The True Cost of Not Maintaining Your Car

People on tight budgets are often tempted to skip some routine
car maintenance services, or at least to delay an appointment with the
auto shop.

However, poorly maintained vehicles cause thousands of wrecks
each year. The bill for accidents resulting from unperformed vehicle
maintenance tops $2 billion a year, according to the Car Care Council,
an advocacy group based in Bethesda, Md.

Even if you are lucky enough to avoid a crash, putting off
maintenance is likely to reduce your car's lifespan.

"If you don't maintain your car, you're taking a vehicle that
might have been driven for 200,000 miles over its life, and you're
knocking it down to maybe 150,000 miles," says Philip Reed, author of
the "Strategies for Smart Car Buyers" blog
at Edmunds.com.

6 Car maintenance must-dos

The true cost of not maintaining your vehicle can include
hefty repair bills for bad brakes, failed emissions tests and maybe
even a failed engine. Following is a list of some common maintenance
requirements for automobiles and the costly problems that can occur if
they aren't completed:

1. Consistent oil changes

Regular oil changes help keep your engine clean and
lubricated, says Deanna Sclar, author of "Auto Repair for Dummies."

"Oil cuts down on the friction that can literally wear away
the parts of the engine," she says. "One of the most important
maintenance-related things you can do is change your oil frequently."

There is some debate about how often drivers should change
their oil. Many car experts recommend getting the work done every 3,000
miles or three months, especially if you often drive in stop-and-go
traffic or your car idles for long periods of time.

However, some car manufacturers recommend longer intervals
between oil changes. The safest advice is to follow the manufacturer's
recommendations for your specific car.

"The definitive answer is to check your owner's manual," says
Vyvyan Lynn, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Auto Repair."

"Few people read their owner's guide, but it's golden."

Cost
of skipping: Potential engine failure.

2. Tire rotations, air pressure checks and tire
alignment

Rotating tires -- switching the tire position from front to
rear and vice versa -- helps them wear equally. A tire rotation should
generally be done every 6,000 miles, or as often as the car
manufacturer recommends.

In addition to having tires rotated, check to make sure tires
are
properly inflated at the pressure specified in the owner's manual. This
prevents unnecessary wear and helps extend tire life.

"It costs barely anything to make sure
your tires are properly inflated, and air is practically free," says
Steven Eppinger, president and CEO of Ownersite.com, a Web site that
helps car owners track their maintenance histories. "Your car will be
safer, your tires will last longer and you will get better gas mileage.
You get all of this for just taking a couple of minutes each week to
check tire pressure. With gas prices close to $4 a gallon in some
places, that kind of savings can add up quickly."

The
Car Care Council also recommends getting your tires aligned once a
year. A tire alignment adjusts your vehicle's steering and suspension
so that it's in line with your car manufacturer's specifications.

Cost of
skipping: Excessive tire wear and poor gas mileage.

3. Replace timing belt at recommended
intervals

Not
all vehicles use timing belts, but many of today's engines do. Your
car manual will tell you whether your car has one, and if so, when it
needs to be replaced.

If
the timing belt fails, the engine will cut off and the car will slow
down until it stops, according to the Car Care Council. A lucky car
will only require a belt repair. An unlucky car could suffer severe
engine damage.

"I'm dealing with a
situation where a customer drove their car for 90,000 miles without
ever having the timing belt replaced, even though the car manufacturer
suggested changing it at the 60,000 mile mark," says Eric Currin, a
mechanic in Georgia.

"The timing belt
slipped in three places. The car cut off. When the customer tried to
restart the car, they bent several valves. So what would have been a
$600 job to replace the timing belt has turned out to be a $2,000 job
to replace the belt, valves and other related parts."

Cost of
skipping: Damaged valves and pistons.

4. Annual brake checkup

Brake disc pads and shoes
eventually wear down. Checking your brakes
annually allows you to plan ahead and know when it's time to replace
them. By contrast, neglecting regular brake work could eventually lead
to more costly rotor or drum replacements.

"If you ignore your brakes, then
you'll just continue to wear down your discs (the friction part of the
brakes that wear with normal driving)," says Reed. "If the discs go
down metal-to-metal, you could gouge your rotors. Then, what would have
been a $150 brake job (to replace discs) could turn into a $300 brake
job to replace rotors."

