Series is expected to be overhauled in 2006. Right now the car is offered as a sport hatchback, but the hatchback isn’t likely to be imported due to America’s aversion to that particular body style. Thus a sedan version is being considered by BMW for production according to published reports. I visited BMW’s U.K. site to examine the current Series 1 model. With the typical BMW fascia in place the Series 1 resembles a slightly stretched Volkswagen Golf mated to a compact BMW. The “1” comes equipped with either a 1.6L or 2.0L I4 gasoline engine, a gas 24V 3.0L V6, or a 2.0L four cylinder diesel that achieves a whopping 50 mpg fuel economy. Prices for the “1” start at just under $25,000 Equipment on the “1” is typical BMW with ABS and all the full luxury appointments. Clearly, the current “1” is not a stripped model as it features many of the amenities found on larger BMWs. In my opinion BMW must tread carefully in bringing a car of this size to the American market. Forget the hatchback and just go with the sedan with either a wagon and or a coupe being a possibility. Unlike the basic Mercedes models, the “1” may just be able to pull it off for BMW and allow the German automaker to sell a tiny BMW successfully in the U.S. Alternatively, BMW just may want to consider launching a separate brand, to retain the BMW mystique in the American market.

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