Top 5 Ways to Save on Car Maintenance.
Posted: March 11th, 2011 | Author: Joe | Filed under: spending, Tips | Tags: auto care, save money car maintenance, Tips | 1 Comment »
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David Muhlbaum recently wrote an article for kiplinger finance titled 9 Ways to Save on Car Maintenance. While I found some of the ways mentioned to be either redundant or unnecessary, I did find some of his tips helpful. The truth is, I’ve seen so many articles like this one that what made this stand out was a few items I hadn’t seen elsewhere.
These are no earth-shattering revelations here, but some solid tips that should help just about anyone with a car made after the late 1990′s save a buck or two on maintenance.
Here are my picks for top 5 ways to save on car maintenance.
Reduce cold starts. The bulk of engine wear occurs when starting a cold engine. Because of this, the author recommends avoiding ultra-short driving situations. For example, park your car in the garage when you get home, rather than starting it an hour later just to move it 10 feet into the garage.
Go 87. Most cars do not require premium gas and will run just fine on 87 octane, regular grade gasoline. With gas prices where they are, an the ability of most modern cars to adjust for the quality of the gas, you end up saving enough money going to 87 octane to more than make up for any loss of MPG.
Skip the oil change. This one has been covered by just about every personal finance blog out there, so I’ll be brief. Most cars can go for more than 3,000 mile between oil changes. Oil changes have gotten expensive. Read your manual and go by the manufacturer’s recommendation, not the service station.
Think globally, but patronize locally. A good mechanic is hard to find, especially one that’s affordable and trustworthy. Find one near you and get to know him. Go to him first and foremost. Often times, dealerships are not only more expensive, but recommend more work than is really necessary. This is especially true of older model cars. The author puts it nicely this way, “You bought a car. You didn’t marry the dealer.”
Hit the warehouse for tires. Warehouse stores, like Costco, Sams club and BJ’s wholesale offer tires – with mounting, balancing, etc. – for less than many other stores. I’m a Sears guy myself, but that’s more out of habit than anything so I think I’ll look into the local BJ’s next time I need some new treads.
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