David Muhlbaum of Kiplinger wrote an article that appeared on Yahoo's autos section. The advice is generally good, but sometimes simplistic. I hereby credit David with having written the article, but have taken the liberty of editorializing it, because I think my readers can handle the additional detail.
Item #1: Keep the right parts dry. David is spot-on with this one and has a pleasing writing style, so I have left it intact.
I see this all the time in my neighborhood: Drivers come home and park the car in front of the garage door. Then when rain threatens, they run out to pull it inside lest their car get rained on. Or, when it gets dark, they pull the car in for the night.
Ouch! Here's what's wrong with that: Starting a cold engine is when the bulk of its wear occurs. That's in part because all the oil is sitting at the bottom, rather than distributed around the parts that move. But also, when your engine runs and doesn't get warm, the byproducts of combustion, including water, collect in the oil and can over time turn it into a noxious sludge that attacks the motor from the inside. On a longer trip, your car's engine gets hot and the water is boiled out of the oil and the engine—no worries there. So: avoid short trips when you can—especially the short and pointless ones.
2) Give regular fuel a try.
Even if your car says premium fuel recommended—or even required—few really need it. Most late-model cars can adjust to regular fuel because engines are now equipped with knock sensors, which adjust the engine's timing automatically when they detect uncontrolled burning—the tell-tale 'pinging'—and forestall any engine damage. You may experience a slight decrease in power and fuel economy, but even the mileage loss won't come anywhere near the difference between regular and premium.
A key exception: If your car is turbo- or supercharged and specifies super, follow the manual. And for Pete's sake, you're doing neither your car nor your wallet any favors by putting higher-grade gas in a car that calls for regular.
In addition: I implore everybody to MEASURE. Don't take any writer's word for it, measure it. Run 2-3 tanks of super, then 2-3 tanks of regular and MEASURE the fuel economy, making sure you're driving the car exactly the same way each time. Some cars actually deliver worse MPG on premium. If you see better MPG on premium, then calculate pennies per mile for both regular and premium. In one of my older cars, I did get better MPG on premium, but only about 5%, and the difference in fuel cost was 15%, so it was not a financially wise move.
3) Don't change the oil more than you need to.
Sure, Uncle Marvin changed his oil every 3,000 miles and his Studebaker ran forever (ed: no, it didn't. In the Studebaker days, you felt lucky to hit 50,000 miles without a major repair. Now, people are disappointed if the car needs an engine rebuild before 200,000). Oils have evolved, and so have engines. Even Jiffy Lube's not running the "every 3,000 miles" pitch anymore. Stick to the manual's recommendations and refuse all entreaties from service managers and ad campaigns, especially ones for oil additives. (Ed note: specifically look up "3,000 mile oil change myth" on Wikipedia").
Added comments: Consumer reports attempted to determine how "good" a dozen oils were. In a well-designed experiement, they used 12 different oils in dozens of identical engines in hard usage. They change the oil every 3,000 miles in half the engines, every 6,000 in other engines. Their theory was that an inferior oil would show a greater difference in engine wear, if the oil changes were delayed. After 100,000 miles, they took apart all the engines and found no distinctions whatsoever between oils - nor between engines who'd had changes at 3,000 miles and 6,000. CR often draws incorrect conclusions from otherwise good experiments and they did so here. They said, "pick any oil you want, and change every 3,000 miles". The more scientifically valid approach would have been to say "we clearly did not operate the engines long enough to cause engine wear at 6,000 mile change intervals, so we should change the oil next time at 6,000 and 12,000 mile intervals and see if it makes a difference.". However, the car companies do this all the time. Long-term tests of engines on stands, operated in hot/cold/continues/stop-start, all manner of conditions. To accelerate wear, they don't change the oil at all for 100,000 miles. Wear? Not a problem.
An engine designer for one of the GM divisions once told me "your odometer does not know when to change the oil. The oil does. Use a light-colored oil and check the color and level at every fill-up. When it gets dark, it's time to change, due to dirt in it. Not sooner, that's simply wasted money." My mechanic friends agree, saying that they've never seen an engine damaged by old oil - only by inadequate amounts. Check the level, check the color, do it at every fillup.
