We’ve all heard that we should get our car serviced but not all of us know when this should happen or what the servicing actually entails.
The general rule of thumb for most cars is that they should be seen by a mechanic about once a year or every 12,000-15,000 miles. These regular intervals give the mechanic a chance to go over your car. Not only are they looking to make sure that everything is working properly, but they’re also looking for signs that things are wearing out or about to break. If they things like worn belts, corroded batteries and cracked parts, they’ll replace the issue.
Catching and repairing these problems early goes a long way towards decreasing the odds of your vehicle suffering a mechanical problem while you’re driving. This saves you from a great deal of aggravation/inconvenience as well as spares you from having to pay a large towing bill.
There are several things we look at during a routine service call, including:
- The vehicle’s electrical system
- How well the lights are working
- Air conditioning/heating system
- Alignment
- Engine output
- The exhaust system
- In most cases, the service appointment includes:
- Replacing the air filter
- Replacing the spark plugs
- Replacing the fuel filter
We will also test drive the vehicle and gauge its overall performance as well as if it’s making any strange noises that could be an early indicator that something isn’t quite right.
While routine servicing appointments typically happen once a year or at set mileage points, those shouldn’t be the only time you see to your vehicle’s health and wellness. In between service appointments, you should routinely have your brakes, fluid levels, suspension, tires, wipers, and steering checked out. We recommend having all of these issues looked at each time you get your oil changed.
How long the routine service appointment takes depends on what we find. If there’s nothing wrong with the vehicle, we can usually wrap things up in about an hour, but if the vehicle needs more work, we might need it for several hours, or we’ll let you know so you can arrange to drop the vehicle off at a different date.
We want you to get several years of problem-free driving from your vehicle and will do whatever we can to keep it in perfect working order. Feel free to contact us if you want to learn more about the various services we offer or for more information about what you can do to properly maintain your vehicle. We look forward to getting to know you and your vehicle!
