Posted: November 12, 2020
I take my vehicles to a shop to get the maintenance done. I’m bad with mechanical engineering, and I don’t have the space for tools.
Knowing what maintenance is needed
This can be tricky, especially on an older vehicle without records. Generally the owner’s manual for your vehicle will contain a comprehensive list (not including unexpected repairs).
Some maintenance items, like replacing the water pump, are particularly important:
- It’s an expensive service (generally $300-$600 depending on the vehicle)
- It only needs to be done rarely (100k miles or so)
- There’s no way to tell if it needs to be done without doing most of the work, ie getting access to the pump IS the expensive part
- If you don’t replace it on time, it will blow your engine, costing thousands
When purchasing a used vehicle with over 100k miles, see if there’s a verifiable record of these services being performed. If not, negotiate appropriately, expand your budget, or walk away.
Making a list
I like to make my own list of all expected maintenance items after doing my research:
- It keeps all of the reminders in one place, so I don’t forget any
- It allows me to check them off as they occur, doubling as a log
- It ensures accuracy for my particular vehicle
Basically it’s a big list with the following fields:
- Type of service
- Mileage to perform service
- Date to perform service
The date field is for maintenance items that need to be done after a certain time interval, regardless of mileage: eg an oil change should be done every 12 months on most cars, even if driven infrequently.
I also like to add recommended service intervals at the top of the page, so when I change my oil, I can put the next oil change on the list without having to reference the owner’s manual.
Keeping receipts
I keep all of my maintenance receipts in individual manila file folders labeled with the year, make, and model of the vehicle. This way I have a provable record of maintenance when I go to sell the vehicle.
It also serves as a reference of exactly what was done, as most shops will print an itemized invoice with detailed inspection report, parts used, etc.