I can't tell you how many times I have been told by someone that this car or that truck is bad car or a lemon. Of course when asked how well these same people kept up with regular maintenance, they fall amazingly silent.
It's a pain in the neck and often forgotten, but regular maintenance on your vehicle is crucial to keeping it running in good condition. Oil changes, filter changes, tires, brakes, etc... are all vitally important.
Lets look at oil changes alone. The average vehicle is driven 10,000 to 15,000 miles per year. Given a 3,000 mile oil change interval, that's 4 or so oil changes per year. At $20 for an oil change, that's only $80 per year or less than 7 dollars per month. Skip a trip to your usual fast food place once per month and it's paid for.
Now the flip side of this is what if you don't change your oil? Well, first of all your gas mileage will suffer because of the added friction in your engine. That will cost you more at the pump. If you continue to neglect your oil changes, the next step will be having to either rebuild or totally replace your engine. At a very conservative minimum you are looking at a couple of thousand dollars for either of these fixes. Do the math per month on that and you are talking way more than a few burgers a month!
So do your car and your waistline a favor. Keep up with your regular maintenance and bring a salad to work with you a few times a month. Both of you will last much longer!
It's a pain in the neck and often forgotten, but regular maintenance on your vehicle is crucial to keeping it running in good condition. Oil changes, filter changes, tires, brakes, etc... are all vitally important.
Lets look at oil changes alone. The average vehicle is driven 10,000 to 15,000 miles per year. Given a 3,000 mile oil change interval, that's 4 or so oil changes per year. At $20 for an oil change, that's only $80 per year or less than 7 dollars per month. Skip a trip to your usual fast food place once per month and it's paid for.
Now the flip side of this is what if you don't change your oil? Well, first of all your gas mileage will suffer because of the added friction in your engine. That will cost you more at the pump. If you continue to neglect your oil changes, the next step will be having to either rebuild or totally replace your engine. At a very conservative minimum you are looking at a couple of thousand dollars for either of these fixes. Do the math per month on that and you are talking way more than a few burgers a month!
So do your car and your waistline a favor. Keep up with your regular maintenance and bring a salad to work with you a few times a month. Both of you will last much longer!
