Does everyone but me do the 30k, 60k, etc car maint?

[ky-mike]

I generally follow the owner's manual recommendations for service. I don't follow the dealer's recommendations as they often add on other items that are not recommended by the mfg.

 

[sengsational]

The calculus for this changes when getting a set of tires would double the value of your car. It's amazing to me that a car so comfortable and reliable as my old Honda Accord is worth so little. It's a salvage title because someone gave me a gentle "tap", which totalled it. I took it home, along with a $5K check (actually wrestled it back from the body shop that was tasked to fix it), put on a new bumper, and it's as good as it's ever been, but puny blue book value, which means upkeep has got to be cheap.

 

[bigcmagor]

Unless there's a recall or warranty work, the last time the dealer will see my car is the day I buy it. Right or wrong, I consider the recommended services to be revenue based rather than mechanical necessities. They all get Mobil 1 oil at appropriate intervals and tire rotations at 10,000 miles. I've changed all fluids at 15 years for the roadsters. I've had a VW GTI in Florida for seven years and only put fuel, windshield wash fluid and a battery in it. Like one previous poster mentioned, dealer oil changes are free on the Wrangler, but I'd rather pay to have it done elsewhere.

 

[FindingForward]

Check your manual. They have been pretty common for the past 15 years, I'd guess. A youtube video will show you how to change them (usually through or under the glove compartment, they usually just snap in/out).

If they get clogged, you just get less airflow through your heater/AC. Might cause the AC to freeze up. But if you don't pick up a lot of leaves, etc, they can go a long time before clogging.

-ERD50

HA! I'd love to change my cabin filter, but unlike my Toyota, this stupid American-made car I have right now has made it impossible for the average non-expert. You have to remove the glove box entirely and mess with the airbag and other critical wiring just to get to it. I tried you-tubing several videos and they all say and show the same thing.

I then got a mechanic's estimate to change it- $150. Nope.

Will just breathe the existing cabin air, since I drive very little.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

"The car care nut" on YouTube has some good insights from time to time. Here are some of his views on dealership service departments, starting at 8:25.

 

[Koolau]

I buy used and then change the oil every couple of years (less than 5000 miles.) IF and I do me "if" doing it this way shortens the life of my used car, It will probably die on me at 140,000 miles when it will be (wait for it) 25 years old. IOW Preventive maintenance costs money. I make the mental calculation that saving $25/time (or more) on rotating tires or $100/time for an oil change will not materially shorten the life of my tires/car. Back in the day, I did it all by the book, but then I was driving 25K/year. YMMV

 

[badatmath]

I do every scheduled maintenance on my cars, without fail. Cars last forever if you do the maintenance.

My cars seem to last pretty well without them though I suppose that depends on how long you want it to work and how much you drive. Also I run over nails in the road and destroy tires often enough I hardly ever rotate them anymore since it seems they don't last either way.

As it happens I have a new unrelated car problem (check engine light - already had the code checked and replace gas cap and nope) so I should have kept my mouth shut before starting this thread! I will get to see how much fun this one will be!

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I do what the owners manual says and no more, some I do myself like cabin and engine air filters, wipers, etc. I always ignore what dealers service departments recommend, I haven’t seen one yet that didn’t include all sorts of unnecessary service - despite what they say…

That's the best advice anyone can get. Follow it!

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Ford's recommended service interval for the 10-speed transmission in my Ranger is fluid and filter every 150,000 miles. I think I'll set my own schedule, considering the transmission's somewwhat troubled history.

 

[ERD50]

The calculus for this changes when getting a set of tires would double the value of your car. ....my old Honda Accord is worth so little. It's a salvage title because someone gave me a gentle "tap", which totalled it. ...

But the value of that car is not just what someone would pay you for it, it is the cost to replace it.

So (making up numbers), say you can only get $400 scrap price for the car, and new tires are $400. The real question is - what would a replacement car with new tires cost you? Probably more than $800, right?

HA! I'd love to change my cabin filter, but unlike my Toyota, this stupid American-made car I have right now has made it impossible for the average non-expert. You have to remove the glove box entirely and mess with the airbag and other critical wiring just to get to it. I tried you-tubing several videos and they all say and show the same thing.

I then got a mechanic's estimate to change it- $150. Nope.

Will just breathe the existing cabin air, since I drive very little.

