Rather due to the initial cost of the service or just a busy day-to-day life, it’s easy to fall into the bad habit of neglecting regular maintenance. Regular maintenance, however, is essential to the health of your vehicle. Putting it off now can lead to big, costly problems down the road.

It’s time to stop neglecting this necessity.

Oil Changes

Your engine oil is the lifeblood of your vehicle. Its job is to keep your engine’s parts lubricated, ensuring that everything is working properly. Over time, your engine oil begins to break down, becoming contaminated with dust and debris from the engine. This results in your engine running less efficiently.

Oil changes typically cost $25-75, depending on where you take it. Even with a somewhat affordable price, many oil change shops will try to upsell you on things that you really don’t need – that’s how they make the bulk of their money.

If you’re skipping those regular oil changes, you could be in for a financial disaster. As the oil becomes contaminated and isn’t doing its job, some parts of your engine will begin to fail. This will result in costly repairs, which could range anywhere from $1000-$4000 if the entire engine has to be replaced.

Tire Care

Your tires need to be rotated, balanced, and aligned in order to extend the life of your tires, as well as keep your vehicle running as smoothly and efficiently as possible.

Tires are expensive, and you shouldn’t have to buy them more often than needed. It varies slightly with the type of tires and vehicles, but your tires should last you around 40,000 miles. Unless you’re doing a tremendous amount of driving, you should not have to replace them every year.

The cost of service varies. Many places will rotate your tires for free if that’s where you bought them initially. For the most part, this one can be easy to neglect because of the perceived hassle of taking time from a busy day to get it done.

If you’re putting off getting your tires rotated and balanced, and the tread on your tires wears too fast or unevenly, the cost of getting brand new tires can sneak up on you. You could be looking at replacing all four tires, plus balancing and alignment, all of which could cost you in the neighborhood of $1,000. If your tires need to be replaced, but aren’t, they’re a hazard and could lead to a dangerous and costly accident.

Even though it may not seem like you have the time or money to keep up with your car maintenance, it’s a good idea to make the effort. Avoiding regular maintenance can end up costing you much more in the long run. Commit to taking care of your vehicle now.