Davco Performance Automotive | Syracuse, New York

:: Expert Advice

Tips for Maintaining Your Vehicle

Many customers ask us, "How can I best maintain my vehicle?" and "What are the most important things to do if I'm on a tight budget?"

First, to answer this question accurately, it is necessary to know the year and make of your vehicle and it's maintenance history thus far. But, speaking generally, we will list a few of the most important as follows:

Change your engine oil frequently! How frequently? Well, your car manufacturer typically recommends any where from every 3,000 to as much as 10,000 miles.
We recommend every 3,000 miles if you use conventional motor oil and every 4,500 miles if you use synthetic. Our own experience and testing has shown this to be the best balance of cost versus benefit. If you go longer intervals, your fuel mileage begins to drop-off and engine-wear increases.
We realize many car manufacturers allow longer intervals and still maintain your power-train warranty. There in lies the problem. Do you want your car to last longer than it is warranted? Most people do. You quite likely could get your car through the warranty period without changing the oil at all! Car manufacturers are most interested in protecting their markets. They want to keep selling new cars. They also want to drive down the expected cost of ownership to stay competitive in the market place.
So when you see an oil change interval of 10,000 miles and think "boy that's great." Think again and ask yourself how and why are they able to do that! When your engine blows at 110,000 miles yet could have lasted 300,000 you begin to understand the motives of built-in obsolescence. Or you could just go out and buy that next new car with that nice fat new payment book and continue the cycle.

Studies of our customers show it costs approximately $150.00 per month, average over a four-year period to maintain your car. This includes one major repair such as engine, transmission or other repair as well as brakes, tires, oil and other maintenance and fluid changes. Maintaining and repairing your current vehicle is almost always less costly then replacing it. It certainly is much less than $300 to $500 or more per month for a new car.

So what else can I do to get the most life out of my car keeping cost of ownership down but still maintaining its reliability?

Change your engine oil
Keep your tires properly inflated, inspect the tread and sidewalls for uneven wear and bulges
Have your brakes checked twice a year in the fall and spring to minimize the effects of winter road salt etc. Front brakes should last 12,000 to 40,000 miles depending on driving conditions. Rear brakes usually last twice as long as the front.
Change or flush your automatic transmission every 30,000 miles (manual trans and differential every 50,000 miles)
Have your belts, hoses and battery terminals checked at every oil change.
Have your tires rotated every 5,000 miles or at each oil change.
Have complete vehicle inspection, evaluation and check annually: including an under-car inspection computer-scan and, under-hood evaluation with test-drive by a certified technician. Please, don't confuse this with a New York State safety and enhanced emission inspection NYSI. This is far more in depth and thorough in regards to vehicle safety and reliability
Replace your wiper blades annually (or seasonally if you use winter and summer blades.) In this area Central New York we recommend all season composite blades that last many years and do not require seasonal change as well as dramatically increasing your visibility in rain, snow, and sleet (no more streaking).
Replace struts and shocks at least every 100,000 miles (or sooner if necessary).
Replace oxygen/air-fuel sensors every 100,000 miles (or sooner if necessary).
Have a four-wheel alignment performed whenever tires are replaced or when steering or suspension components are replaced. Check with your repair facility for details this may not always be necessary.
Replace fuel filter at every tune up and replace plugs every two years to avoid corrosion and ceasing to cylinder head.
Flush your cooling system every 2 years or 30,000 miles. This helps prevent the coolant from degrading and corrosively attacking things like head gaskets, water pump seals and intake gaskets.
Tune-ups are really a thing of the past. Cars no longer have points. Sparkplugs should be changed or removed and checked separately as indicated above because of the corrosion factor caused by Central New York road salt. If anything really constitutes a "tune-up" in our belief today it would be the annual check and scan mentioned above and what comes out of that in the way of work needing to be performed. Nevertheless, we do offer a tune up service: which is changing your plugs, cap and rotor (if your car actually still has them) and air filter. Ignition cables (if your car still has them) and the labor to install them are extra and vary from car to car. See our pricing on our Services page.
Finally and probably most important to maintaining your vehicle properly and in the most cost effective way is to find an honest, reliable, experienced repair shop with the proper equipment and expertise to properly fix your car and do it right the first time. Today's vehicles are far too complex and require too much specialized knowledge for the "do it yourselfer" or the "Shade Tree Mechanic" to accurately handle. Those days are now over.

We at DAVCO PERFORMANCE realize we are not the only reliable, experienced repair shop in the area. But, we do believe we offer a unique combination of expertise and personalized service where we get to know you and your car well. We do that with integrity, reasonable, honest pricing and a genuine concern and pride in the work we do, with the attitude that we are willing to earn your business not just take your money!

If you are on a tight budget, we understand that. Many of us are in these difficult economic times. We are happy to work with you and prioritize your vehicle's repairs. We can help get you back on track with maintenance if need be slowly, as your budget can afford.

Above all, if you can afford to do nothing else, change that engine oil! It is very inexpensive insurance against big repair bills!

Lastly, we strive to keep our customers on the upper end of the maintenance curve. By doing, that they know what is coming in the way of repairs and they can plan ahead and avoid costly unexpected repairs. Above all, do not drive around waiting for something to break, because it will and usually does at the most inopportune times. Realistically, waiting until your car actually does breakdown costs a lot more than repairing it before it does, because the damage is more severe. It usually involves components that would not need to be replaced otherwise.