Car maintenance question

[Scuba]

Maybe we spend more than we have to, but neither of us is a DIY car maintenance person. We have our cars serviced regularly according to the manufacturer's recommendations. We have a mechanic we trust. We don't want to break down or have an accident because we tried to save a few bucks by not maintaining our vehicles properly. Our cars are 10-11 years old with 110 and 155K miles on them. They look great, run great, and hopefully will last many more years. While perhaps we could save $$ if we did less maintenance, it's worth it to us to minimize the chances that we'll be stranded somewhere, or worse, have a preventable accident.

 

[aja8888]

I had an old set of Uniroyal tires on a spare car we had. They were probably 10 years old when I bought the car off an older woman. I drove the car about 200 miles on the freeway to San Antonio and noticed vibration in the steering wheel. What happened was the sidewalls (plys) started separating and bulges were appearing in the tires. I stopped at a tire shop and bought a set of new tires.

 

[Texas Proud]

Maybe we spend more than we have to, but neither of us is a DIY car maintenance person. We have our cars serviced regularly according to the manufacturer's recommendations. We have a mechanic we trust. We don't want to break down or have an accident because we tried to save a few bucks by not maintaining our vehicles properly. Our cars are 10-11 years old with 110 and 155K miles on them. They look great, run great, and hopefully will last many more years. While perhaps we could save $$ if we did less maintenance, it's worth it to us to minimize the chances that we'll be stranded somewhere, or worse, have a preventable accident.

I could be wrong, but I have never seen them recommend you replace hoses etc.... all I have ever seen was inspect...

 

[Walt34]

This causes alarm bells for me.

Unless you drive only in residential neighborhoods at speeds of 40 mph or less, you are in serious risk of tire failure with 10 year old tires - regardless of the tread depth. I consider any tire over 6 or 7 years old to be rolling bombs...

Thanks for posting this, it made me look up when I bought the tires that are on my pickup truck. They're 6 1/2 years old. Then I did some online research, and you're right. Here's one article, scroll down for an interesting and somewhat scary video.

Are your new tires really 6-year old ticking time-bombs?

Tomorrow we're going to the shop to have two new tires on DW's car (two new ones were put on last week and on closer inspection the others needed replacement too). While we're there I'll tell him to order new tires for the truck.

More $$$$ out, but better that than riding on old tires.

 

[REWahoo]

Tomorrow we're going to the shop to have two new tires on DW's car (two new ones were put on last week and on closer inspection the others needed replacement too). While we're there I'll tell him to order new tires for the truck.

More $$$$ out, but better that than riding on old tires.

Good move, Walt.

 

[W2R]

Good move, Walt.

+1

 

[ERD50]

Thanks for posting this, it made me look up when I bought the tires that are on my pickup truck. They're 6 1/2 years old. Then I did some online research, and you're right. Here's one article, scroll down for an interesting and somewhat scary video.

Are your new tires really 6-year old ticking time-bombs?

Tomorrow we're going to the shop to have two new tires on DW's car (two new ones were put on last week and on closer inspection the others needed replacement too). While we're there I'll tell him to order new tires for the truck.

More $$$$ out, but better that than riding on old tires.

Agree it's a good move. Sometimes I get a little freaked out, thinking about how dependent I am on all four tires doing what they are supposed to, every second I drive at highway speeds. It's just those tires between me and the end of days.

On the $$$ and convenience side, consider tirerack.com. They have an excellent selection, a Q/A guide that actually narrows the selection down to what is important for you (wet traction vs dry traction vs snow traction vs handling vs miles vs road noise vs high speed, etc). They can recc a local installer that they work with, and you get the tires you want, at a better price than anywhere, delivered to the installer. I know someone who has a small fleet, and when I mentioned tirerack, they said they had been using them for years.

-ERD50

 

[T-Minus]

Some of the newer cars don't come with spare tires, especially the hybrids. (to keep weight down). They come with a can of Flat Fix!

This eliminated the Audi Q7 and several others from our most recent car shopping list. We regularly trek off road into areas where cell service is non-existent, and imagining getting a rock through a sidewall (which has happened to us in the past here: https://www.nps.gov/glac/planyourvisit/northfork.htm) would leave us stranded. Yes, we alert a family member to our route, but still - that would leave us disabled for up to 24 hours. So, we confined our search for a suitable travel vehicle to those with a full-size tire and either AWD or 4WD.

