In many way’s cars are like us, they need fuel to run, they don’t like it when it’s raining, and sometimes they need some TLC to keep at their best. Just like you’d take yourself to a doctor for your health checkup or a dentist for your teeth, there’s many good reasons you should be doing the same with your car and a mechanic.
Keep the Car In top Shape
You probably want driving to be as pleasant and stress free as you can possibly make it, and keeping the car in ship shape is the way to go. A regular check by a mechanic can also include checking and replacing the various fluids in the car like the wipers or the transmission. It can include making sure the tires are at the correct pressure and don’t have any serious road wear. It can even include making sure all the electronics are working properly so your heated seats and radio systems are working at full functionality.
Saving Money
Just like a medical exam, one of the biggest strengths of a regular maintenance checkup is that you can catch major problems before they happen, and with cars it’s always much cheaper to fix something than it is to replace it, so while there is a cost associated with a yearly mechanic visit, you have to weigh that against the possibility that a major problem slips through the cracks.
Regular maintenance will also be marked on the vehicle’s history, and having proof that the car has been well looked after will help you when trying to sell it later on.
How Often Should You Get A Checkup?
There are different standards you can use to determine when you should take a car in to be checked, some people recommend a standard of 6 months which also corresponds with when you’ll need to switch your tires from winters to summers. Others recommend using the car’s mileage and setting milestones like taking it into the shop for every 10,000 miles on the gauge.
Which method is right for you will depend on the car’s make, model and what you’re using it for. A car that sees a normal amount of use on a yearly basis should probably get regular checkups on regular calendar dates, whereas a car that doesn’t see regular use is probably better to see the mechanic on a milestone system. Some modern cars even have built in systems to tell the owner when a maintenance check is due.