June Car Month: Maintenance? Not at the $tealership
Car manufacturers and car sales people love to say car maintenance is very complicated and difficult to do. If you do a little bing or google searching, maybe watch a few videos, it becomes very clear and easy to do.
You shouldn't take your vehicle to a dealership for routine maintenance. Unless you own a shitty smart car, which requires a vacuum pump to drain the oil, there is no real reason to have someone look and work on your car.
Independent mechanics are a better choice. Not only do they provide cheaper labor, but when you find a reputable one, stay with them for life. Changing the oil, doing brake jobs, simple tune-ups, is not rocket science.
A dealership will always charge more than any independent mechanic for this work. They have a large overhead and will usually try to sell you extras you don't need.
Probably worse than a dealership are the quick-oil-change companies. Mister Lube, Midas, Canadian Tire, even Walmart will try to sell you useless things like transmission oil or engine oil flushes. A complete and total waste of money. Some of the maintenance they may suggest may even void your new car warranty.
Repair and Maintenance - Car Talk
Is a good place to post questions and read up on problems people have with their vehicles. You can learn alot from automotive forums. Join a forum which covers your car model. You'll get useful advice on a wide variety of situations.
But before tackling any job make sure you are working in a safe environment. You don't want to try and save $50 and end up having your car or truck roll over you. Work safe.
You shouldn't take your vehicle to a dealership for routine maintenance. Unless you own a shitty smart car, which requires a vacuum pump to drain the oil, there is no real reason to have someone look and work on your car.
Independent mechanics are a better choice. Not only do they provide cheaper labor, but when you find a reputable one, stay with them for life. Changing the oil, doing brake jobs, simple tune-ups, is not rocket science.
A dealership will always charge more than any independent mechanic for this work. They have a large overhead and will usually try to sell you extras you don't need.
Probably worse than a dealership are the quick-oil-change companies. Mister Lube, Midas, Canadian Tire, even Walmart will try to sell you useless things like transmission oil or engine oil flushes. A complete and total waste of money. Some of the maintenance they may suggest may even void your new car warranty.
Repair and Maintenance - Car Talk
Is a good place to post questions and read up on problems people have with their vehicles. You can learn alot from automotive forums. Join a forum which covers your car model. You'll get useful advice on a wide variety of situations.
But before tackling any job make sure you are working in a safe environment. You don't want to try and save $50 and end up having your car or truck roll over you. Work safe.
Comments