There are mainly two reasons why a large number of motorists out there tempt to skip their routine car service: they are short on money or they are too busy! If you too are thinking to delay taking your car to a local auto shop or have already done that a while ago, you are inviting potential risks involving the safety of you and your vehicle.
However, safety isn’t the only concern when put off your car’s routine services. Let’s find out the consequences of overcoming some most basic car maintenance.
- When you delay oil change: It is extremely important to change engine oil regularly. It helps keep your engine lubricated which further helps reduce friction between different parts of the engine. Read the owner’s manual of your vehicle to find out manufacturer’s recommendations for oil change. When you skip oil replacement, your oil will eventually get contaminated and will form a sludge build-up inside the engine. Meaning, your engine will run inefficiently and may witness premature death.
- When you overlook tyre maintenance: Change the tyres’ position from front to rear at every 6000 miles. Tyre rotations make them wear evenly and your tyres will last longer, say the experts. Another important thing is to keep your tyres properly inflated. Perform air pressure checks regularly and this will help you get improved gas mileage. Experts recommend car owners to inspect wheel alignment once in a year. Lastly, change your tyres once they are worn or damaged. Poorly maintained tyres and misaligned wheels can cause poor gas mileage and uneven as well as early wear in tyres.
- When you don’t change timing belt at recommended time interval: Not all cars’ engines use timing belts, but a large number of modern car models do. You will need to check your vehicle’s manual to find out if it has a timing belt. These belts are usually changed at every 60,000 to 90,000 miles. This fabric-based toothed rubber belt is designed to drive camshaft in the engine. They are lightweight and noise-free. When you don’t change the timing belt at the recommended interval, you will witness a high risk of sudden failure of the belt which can cause potential damage to the valves and pistons in the engine; in a worse case, you may need engine replacement.
- When you neglect brake pad replacement: The brake pads wear out over time. And if you don’t replace the worn brake pad in time, you will end up damaging the brake discs. Besides, worn out brake pads don’t work properly when you try to stop your car. Vehicle owners also need to top up brake fluid as per manufacturer recommendation. Skipping on brake inspection can lead to damaged drum or damaged ABS controller, which will need more expensive repairs. Choose one of the car full services packages offered by those local auto shops that cover brake inspection.
A Potential Threat to Safety
Cars that aren’t maintained properly are a safety risk to the driver, passengers and other vehicle and people on the road. When regular maintenance is neglected, the owners aren’t aware of the working condition of different parts and systems of their vehicle.
The statistics of road accidents that are a result of underperforming cars is increasing consistently, demanding vehicle owners’ attention to regular maintenance. Tyre instability, brake failure, damaged belts or any other severe issue in the car can lead to physical injury or a more fatal accident.
Reduce Your Car’s lifespan
Brakes, Fluids, belts, filters and all other parts of your vehicle need regular maintenance. If you keep skipping scheduled car services, you aren’t saving any money but you are inviting more expensive repairs, bad driving experience, poor fuel economy and premature aging of your vehicle. Needless to say, poorly maintained car will get you less resale value.
Now you know that taking your car to routine services makes complete financial sense. Car services pay for themselves!
