Car Care Tips

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Introduction

The red light never wavers.

It glows, very much like a mean red eye staring you down when you get behind the wheel. Hey. Psst. You there. Change your oil. Do it now. The longer you ignore it, the brighter it gets, as if to tell you that your vehicle is warming up for a major breakdown.

Let it get to that point, and you'll realize -- there's a reason it's called an idiot light. After all, the first step to successful car maintenance is simple: do it. The second is even easier: do it exactly as you're told to by technicians and in your owners manual.

Simple. Easy. Yet for many people, it's an ongoing challenge, for two reasons. Admit it: you don't have the time and forget to get it done, or you're intimidated about dealing with technicians. So you put it off and create the scenario you most dread - a major repair costing thousands of dollars.

Unfortunately, fear and loathing is to be expected: we've all had at least one experience with price gouging and unnecessary repairs.

It's enough to make you learn how to change your own oil. But you don't have to get dirty to get a fair price and keep your car in top shape. According to Michael Rose of Autobytel, formerly an Certified Master Technician with BMW, the two most important things a car owner should do is keep his or her car serviced as per recommended service intervals, find a technician they can trust - and stick to them. "It's important to follow the automaker's service schedule, because it is a good way to discover potential manufacturing defects," said Rose. "Part of the factory scheduled service is designed to help keep a car running correctly."

But there's that trust issue - how do you know that your car's left-handed smoke sorter needs a new ball bearing? Rose believes that most dealers are consumer-friendly today, because there's an increasing need for service departments to fuel profit - as a result, dealership service shops are more aggressive when it comes to getting, and keeping, customers. That doesn't mean all technicians are boy scouts. Consumers can protect themselves by practicing a few simple steps:

• Get a price for the service -- on the phone, and write it down - if that price is different when you bring your car into the shop, ask why.
• Always get a signed estimate.
• Don't worry about what a shop charges per hour
• Understand what the job is - ask an outside source if you are not comfortable.
• Be aware of what the owners manual says, and use that knowledge.
• Let your service professional advise you -- trust him, and don't be afraid to ask questions.

"Continuity of service is important," Rose said. "Pick anywhere you want to have service done, but try to get all your service done at the same place so they can keep track of your car, and maintain your records. It's like those little stickers on the windshield, they work great" Rose, who has managed and supervised fixed operations for BMW, Honda and Acura, and has been recognized as operating the "highest quality" shops in the San Francisco Bay area, pointed to Autobytel as a great way to manage your car's maintenance. "The service garage area of our sites are a great way to keep track of your maintenance schedule," Rose said.