car maintenance

while i’m never a big fan of forwards, my dad sent me this craptastic video about taking your car to jiffylube. if you’ve ever needed a reason to NOT go to a jiffylube, here it is.

cars today are technological marvels. while they are becoming more and more reliable, they still require routine maintenance. so what can the busy ybp do to avoide the pitfalls of routine car maintenance? here a few helpful tips:

1. never get anything you don’t need. change your oil every 3000 miles. unless the other services are free, getting new air filters, fuel filters, transmission fluid, etc. is not necessary. also be sure to actually read the user manual. if you own a sports car or luxury car that requires special synthetic oil, the manual will tell you the recommended mileage intervals.
2. obviously, stay away from jiffy lube.
3. if you have to go to a quick stop shop, stay with the shops named after companies that make oil, like penzoil and mobile 1.
4. go to autozone and ask questions. if you don’t know something, ask someone who may know something about it. while autozone is obviously selling you something, they have a good reputation because they typically don’t try to sell service. asking service questions while buying some car wash utilities can go a long way.
5. ask family, especially the older ones. wisdom is a fleeting trait in today’s black family. use it.

if you still are a little uneasy about trying to keep up with all of your automobile needs, like tires, alignments, timing belt repairs, etc., it is also wise to invest in a warranty program. be sure to get as many details as you can about the program. many times, the premiums will be expensive, but it may be worth knowing that you can always take your car in to the stearlership dealership and have them fix anything that could happen. a lot of times, if you make friends, you have a better chance of more reliable service. even if you don’t make friends, don’t be afraid to threaten to take legal or public action for fixes that were promised upfront but not done.

for the diy’ers out there, check out this beginner’s article. the best advice is to join a autoclub enthusiasts group of people who own the same model and ask as many questions as possible! honest and straightforward advice is going to come from the petrol heads who love their cars more than food.