It is vital that any car owner takes their car in for regular maintenance. If you ensure that your car gets its recommended maintenance done, it can prevent further damage and save you money down the road. You can get regular car maintenance in Huntington, Virginia at East End Body Shop which offers quality repair service, prices, and customer service.
How does regular car maintenance save you money?
It’s common for people to put off their regular car maintenance or ignore signs of a start to a major problem because they don’t want to spend the money to repair it. Unfortunately, not keeping up with your car maintenance can lead to further damage to your car, leading to a more expensive repair.
Regular maintenance means you need to take your car to an auto shop regularly to ensure the functions of your car are updated and working properly. You need to get things checked out like your brakes, your fluids are topped off, etc. If you feel like you are spending money you don’t want to for your car, just know that you are actually preventing further damage and more expenses.
What constitutes regular car maintenance?
You should be aware of what regular car maintenance you need to keep up to date. The following are four steps to follow in conducting your regular car maintenance in Huntington, Virginia.
Top off your car oils
Regularly check and top off the oils in your car. Some oils like your power steering don’t need to be topped off as often, but it’s still important to keep an eye on. You also want to check your engine oil, transmission oil (you can only check this underneath the car if you have a lift), coolant, and windshield wiper fluid.
Minor repairs for your mechanic
You should take your car to a mechanic for regular, minor repairs to keep it running in good condition.
The most important car maintenance is getting your oil changed every 5,000-6,000 miles. Your car should get a tire rotation every 8,000-10,000 miles. Your air filter should be replaced every 12,000-15,000 miles. When you take your car into the shop for regular maintenance, the mechanic will let you know if your windshield wipers need to be replaced as well.
Ensure tire pressure is adequate and the battery is working
Invest in a pressure gauge to check your tire pressure once a month. Your car manual will have a recommended psi for your tire pressure. You also want to check for cracking or wearing in your tire tread.
You should inspect your battery terminals and clean them monthly to maintain a secure connection. If you notice signs of your battery going out, you can bring it to a shop to check it and determine if you need to replace it or not.
Ensure all your essential lights are working
You should regularly check that your blinkers, fog lights, headlights, taillights, and brake lights are working. These are essential lights that you need to use and will get pulled over for if they’re out. Make sure to take it to the shop as soon as you notice one is out.
If you need a mechanic for regular car maintenance in Huntington, Virginia, you can call East End Body Shop or fill out a form indicating what services you need to be conducted.
Why regular car maintenance is important
Increases safety
Keeping your regular car maintenance up to date will increase your safety on the road. Maintaining car repairs will prevent the parts from breaking and larger issues arising.
Keeps the car performing at its best
If you maintain your car’s functions, your car will continue to perform at its best. If the maintenance seems to stress you out, just take the time to make an appointment with East End Body Shop for your regular car maintenance in Huntington, Virginia and they will take care of the car for you.
Saves you money
If you regularly take care of your car, you will prevent more expensive damages from arising. The smartest way to save money is to just make an appointment with an auto shop and spend the money on maintenance rather than big repairs later.
Lower cost of fuel
If you skip your regular car maintenance, you may skip something important and cause your gas mileage to go up quite a bit. This means you will need to fill up your gas more often.
Saves you time
By staying on top of your car maintenance, you will prevent further damages which can keep your car from running. If it’s a big enough issue, you may need to drop it off at an auto shop for days or weeks to get fixed. This is not only a big inconvenience because you won’t have a means of transportation, but it also takes time out of your precious schedule to deal with getting it repaired.
Keeps your car at a high value
If you are planning on selling your car in the future, you want to ensure you keep the maintenance up to date. If you keep everything working properly, you don’t have to worry about getting less money for your car or repairing a costly fix just to be able to sell it for more.
Tips to afford regular maintenance
Save in advance
You should always anticipate taking your car to the auto shop for its regular maintenance. If you anticipate it, you can be sure to save a little bit of money each month to put toward the months you will take it to the shop.
Pay for car insurance.
I know it sounds silly to say that you can afford car maintenance by spending money, but you can. You can never anticipate a car accident happening and if it doesn’t, and you don’t have insurance, you will not only get a hefty fee from the police, but your cost to repair your car will be through the roof.
Despite the cost, it is important to maintain your car’s health. If you have questions about prices for regular car maintenance in Huntington, West Virginia, you can reach out to East End Body Shop in the area.