Preventative maintenance, paying close attention to and not ignoring certain signs could save you a bundle in the long run. For example, a catalytic converter, responsible for controlling your vehicle’s emission system, is over a whopping one thousand dollars to replace. Replacement could have been prevented if the spark plugs and fuel injectors were checked and replaced as needed. Smaller things lead to larger things in the end. And that’s just one example of how keeping up with common auto repairs could have saved you money.

Routine maintenance expenses include brake service, oil changes, battery replacement, tire replacement, windshield wiper replacement, tune-ups, timing belt replacement or drive belt replacement. Of course, if you can educate yourself on how to do some of these yourself, it could save you a bundle if you’re on a budget. From my experience, executives don’t look good with grease under their nails. So, leave the common auto repairs and maintenance up to the professionals. Again, not keeping up routine maintenance usually costs more money to fix. Unexpected costly repairs and possibly costly towing expenses.
Unexpected repairs that usually begin to occur one day after your car is out of warranty (isn’t that an odd coincidence?) include shocks and struts, power steering pump, alternator replacement, starter replacement and sometimes internal engine repairs or transmission issues.

On another note, if you are budgeting and trying to cut down on fuel costs, even a missing gas cap leads to fuel evaporating into the environment. Bad for the environment and bad for your budget.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Writer / Comedienne / Artist

Common Auto Repairs – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Ah, car maintenance, I remember, back in the day, when all gas stations were full-service. Meaning, you always had that awkward moment when some stranger in a coveralls would ask you “Can I check your under your hood, maam?” I’m sure when I answered him, I often stuttered. What a great job that must have been for him. Telling all of his friends how many women he propositioned on a daily basis, while on the clock. Now, everything is self-serve. Meaning, you have to check your own lubricant…which can be equally as awkward.

Car maintenance is just something you have to do and one of the most important things to consider along with keeping your tires properly inflated is checking your lubricant/oil once a month, just to see if it needs to be topped-up, or if it appears dirty or gritty and needs to be changed. Or, you could have a professional check it for you. Just make sure he doesn’t blab to his friends. I hear some mechanics kiss and tell. So, if you prefer to go it alone, here’s how to check your own oil. Or, what I like to call Car Maintenance: Oil, 1-0-1… Make sure the engine has been off for at least ten minutes. Locate the dipstick (not the one in the passenger seat…he should have offered to check it for you in the first place). Pull out the dipstick and wipe it clean with a lint-free rag. I’m sure you just happen to have one handy in your purse, next to that bottle of chloroform, right? Insert the dipstick back into the reservoir…all the way in. Pull out the dipstick and look at the film of oil on the end of it. Note how high the oil film reaches on the dipstick and the condition of the oil, and add or change the oil as needed. By the way, you don’t add oil into the tiny reservoir the dipstick sits in. If you do that, people will point and call you a dumb blond (not that I would know).  Look for a screw-off cap on top of the largest part of the engine. It could be blank or it could be labeled “Oil Cap” or something similar, and it might even indicate which grade of oil you ought to be using in your car. Unscrew that cap and add oil as needed. You owner’s manual will also indicate what grade of oil they recommend.

Yes, times have certainly changed car maintenance is getting easier and auto manufacturers and mechanics alike have agreed that changing your oil every 3,000 miles is a thing of the past. Oil chemistry and engine technology have improved to the point that most cars can go several thousand more miles before changing the oil. A better average would be 7,500 between oil changes, and sometimes up to 10,000 miles or more. Rather than picking a number, you could just follow what your owner’s manual advises. My manual says that I should get the oil changed every 5,000 miles. If I did a great deal of longer-distance highway driving, it would be every 7,500. Or, if your mechanic is really cute, get it changed every other day. But whatever you do – Don’t forget the Lube!

Until next week…

Daun Thompson
Comedienne / Artist / Writer / Lightening Rod of Reality

Don’t Forget The Lube – Car Maintenance – Comedy Defensive Driving

The post Don’t Forget The Lube – Car Maintenance appeared first on Comedy Defensive Driving®.

Keeping up the maintenance on our vehicles will save us both costly repairs and insurance deductibles. We’re calling our little program car maintenance 101. A good habit we are trying to get into is to check our tire pressure and oil levels once a week while we are putting gas in our cars. Keeping our tires at their proper inflation also helps with fuel economy, so it’s a nice double-whammy. We both keep a tire gauge in our cars for this. Every 5,000 miles, rotate your tires. Tires are expensive and not rotating them will wear the tread uneven and they will eventually have to be replaced (early). Often times, when purchasing tires, they come with an optional lifetime tire rotation, mine did.

When checking the oil level, wait until the engine cools, pull out the dipstick, wipe the oil off of it and reinsert it. This will give an accurate reading of your oil level. As for oil changes, it has always been a standard 3,000 miles or 3 months between oil changes. These days, the revised recommendation is: change regular petroleum based oils every 4-5 thousand miles and synthetic every 5-7 thousand miles. The key issue here is sludge. Sludge buildup is an engine killer. If you feel better about changing your oil more often, it is up to you. After all, this is your own little car maintenance 101 program.

Check your coolant from time to time. The coolant reservoir is normally bolted to one side of your engine bay or the other. It is usually a white semi-transparent bottle. Do not remove the radiator cap to check levels. And always top off with a cooled engine only. The bottle should have low and high markings. The level of coolant should be between the two markings. Keep battery terminals clean. Remove the terminal caps and clean them with a wire brush. The timing belt and accessory drive belt should be checked every 25,000 miles and probably replaced every 50,000 miles.

Until next week…don’t let your little engine falter.

Daun Thompson

Artist / Comedienne / Writer / Grease Monkey

Car Maintenance 101 – Comedy Defensive Driving

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Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. Sensible driving is also safer for you and others, so you may save more than gas money. Use cruise control whenever possible and avoid excess idling. Also, using overdrive gears will help. Removing excess weight will help (not your spare tire…you may need that). And observing speed limits will also help. Not to mention saving you money that you don’t need to be giving away to Johnny Law.

Keep your engine properly tuned-up. Fixing a car that is noticeably out of tune or has failed an emissions test can improve its gas mileage by an average of 4 percent. Fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40 percent. If you can’t afford it all at one time, make a plan to do a few things each month. It will pay off.

Keep tires properly inflated. You can improve your gas mileage by up to 3.3 percent by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. The proper tire pressure for your vehicle is usually found on a sticker in the driver’s side door jamb or the glove box and in your owner’s manual (you know…that cute little booklet that is probably still in its factory sealed bag).

Use the recommended grade of motor oil. You can improve your gas mileage by 1–2 percent by using the manufacturer’s recommended grade of motor oil.

Keep your vehicle properly aligned. When your vehicle’s wheels are not perfectly aligned they cause additional friction with the road increasing gas consumption. Not to mention the wear on your tires. And, unlike hair, you can’t just “comb” the tread over the bald spots. Aligning your vehicle will also increase your tire’s tread life, thereby saving you money on replacing them sooner than expected.

A little extra maintenance keeps the repairman away. Keep your car running well for a long time to come by obsessing over the little things…one thing at a time.

Until next week…

Daun Thompson

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