3 Ways To Reduce Your Car Service Costs

Cars that are properly maintained can serve their owners for a long time. However, unless you take proper precautions, your annual service costs can be very high. It is therefore essential to take steps to reduce your annual garage bill. Below are several tips that will enable you to reduce the amount of money you spend on car servicing.

Follow the Owner's Manual

When purchasing a car, you are usually given an owner's manual. This includes instructions that will guide you in maintaining your car. An example of the information included relates to the spark plugs. The manual can state that the spark plugs should only be changed after 10000 kilometres. If you insist on changing them before this duration has elapsed, you will be incurring additional expenses that are not needed. The manual should also guide you on basic issues such as how soon the oil needs to be changed. Some of these tasks, such as refilling the oil, are simple and you can carry them out by yourself.

Purchase Parts Separately

A huge part of your car service bill caters for different parts that will be replaced in the course of the year. One strategy that can help you to reduce this expense is to purchase the parts separately. This will enable you to compare the various options that are available in the market and their costs. You can ask your mechanic for specifications about the parts, such as an air filter, and a list of reputable shops where it can be found. Alternatively, you can ask the mechanic to tag along. That way, you are guaranteed of purchasing the correct part, at a lower cost compared to when you are getting it from the garage.

Avoid Taking Your Car to Random Mechanics

It is important to always take your car to reputable mechanics in case a problem arises. Ask your car dealer for a list of garages where you can take your car. In such garages, there are skilled mechanics who have received training on various car models. They are therefore in the best position to deal with any problem that you might have professionally. However, in other garages, the mechanics might not have any training relating to your make of car. Since vehicles are delicate, and any slight error can be very costly, talk to the mechanic first and see if he or she has experience working on your car's make and model.

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