If you own a car you already know that owning a car is a financial black hole. Some cars it just seems that no matter how much time and money you invest in them they just refuse to keep on running. Hopefully short article will offer some insight into keeping your car running and your wallet full.
Probably the best thing you can do with any car is perform its regular maintenance. I know it seems trivial, but as they say “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Check your vehicle fluids regularly, air pressure in the tires and wearing of engine components. Check your vehicles owner manual for a complete list of routine checks for your vehicle. What happens in many complex mechanical systems is that if one system begins to fail it will have a ripple effect throughout the entire system. This also makes it very difficult to diagnose a problem if none of the routine maintenance is performed. Find a trustworthy mechanic that will put you on a good scheduled checkup routine.
Another important tip is simply to do your homework when something does go wrong. The internet is now an amazing tool and anyone that know how to use Google can fairly accurately narrow down their own automotive problems. It will save you much money at the repair shop if you come across educated and know the right questions to ask.
There are a variety of other online tools as well that can help you pinpoint a good mechanic and stay away from the ones that are not so good. Perform a Google search and you should find plenty of useful tools.
Other places to look would be automotive forums. You can create an account on any popular forum and ask detailed questions about the particular issue you are having. Unfortunately most of us only have one car that we commute to work with, so we may not have the time to really diagnose our own issues. This is why it is important to identify and make friends with a reputable mechanic in your area. The next time you are in the area of the local mechanic shop stop in with a box of donuts or coffee just as a random act of kindness. Hopefully they will remember this and the $3.00 you spent on donuts will save you $300 on a part you may not need.
