What’s all the hype about preventative maintenance?

This is one case where the hype is not just sales talk. If you want your car to last for the long haul, without incurring major repair bills, you have to take care of it. Next to a house, a car is the second biggest purchase most people make. It makes sense to protect such a large investment.

It's true, it does cost a lot to properly maintain a car. But it cost a whole lot more to fix the things that break when you don't maintain it! It may cost $25 or $30 to change the oil, but it can cost $4,000 or $8,000 to change the engine! The importance of changing oil, and other maintenance items cannot be exaggerated. If you want to get your money's worth from your car, you have to maintain it. New or used, a car will cost you less overall if you spend a little more on maintenance. The chart below does the math for you. You can compare overall maintenance costs vs. the cost to repair.

Maintenance Cost vs. Repair Cost Here is a list of suggested maintenance with its approximate cost. Shown also is the system that is damaged by neglecting the maintenance, and the approximate cost of repairing that system.

Maintenance item	Cost each time	Increase mpg & performance	Prevents breakdown	Cost over 100,000 miles	Interval-1,000s	System or component protected	Cost to repair system or components
Change Engine oil and filter	$30-45	Some	Yes	$800-1500	3k	Engine	$4,000-8,000
Transmission Service	$50-130		Yes	$200-540	24k	Transmission or transaxle	$2,000-5,000
Replace Timing Belt	$250-700		Yes	$250-700	60k	Engine- If it is an interference fit	$2,000-3,000
Clean fuel air system	$75-125	Yes	Some	$400	24k	Less pollution, better performance and idle quality	Increase from 20 to 22 mpg saves $630 @$1.39/gal
Ignition Tune-up, plugs, wires cap and rotor	$60-400	Yes	Yes	$300-500	24-60k	Required for proper performance- protects catalytic converter, etc…	Mpg savings at least as above + $400-800 in repairs
Pack wheel bearings	$130		Yes	$350	36k	Hub & spindle	$500-700
Fuel filter	$60-80	Yes	Yes	$210	36k	Fuel pump, engine and performance	$400-1,000
Service differential	$85-100		Yes	$275	36k	Differential, RWD wheel bearings	$300-1,800
Flush brake fluid	$100-150		Yes	$350	36k	Master cylinder, wheel cylinders, calipers, ABS unit	$800-2,000
Replace drive belts and coolant hoses	$2-500		Yes	$200-500	60k	Prevents breakdowns and possible overheating	If engine overheats from blown hose $2,000-8,000
Flush power steering	$100		Yes	$275	36k	Power steering rack and pump	$800-1,500+
Cooling system flush	$60		Yes	$250	24k	Radiator, heater core, engine freeze plugs, intake manifolds, etc	$1,000-2,000+
Service Battery	$16		Yes	$44	36k	Starter, alternator	$300-800

The total maintenance cost over 100,000 miles is $3674 to $5224. That works out to 3.6 to 5.2 cents a mile. At 12,000 miles a year that’s only $440 to $626 for a year, or about $36 to $52 a month. That’s not much to protect your investment, and help prevent costly and inconvenient breakdowns. All of those systems may not breakdown, but if they did the total costs for repairs would be $15,130 to $27,230 - the cost of a brand new car!


548-CARS (757-548-2277)
1014 Bells Mill Rd. Chesapeake, VA 23322

Located off of Cedar Road in Great Bridge.

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There are 2 auto repair shops near each other on Bells Mill Road, please be sure to look for the big CarScope sign.

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