Wow, what model/year is it? I know some things can be crazy difficult on some cars, but I've never heard of a cabin filter that took much effort at all. I would not want to mess with anything air bag related.

-ERD50

 

[sengsational]

But the value of that car is not just what someone would pay you for it, it is the cost to replace it.

So (making up numbers), say you can only get $400 scrap price for the car, and new tires are $400. The real question is - what would a replacement car with new tires cost you? Probably more than $800, right?

Yes, certainly. That's because the blue book and cousins are so wrong with older, well maintained cars. My car has always been kept in the garage and is low mileage for it's age. Everything is clean and works. 100% reliable to date. If I found my same car at a used car lot, it would be at least twice what the blue book said, and probably would have hidden problems. The devil I know, which is why I wrestled it back from the collision center who inflated the repair estimate to allow it to be considered 'totaled', and give themselves a cream-puff to sell at a hefty profit. Sorry Charlie, I'm keeping my car! And the $5K check from the insurance company was a nice perk for my trouble. I ought to thank that person who gave me the totaling tap, LOL!

 

[Koolau]

My cars seem to last pretty well without them though I suppose that depends on how long you want it to work and how much you drive. Also I run over nails in the road and destroy tires often enough I hardly ever rotate them anymore since it seems they don't last either way.

As it happens I have a new unrelated car problem (check engine light - already had the code checked and replace gas cap and nope) so I should have kept my mouth shut before starting this thread! I will get to see how much fun this one will be!

Yeah, I drove a car for 60K with the code suggesting the gas cap - but it could have been any one of 30 other things IIRC. Never had a problem in the fuel system - until the fuel pump quit. THAT was expensive. But the tranny finally gave out which killed the car. Engine light was still on.

 

[timeismine]

Late Comment, Slightly Different Take

I follow the manufacturers' and dealers' recommendations for a "buy and hold, drive them into the ground" strategy. Having purchased multiple cars from the same small town dealership, and worked with the same service department for over 10 years, I like that they "find things" before they break. It is my wife's car, and I do not want her or any of the kids stuck on the road if at all possible. Once something is found, we have a back-and-forth risk discussion, and negotiate what to do immediately, and what can be put off.

 

[Koolau]

I follow the manufacturers' and dealers' recommendations for a "buy and hold, drive them into the ground" strategy. Having purchased multiple cars from the same small town dealership, and worked with the same service department for over 10 years, I like that they "find things" before they break. It is my wife's car, and I do not want her or any of the kids stuck on the road if at all possible. Once something is found, we have a back-and-forth risk discussion, and negotiate what to do immediately, and what can be put off.

I do the same thing with my independent mechanic shop. I've never had much luck with dealerships. IF they even do the w*rk, it's rarely right the first time - especially if it's not a "paid" j*b. IOW my experience is that dealership shops try to wear you down. Eventually, you get tired of bringing the car in.

Of course, I only buy used, so there are no issues of "warranty w*rk." YMMV

 

[badatmath]

Yeah, I drove a car for 60K with the code suggesting the gas cap - but it could have been any one of 30 other things IIRC. Never had a problem in the fuel system - until the fuel pump quit. THAT was expensive. But the tranny finally gave out which killed the car. Engine light was still on.

You must not have required emissions to pass. Automatic fail if check engine light is on. But replacing the gas cap may have fixed . . . . Parts stores will read the codes for free FWIW if you didn't know that.

 

[Koolau]

You must not have required emissions to pass. Automatic fail if check engine light is on. But replacing the gas cap may have fixed . . . . Parts stores will read the codes for free FWIW if you didn't know that.

Actually, we do not have an emissions test here in the Islands. I DID take the car in for a "reading" of the code. There were (IIRC) something like 20 things that it COULD have been. The easy one was the gas cap. I changed that out and it didn't help. The "guess" by the shop to run down all the "emission" possibilities was something like $600 - and that didn't count fixing what ever it turned out to be. On that basis, I just let it go. I never noticed any real issues with the way the car ran or "smelled", etc. So, who knows what it was? YMMV

 

[Mark2024]

Our car will alert us about the scheduled maintenance and we follow that most of the time. The next item is a spark plus replacement and the quote is $600 to $900 for 6 plugs. I am thinking of doing that myself. The plug is only at about $20 each on Amazon.

