Vehicle Maintenance Myths That Cost and 10 Ways to Save Money

Back in the day, when filters, spark plugs and other car parts wore out faster, it made more sense to have your mechanic replace a bunch of components whenever you took your car in for an oil change. These days, though, just about everything in your car lasts much longer than it did in yester-year. Keeping a detailed service record and cross-referencing it with your owner’s manual will help YOU know when things need to be replaced. This will help you save by not relying on your service advisor or mechanic for costly maintenance decisions.

Are you one of those people who likes to use those “sneaky little tricks” to do a job more efficiently? If you are, and you may have heard the one about using other kinds of cleaning liquids in place of windshield wiper fluid. Just be aware that while your windshield may seem cleaner, it could be creating damage that will cost you more in the long run. Window cleaners usually includes chemicals that could damage the washer system, and the paint on your car.  If the cleaner contains ammonia, it can dry out the rubber moldings or even the hoses that run from the washer fluid tank to the spray nozzles. Over time, the chemicals can damage the windshield washer spray nozzles mounted on your hood.

If you normally share the roads with sled dogs, you may need to take special precautions for the colder months. However, in most areas, all you probably need to do to get ready for winter is check your tire pressure and assess the need for new tires.

This one isn’t complete nonsense. There was a time when cars needed a little run-time before the engine was operating at optimal efficiency. However, unless you drive a classic car, you are only wasting gas by running your engine prior to a trip. Modern engines warm up more quickly when they’re actually being driven.

Some mechanics out there are quite flush happy. They want to flush your transmission, your radiator, your engine oil, and so on. But modern vehicles require these actions very infrequently. Consult with your owner’s manual to make sure your money isn’t just getting flushed down the drain.

The logic (if you can call it that) behind this suggestion is that it is supposed to put less strain on cars with automatic transmission. Shifting into neutral over and over will actually send you to the shop for a new transition much faster than if you had just left it alone.

If your vehicle is low on brake fluid, you have a problem. Either the fluid is leaking or your brakes are becoming dangerously worn out. From a money-saving perspective, it may seem counterintuitive to spend hundreds of dollars for brakes, but it’s better than having to pay for repairs and higher insurance rates because you couldn’t stop in time.