A car is an expensive investment. For many people it’s the second most expensive investment you ever have to make, right after buying a home. Cars need a lot of maintenance. Fortunately, many maintenance tasks are simple and relatively inexpensive. If you don’t maintain, you’ll end up spending even more on expensive repairs.
The number one most important step in essential car maintenance is giving your car regular oil changes. The oil in your car lubricates the moving parts in the engine. This is the easiest part of taking care of a car, but despite this, many people neglect oil changes and end up with burnt out engines and expensive repairs. The standard in oil changes is every 3,000 miles but some experts find this excessive and recommend 4,000 to 6,000. Keep track of your oil change schedule. Another important step is tire rotation. Because your tires start to wear in a specific way as you drive, it’s important to have your tires rotated so that they wear evenly. This will give you the most life out of your tires and should be done about every 6,000 miles. Another important step is one people often neglect. It happens as you’re driving down the road and another vehicle sends a rock or pebble flying through the air and into your windshield. Rock chips are easy to ignore, but if you do, chances are that chip will turn into a crack. Windshield replacement is expensive. It’s important to repair rock chips as soon as they happen. You may want to even invest in windshield repair kits to take care of the problem yourself. If you perform these important maintenance steps, your car will last much longer.