Brake inspections can also help a
technician identify a problem that doesn't involve brake disc pads at
all.

"There could be a lack of brake fluid or a
leak in the master cylinder that's under the hood," says Sclar.

You might never know unless you have the
brakes checked.

Cost of
skipping: Expensive rotor or drum replacement.

5. Replacing PCV valve regularly

The
positive crankcase ventilation, or PCV, system helps regulate the flow
of fumes around the engine. It includes hoses as well as a PCV valve,
which should be replaced at recommended intervals.

"The PCV valve helps protect the seals and
gaskets on
an engine. It keeps them from getting corroded and cracked, which can
cause oil to leak," says Currin. "The cost for a replacement PCV valve
is just a few dollars, plus a minimal cost of labor to install it. But
if you don't get it replaced when necessary, the seals could leak.

"If
you do have a leak, it costs over a hundred bucks to replace a valve
cover gasket. If it gets really bad and the head gasket starts to leak,
you could be faced with thousands of dollars for repair bills."

Cost of
skipping: Leaking head gasket, failed emissions test.

6. Changing spark plugs and filters

Do
you live in a state that requires your car to pass an emissions
test? If so, failing to maintain your car could lead to a huge repair
bill to bring the vehicle into compliance.

"The average repair bill is somewhere
between $335 to $350 to fix a problem that causes an emissions test to
fail," says Rich Parlontieri, chief executive officer of
Speedemissions, a vehicle emissions testing/safety inspection company
with stations in Salt Lake City, Houston and Atlanta. "Common causes of
failed emissions tests include faulty oxygen sensors, air flow monitors
and catalytic converters."

States
may require drivers to pay well over $700 to attempt to fix their own
cars before the state finally grants them a waiver to bypass the
emissions test, Parlontieri says. Basic maintenance can prevent many of
these problems from occurring in the first place.

"The
best way to improve the odds of passing an emissions test is to
maintain your vehicle. A well-maintained engine is usually a clean
engine as far as emissions are concerned," says Parlontieri.

Basic
maintenance includes changing the spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter,
PCV valve and oil regularly, Parlontieri says. Checking ignition timing
and adjusting the carburetor (if you have an older vehicle) can reduce
emissions and greatly improve the odds of passing an emissions check.

"It's
amazing what following the maintenance schedule in the owner's manual
can do for a car when it comes time to take the test," says Parlontieri.

Bad emissions also involve an
environmental cost that we pay in the air we breathe.

"When you fail a test, it means your car
is creating a lot of pollution," says Parlontieri.

Cost of
skipping: Damaged catalytic converter, failed emissions test.

Getting the best deal

It's a mistake
to delay routine maintenance simply because your budget is tight, Reed
says. Instead, he recommends learning more about your car's basic
maintenance requirements before you take the car to the shop.

"I don't want to tell anybody to skip
anything. Instead, the best way to save money when you're going to get
your car serviced is to know exactly what's required, and have that
done and nothing more," he says.

People who know little about their cars
sometimes are persuaded to undertake repairs that may not be necessary,
Reed says.

"I recently took my truck in to be
serviced, but before I went, I looked online and saw that the estimated
cost should be $152," Reed says. "When I went in, the service person
tried to recommend that I get extra work done that would bring the
total to $382. I challenged him, and he literally tossed the higher
estimate in the trash and told me I was right. He did that because I
did the research and had the verification."

Lynn
agrees that a car owner can save money simply by knowing what routine
maintenance is required on the car and when the maintenance is
scheduled.

Another way to stretch your dollars is to
find a good, trustworthy mechanic, she says.

"There
is a fear factor people have when it comes to taking their car to the
shop," says Lynn. "To get over the fear, you've got to find an auto
repair shop that you're comfortable with. Get recommendations from
friends. Then, ask the mechanic about his or her credentials."

Following
your car manufacturer's recommendations for oil changes, tire rotations
and routine checkups requires relatively little upfront cost. However,
the benefits can pay off in the long run with better fuel economy, an
engine that runs well and a longer car life.

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