The Hands' Good Neighbor Garage

Car Maintenance Tips

Regular vehicle maintenance can extend the life of your car and help you avoid costly or catastrophic repairs. Changing the oil every 3,000 miles is a great start, but there are other routine vehicle maintenance tasks that will keep your car running better for longer. Check out our top car maintenance tips!

Preventative Vehicle Maintenance vs. Vehicle Repair Maintenance

Preventative vehicle maintenance is all about keeping your car out of the shop, where expensive repairs add up quickly. The expense required to perform routine maintenance will pay for itself many times over compared to fixing a broken down car. 

Preventative Vehicle Maintenance means:

  • Changing your car’s oil every 3,000 miles vs. just adding oil when it leaks out or burns off
  • Using mid-grade fuel from reputable gas stations vs. using the cheapest gas
  • Checking your car’s fluid levels regularly (oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, etc.)
  • Performing annual maintenance vs. ignoring your vehicle manufacturer’s maintenance recommendations
  • Aligning the front-end of your car annually vs. having uneven, premature wear on your tires and paying to replace your tires often

Are you a working single mother who needs car repairs?

Vehicle Maintenance Tools

CarCare.org has a handy tool that creates a customized maintenance schedule for you, complete with reminders, based on the year / model / make of your vehicle, mileage, etc. 

Advance Auto Parts has a wonderful list of suggested car maintenance tasks to perform throughout the year, broken down monthly and quarterly to make sure nothing gets missed. 

MoneyCrashers.com has a great list of eight vehicle maintenance tasks that are possible on your own, from changing your air filter (10 minutes and no tools required!) to replacing worn out brake pads (intermediate skill level) 

Car Talk lists their top car-maintenance related apps, with topics ranging from repairs to carpooling and parking apps.

AppGroove also has a solid list of driving and car maintenance apps. 

Vehicle Maintenance Tips

Here are two great articles with vehicle maintenance tips for older vehicles: 

Winter time and cold weather can wreak havoc on your car, here are some useful tips for cold weather vehicle maintenance: