Used Car Maintenance 101: Don’t Neglect Regular Maintenance

It’s easy to fall into the bad habit of neglecting regular vehicle maintenance due to the initial cost of the service or just a busy day-to-day life, in general. But regular maintenance 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 break that bad habit.

Oil Changes

Why It’s Important

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.

Why It Requires Maintenance

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.

Initial Cost of Service

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.

However, at Integrity Auto Finance, we know money can be tight, and we’ll never try to upsell you for something that isn’t needed. And, Integrity offers oil changes for only $14.95!

The Danger of Neglect

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

Why It’s Important

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.

Why It Requires Maintenance

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.

Initial Cost of Service

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.

The Danger of Neglect

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 $1000. 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.