And finally, if your car's manual says to use synthetic oil, do so. Some engines, particularly from the German makes, have truly poorly designed EGR systems, which can cause sludge build-up if you use petroleum-based oils. Doesn't matter if you change the oil every week, you'll still get sludge. Sludge builds up on surfaces, not in the oil, changing oil doesn't decrease its prevalance.
4) Find a local mechanic you trust and show him your business. (David's original text is spot-on, so I've left it unchanged)
Too many car owners flit from shop to shop, forking over fortunes on major repairs. Here's a better strategy: Identify a gas station owner or repair shop manager in your neighborhood you like, make sure he knows you are creating business for him, get to know him on a first-name basis and be friendly. It's amazing how a bond of trust like this can save you money. I work with someone whose trusty local gas station owner came to his house to jump-start his battery in an emergency, and charged him nothing.
5) Have you considered a warehouse store for your tires? (I disagree with David on this one, so here's his paragraph, then my opposing view)
No, they won't make you buy a dozen at a time. Costco, Sam's Club and BJ's Wholesale Club all offer tires and will mount them for you, too. You'll be able to tap into your club's satisfaction guarantees on top of the warranties the tire makers offer, and note that the installation costs include services you'd often pay extra for elsewhere such as lifetime balancing, rotation and flat repair. It pays to do some looking ahead on your club's Web site to check availability—the clubs don't always keep inventory outside some relatively common sizes—but they can order you just about anything.
I will disagree with David on this one. If you drive a LOT, then sure, warehouse tires may be the right choice. The key is to NEVER buy tires that will last longer than three years. Warehouse tires tend to be the "high mileage" 80,000 mile types. The high mileage tires start out by having hard rubber; they never test as well in cornering and braking tests as tires without the 80,000 mile warranty. That's the tradeoff...harder rubber lasts longer but does not provide traction that's as good. Also, rubber is an organic compound, and begins to degrade the minute it's off the assembly line. A tire that sat in a warehouse for 3 years will have worse traction than the identical tire that came right off the line. I've been there: I once took my car to the track and was disappointed in my performance. I realized that, because I'd been away from the track for a while, my track tires had gotten old. Tread was still perfect, they only had 100 miles on them. I bought a brand-new identical set of four and improved my slalom time by 15%.
Tires are an essential part of the safety features of your car. Being able to corner and brake your way out of a situation caused by a driver who blows a red light, for instance, can be the difference between life and death. Do not risk it with old tires.
30 to 36 months is the general advice given by tire manufacturers, and rubber composite design engineers. Trust them; it may save your life.
6) David's original text on this was so specific to one vehicle, that I re-wrote it to broaden it.
You go out to start up your fancy new car with its inboard GPS and OBD III and nothing happens. Don't fret. The dealer may have dazzled you and baffled you with all the unintelliglble five-syllable words about technology, but all of today's cars, even hybrids, still have the good old 12 volt battery. And, if the kids leave the lights on, the battery still runs down. You might just need a jump start...it's not time to call the dealer.
All cars can still be jump-started and it's one of those things on that list of "every human should know how to do this", like changing diapers and giving CPR.
7) You bought a car. You didn't marry the dealer.
Independent shops are fighting back against dealer marketing efforts that play on consumer fears of voiding a warranty. If you have your maintenance done on time with quality parts—and keep your paperwork—federal law is on your side if push comes to shove over a warranty claim. Check out the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. If your dealer makes you happy by giving you a loaner car, fine. Enjoy it. But it's frequently the more expensive choice for basic servicing.
One reason often cited for taking a car to the dealership for maintenance work is that dealers—as representatives of car manufacturers—are more likely to see if there are any outstanding recalls on your car. But, you can do a lot of this research yourself, either by checking with your independent shop, or by looking up your car online in the government's safercar.org database.
To that I add: Many surveys have shown car dealers to be more likely than independent shops to recommend "maintenance" that the car really doesn't need.