For around a city or populated area, no spare with a can of fix-a-flat is OK.

 

[Blue Collar Guy]

I bought a 1977 Pontiac Ventura from the original owner in 1994. It had 51,000 miles and never saw a garage, i.e. it was parked all year round in the street. getting hit with the rock salt etc.. It had manual everything, windows, door locks, am radio, it did have an auto transmission and air condition. It also had glass belted tires. A few days after i get the car, it snows. They tire treads were like baloney skins. They were bald, I couldnt even drive an inch. After the snow clears I go to the used tire guy. He was howling with delight. He asked me how long you own these tires? I tell him about a week. He laughs again. He sold me 4 tires, I cant remember the price maybe 60 bucks installed for all 4. The spare was still good. I ask the guy are these tires good? He cries for the 3rd time. Im paraphrasing now, but it was something like "MY man you had balony skins on this car,if i gave you tires with no tread they are better than the ones you had."

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I had an old set of Uniroyal tires on a spare car we had. They were probably 10 years old when I bought the car off an older woman. I drove the car about 200 miles on the freeway to San Antonio and noticed vibration in the steering wheel. What happened was the sidewalls (plys) started separating and bulges were appearing in the tires. I stopped at a tire shop and bought a set of new tires.

My Dad mentioned (after the accident I described a few posts back) that a few miles before the blow out, he could hear a 'whopping' sound from the back tire(s) area, it was noticable but not so loud as to be concerning. This sound is a good indicator that there was 'slipping' of the tread which ultimately results in tire failure.

 

[Scuba]

I could be wrong, but I have never seen them recommend you replace hoses etc.... all I have ever seen was inspect...

I have no idea whether our car manufacturers recommend replacement at some time or not, but if our mechanic advises replacement, we'll likely follow his advice. Better safe than sorry. YMMV

 

[MichaelB]

Well, I had the cars in for service yesterday. DW's Subaru is 4 years old and has 15k miles. I asked them, and they said they felt the manufacturer's recommendation was "aggressive' and that there was no reason to automatically do all the work suggested when the mileage was so low. They did inspect carefully, did a few things, and left everything else in it's original shape.

 

[Texas Proud]

I have no idea whether our car manufacturers recommend replacement at some time or not, but if our mechanic advises replacement, we'll likely follow his advice. Better safe than sorry. YMMV

But did he recommend that you replace them all at the same time

I agree that I would replace on recommendation... I have done that with the belts... but I have never had any mechanic recommend replacing at some specific time...



Edit to add.... just checked online and the recommendation for my car is to inspect every 15,000 miles... there is never a time when they say you should replace them...

Now, there is recommendations to replace gas tank filters, timing belts, spark plugs, coolant etc., but not hoses... so if they are good, then they are good...

 

[Lakewood90712]

In their section for auto maintenance, Consumer Reports recommends this Tips on How to Maintain Your New Car - Consumer Reports (may require subscription)
Do the auto enthusiasts here change hoses and belts with this frequency? How about the non-enthusiasts?

Wow, that auto advise is about 30 years out of date. Consumer Reports has really gone down the crapper , or at least that Reporter and his/her Editor.
I'm sure the Car Dealers are pleased with that advise.

 

[Koolau]

Wow, that auto advise is about 30 years out of date. Consumer Reports has really gone down the crapper , or at least that Reporter and his/her Editor.
I'm sure the Car Dealers are pleased with that advise.

Yeah, I get upset when they (or everyone else) talks about keeping your car "tuned up" to get the best mileage. Since the country switched from leaded to unleaded gas AND to electronic fuel injection and computerized ignition, you really only need to "tune up" your car when it quits running right or you notice a drop off in fuel mileage. Plugs would probably last the life of the car, but if something else starts to have problems (plug wires, other ignition parts, etc.) it might be wise just to spend $500 and get everything done at once (at, say 100,000 miles or so.) There's so little to go wrong anymore that you usually can detect it yourself when it does. YMMV