 

[TheWizard]

Our car will alert us about the scheduled maintenance and we follow that most of the time. The next item is a spark plus replacement and the quote is $600 to $900 for 6 plugs. I am thinking of doing that myself. The plug is only at about $20 each on Amazon.

$900 for spark plugs, wowza.
I never put new plugs in my 08 Mustang and it ran fine til I traded it for a new one last November...

 

[Koolau]

Our car will alert us about the scheduled maintenance and we follow that most of the time. The next item is a spark plus replacement and the quote is $600 to $900 for 6 plugs. I am thinking of doing that myself. The plug is only at about $20 each on Amazon.

Yeah, unless you have to change other stuff (like maybe a timing chain) I'd only change out spark plugs if the gas mileage had gone down - a LOT! YMMV

 

[Mark2024]

Yeah, unless you have to change other stuff (like maybe a timing chain) I'd only change out spark plugs if the gas mileage had gone down - a LOT! YMMV

the manual says changing spark plugs every 50K miles. We only drive 5 to 7 k miles a year. really not notice any performance difference.

 

[ERD50]

$900 for spark plugs, wowza.
I never put new plugs in my 08 Mustang and it ran fine til I traded it for a new one last November...

Depends on the car, but a plug change can be pretty easy. I only do the most basic car stuff anymore (air filter, cabin filter, inspect fluids, belts, etc), but I've changed plugs on a couple 4 cyl cars, and it was really easy. They are right up front, no digging around. Might need to remove a cover or something. A V6 or V8 can be challenging, some plugs may be hard to very, very hard get to.

edit - I just saw that the person you replied to (Mark2024 in post #92) has a 6 cyl. Could tough, check youtube, but he might want to leave the swearing to a mechanic!

the manual says changing spark plugs every 50K miles. We only drive 5 to 7 k miles a year. really not notice any performance difference.

A mechanic I used, who seemed to be a straight shooter, told me that the check engine light will detect any misfiring spark plugs well before you notice it. Probably true in most cases. So unless I got the CEL, or noticed mpg drop (which would probably only be after the CEL came on), I'd stretch it.

That's a safe case (IMO) of - If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It!

-ERD50

 

[ncbill]

Actually, we do not have an emissions test here in the Islands. I DID take the car in for a "reading" of the code. There were (IIRC) something like 20 things that it COULD have been. The easy one was the gas cap. I changed that out and it didn't help. The "guess" by the shop to run down all the "emission" possibilities was something like $600 - and that didn't count fixing what ever it turned out to be. On that basis, I just let it go. I never noticed any real issues with the way the car ran or "smelled", etc. So, who knows what it was? YMMV

Yep, most codes where you don't notice anything while driving will be emission-related & so no big deal if your locality doesn't require emissions testing.

Here emissions testing will end within the next couple of years.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

One thing about "extended life" plugs: You have dissimilar metals in contact, steel plugs in an aluminum head. That can produce corrosion and cause plugs to seize up in the head. Ford had a problem with plugs breaking off in their Triton V8. I plan to loosen and retorque the plugs in my truck at 50k miles. It's just an easy preventive measure.
Here's an article about removing a broken plug that shows the potential condition. https://www.championautoparts.com/Technical/Tech-Tips/Removing-Broken-Spark-Plug.html

 

[bjorn2bwild]

One thing about "extended life" plugs: You have dissimilar metals in contact, steel plugs in an aluminum head. That can produce corrosion and cause plugs to seize up in the head. Ford had a problem with plugs breaking off in their Triton V8. I plan to loosen and retorque the plugs in my truck at 50k miles. It's just an easy preventive measure.
Here's an article about removing a broken plug that shows the potential condition. https://www.championautoparts.com/Technical/Tech-Tips/Removing-Broken-Spark-Plug.html

I tend to keep my vehicles a long time, so view this as an opportunity to inspect the engine condition.
I usually pull and 'read' the plug at about the 50k mile interval, clean or replace, then brush some high temp anti-seize compound on the threads before installing.
And I usually scope the bore for good measure.

 

[misanman]

Check engine light came on shortly after a dealer oil change. I used my code reader to check the code. The code reader links to my phone using blue tooth and the phone app links to possible diagnosis on the web. My code indicated possible overfill on oil level or dip stick not pushed down completely. I reset the code and checked the oil level (it might have been a bit above the "full" mark) and pushed the dip stick down fully. Problem solved.