Reply to Car Service for Dummies

Forum Index » Cars and Transportation

Reply to "Car Service for Dummies - car barely used"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous]Your owner’s manual “should” have a discussion of low-mileage maintenance. Essentially, even cars that are not used very much need periodic oil changes;  belt, hose and tire inspections; fluid checks; coolant change; and perhaps some fuel treatment(s) to prevent gumming, water condensation, etc. Things oxidize, rust, dry out, etc., even on a seldom-used car.

Your “works” package looks like it would cover most of this.

As for where to get the work done, that’s a perennial problem. Even good shops have turnover so you can get varying results. I’ve always liked dealer maintenance because (1) if you sole-source procure they can’t blame anybody else; and  (2) their people are supposed to be better trained and experienced on that brand.  But dealerships tend to be more aggressive in recommending additional work that might be deferred, at least in my experience, and not everybody they employ is great.

If you have any warranty left the dealer is an obvious choice. Otherwise you can ask in your circle of acquaintances and/or on DCUM for specific references. I have two secondary shops I use. One of them is a guy I’ve known forever. He is honest and competent, but because he is solo he can have longer turnaround times, and he sometimes doesn’t dig too deeply (which can be an advantage and a disadvantage). The other I got referred to by a friend responsible for a small fleet of work vehicles. That one got to the bottom of a recurring issue the first one didn’t dig far enough into.

Good luck. [/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics