Car hypochondriac?

[Pop_Rivit]

I do enough to keep the car safe and reliable. I purchase vehicles so they can serve my needs; I'm not purchasing them in order to excessively maintain them.

The last couple of decades maintenance has become much, much easier. There are no points and condenser to change, no timing to mess with, no fussy carburetors to worry about, and even conventional oil is so good that for most people there's no need for synthetic for longer oil change intervals.

If anything, after reviewing the data on BITOG, I've reinforced my belief that I don't need to spend time and money doing frequent maintenance, and I don't need to spend a lot of money to get the same service life from a vehicle that people who over maintain their vehicles do. I much prefer to invest that money in ways that will financially reward me, not my vehicles.

 

[The_Jeff]

Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
I used to be anal. Now I do just enough to keep my car's "healthy" and safe to drive. I buy 'em and practically run them into the ground.

Because of BITOG I now: Use less oil and filters; change my air filter's about half as often (if that); and save myself time and money. Well, at least money. I spend too much time on the board to call it a savings!


That's pretty much me too. I'm more anal than most of john q public over brake fluid, coolant, and ATF though. Also rust and tire issues I try to stay on top of more than your average idiot.

This philosophy is also kind of spelled out in this torque thread.

 

[rjundi]

I over maintain vehicles I like, my wife's 2005 Legacy turbo wagon with 130k miles relatively problem free.

However our family rig Acura MDX I simply do what it tells me and not worry about it. As nice as my used MDX is I cannot imagine keeping it more than 3-4 years as fuel prices rise or if my commuting situation(telecommuter 100%-none) changes.

Basically put, not much love for my first and hopefully last SUV(needed 7 passenger capacity & AWD).