Having the oil changed by a professional is one of your most important car maintenance chores. To find out how often you should do this for your car, check your owner's manual. Typically, it's every six months or 5,000 miles (whichever comes first), but it can vary depending on the vehicle and oil additives.
What does regular car maintenance include? On a regular basis, you should bring your car in for a car tune up as well as replace consumable items such as motor oil, radiator coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid, wiper blades and brake pads.
According to Cars.com, the average cost of car repairs typically ranges from $300 to $500. While this is a good estimate, the real number depends on many different factors: the issue itself, the make of the car, your geographical location, how long you let the issue go before getting maintenance done and more.
If the cost of repairs exceeds the car's value, it's probably best to get a new car instead. Sometimes, when a car with high mileage needs a significant repair or if your car is totaled, you might consider replacing it with a new or used vehicle.
1. Warning Lights. A warning or check engine light is the most common issue for US car, truck and SUV owners. These lights illuminate when the vehicle's ECU (engine control unit) detects an error code triggered by a sensor.
1. The engine. The most expensive part to repair is the car engine. Replacement of a car engine can cost upwards of $10,000 in a small car and even more in a truck or SUV.
1. Oil filter. No matter what type or model of vehicle you own, the part you'll need to replace the most often is the oil filter. The lubrication system is critical to the proper operation of any internal combustion engine.
Off-road maker Jeep has been named the most unreliable car manufacturer following a survey of nearly 25,000 owners.
Estimating the life of your car
If you're driving a car that's less than 12 years old and is within its first 150,000 miles, it likely still has some life left in it if you've kept up on its maintenance. Depending on the car's value, repairing it might be worth the money to keep it going for a few more years.
The report found that Lexus and Toyota make the most reliable cars, while Jeep and Mercedes-Benz make the ones you can depend on least. But those rankings reflect an average of all the cars each manufacturer builds. There can still be variation within any one brand.
Generally speaking, it is almost always less expensive to repair a car than buy a new one. Even something as severe as an engine or transmission rebuild will cost you roughly $1,200 to $5,000 — far less than buying a new car.
Labor costs have climbed over the past few years. Cars have become more advanced and shops need more expensive equipment to work on them. Manufacturers make modern cars out of new materials that will save you money at the gas pump but can cost more for repairs and body damage.
Choose a clean, dry garage or storage facility, as damp air can cause rusting. Ideally, store your car in a climate-controlled facility. Fill the gas tank completely full. An empty or low gas tank will lead to internal rust as condensation and moisture builds within the tank.
It is recommended to get your oil changed at least twice a year, even if you haven't driven those thousands of miles that are normally recommended. Oil, like anything, degrades over time, and if you have oil degrading in your engine for months and months and months, that's not good for your vehicle.
Typically, your car can sit about four weeks to two months without driving before the battery dies. The reason your car can sit only for so long before it dies is the fact that your car battery is in use even when you're not behind the wheel.