Editor continues: If you REALLY want to avoid dealer fees...a tune-up on today's cars is actually easier than it ever was. Long gone are the days of changing points, adjusting dwell, twsiting around a distributor cap for timing. That stuff is all done automatically. A tune-up today is merely an oil change, engine air filter, and possibly cabin air filter and that's that. Most cars go at least 50,000 miles for a spark plug change, and that's easy, too. Dealers charge upwards of $450 for "30,000 mile maintenance" visits that are nothing but 30 minute of oil and filter changes and staring at parts. I had my local dealer quote me a 60,000 mile package and it was $700. I said it must be a lot of work to cost that much, do you need the car all day, and they said, "No, if you have it here by 8, we'll be done by 9. $700 for an hour's work? Wow.
Changing oil takes 10 minutes. I can't drive the car to a shop and back in ten minutes. Spark plugs on my V6 vehicle take an hour because I have to pull off a hose. Still less time than heading to a shop, waiting, and returning.
Read the owner's manual...it has very specific lists of things that have to be done at 15k, 30k, etc, and that's ALL that needs to be done. Anything else on the dealer's list is an extra cost non-necessity.
8) Tire rotation? Don't spin your wheels. I didn't find David's specific advice useful so here's my replacement.
The purpose of tire rotation is primarily to make sure your tires wear out at the same time. See #5 above - you do not want two brand-new tires and two 3-year old tires on your car. Whichever "end" of the car has the older tires is more likely to slide if you need to execute a sudden maneuver to avoid that drunk who just shot out of the shopping center parking lot. If the "slippery" tires are on the front, then your car will slide straight when you try to take a sharp turn. If the "slippery tires" are on the rear, then you'll spin out under the same conditions.
Rotating the tires at every oil change is a good practice. Do your own 10 minute oil change and rotate the tires at the same time. But you can delay a week or a month, no big deal...wait until you have the time and the weather is right.
EVERYBODY should know how to change a flat tire, and tire rotation is just four of those changes.
But don't sweat it if you're late. Go on that hot date tonight if she's hard to get time with, the tires can wait.
Speaking of tires, here's a great way to know how much to inflate them.
Place strips of 2" wide masking tape crossways on the tire tread. Do it at two or three places on each tire. Now drive gently in a straight line for a few miles and pull over. Look at the masking tape for a wear pattern. If the masking tape is worn evenly across the width of the tire, then your tire pressure is about right for minimum tire wear. If the tape is worn more at the edges than in the middle, your tires need more air. If the tape is worn more in the middle, then you're over-pressured. Whatever wear pattern you see on the tape is what your tires will look like after a long time of driving at your present pressure levels. Expect to need different pressure in the front and rear, and adjust pressure at every rotation.
What if the tape is worn more on the inside edge than the outside edge, or vice-versa? Time to get the car aligned.
David says, and I agree: Note also that more and more tires are directional—which makes rotation less feasible because the tires can only go on either the left or right side of the car. What's a directional tire? Look for a v-shaped tread pattern. (and I add: an arrow on the exterior sidewall of the tire aimed in the intended rotation direction).
9) No ignoring the oil light.
David's comments were a bit lacking, so I've replaced them.
As much as today's cars are relatively bulletproof compared to the surprisingly self-collapsing cars of the 70s, there is one area in which you may not compromise. Oil pressure. If you see any dashboard indication that oil pressure is amiss, pull over as soon as safely possible. Seconds count, they really do. Even if you act as fast as you can, it may be too late, so don't delay. A friend of ours had a red oil light come on. "I saw that red light and was trying to figure out if it was the alternator or oil. We've had alternator problems on this old truck before. I squinted, I peered at it, I tried to see the image on the light. Then the truck just slowed down to a stop as if I'd shut off the ignition." It happens that fast. If the light is red, and you can't tell what it is...pull over. Our friend's truck engine was siezed...there was no oil in it at all, and the internal metal parts had literally melted to the point of no compression. When the engine cooled down, it solidified into one mass.
She was lucky...the truck had been recently to the dealer, who had installed a faulty oil cooler, which had fractured and all the oil drained out. The dealer, after a little nudge from small claims court, installed a freshly remanufactured engine in a truck that already had 200,000 miles on it.
Do not play games with the oil light. Pull over.
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