For those who over maintain their cars, just wanted to offer another viewpoint.

[Bill7]

I have a ‘06 Odyssey myself, bought new and I am at 218,000 miles.
I feel as though I am on top of my maintenance, but apparently not well enough as this vehicle needed more frequent oil changes than I provided. When I pulled the valve covers at 160,000 miles to do the valve adjustments, it was a sludgy mess. Following the OLM with synthetics was not enough. I guess the many years of soccer mom duty was rough on it. Lots of short trips and this is the engine with VCM.

I feel as though every effort in maintenance, trans fluid changes, timing belts, coolant, pvc, etc. was all worth it. I saved a lot by doing the maintenance myself, but if I paid someone it was maintenance well needed.

How much does it cost to prematurely lose and engine or transmission?

I am still running the van around 14,000 miles a year and need a little more out of it before I say good buy.

It it based off of your expectations of your equipment. When I buy a vehicle I need to keep it long term, like 20+ years. If I was the person who bought a new car every 6 years (80,000 miles), I would never do a coolant change, brake fluid change and probably never change transmission fluid or differentials, transfer case, etc.

I agree trading it in there is no benefit, selling privately it will bring more money and sell faster.

Very true about the OLM and sludge. 5k OCI is as far as I dare to go. Over the years I did engine flushes' and later on gave it some doses of HPL EC 30 to mitigate that risk. For most of the van's life, I was doing 4k OCI with PUP. Trav on this forum had given me some good advice on the sludge issues and how to prevent them. I always had the VCM enabled. Never ever disabled it. I liked the illusion that VCM was saving me gas, but am not sure if it really did save any gas.

Ironically, I still have 3 other vans like this, a 2006 with 138k, and two 2007's: 134k and 140k miles.
They are driven by my wife, my son, and my daughter. In realizing the high maintenance costs, we're looking into selling 2 out of the 3 remaining vans, and only keeping 1 for the long family trips that we go on a few times a year. I'm sharing the 2006 with my son for commuting, until I buy a 4th vehicle (perhaps a smaller more reliable car for me).

 

[D60]

I too have been guilty of getting vehicles and being POSITIVE I'm going to drive it until the wheels fall off. Then several years later I'm getting rid of it for various reasons.

Now I just do standard maintenance and fix things as they break, but I try to not overdo it.

I think the key is to fix obvious problems promptly. Broken lens on a lamp? Address it. Failed door handle? Fix it. Weeping water pump? Get after it. Etc

 

[Bill7]

This. I maintain my vehicles to a certain level because I believe it’s the right thing to do. Certainly I could cut back on maintenance and save money in the short term, but it’s not all about me, me, me. The person who gets the car next will have a very well maintained vehicle.

I remember a 1960's episode of the "Munsters", where Herman Munster bought a used car from a used car lot, and as soon as he drove off the lot, the salesman packed up everything and left. LOL

 

[PWMDMD]

For me, it's a balance. 5K mile OCIs, engine air filters, oil filters, cabin filters, and power steering fluid are cheap so a no-brainer and I do those myself and I do them on time. For expensive driveline things like differentials and the transfer case, I do the maintenance on schedule. The transmission is also expensive and even though it's "lifetime" that's ridiculous so I did a fluid change at 50K miles and I did brake fluid at 50k miles along with brakes. I feel confident this is maintaining my vehicles so that it minimizes unnecessary wear and failures and maintains their value and safety without throwing money away.

Is this overboard? Probably, my truck is 4.5 years old with 52K miles, the RX 350 is 5 years old with 55k miles on it, and even if I keep them 10-12 years that'll be still 120k miles which these vehicles would've made with little to no maintenance but c'est la vie.

I do think there is another aspect to it, at least for me, it does feel good to take care of the stuff I work so hard for even if the costs aren't completely recoverable. There is a certain amount of satisfaction that I feel over the years that doesn't show up 100% on the final tally.

 

[CarlB]

OP, sunk cost fallacy.

 

[Sedin26]

I've been "guilty" of overdoing maintenance on my 93 Tercel and '05 CR-V over the years. I partly do it simply for the enjoyment - fluids and most parts are cheap. I also derive satisfaction from having high mileage vehicles.

I don't have much use for the Tercel anymore and will probably give it to someone eventually but it's due for a timing belt and needs valve stem seals. I'll do those before I give it away, as I want to see it keep going as long as possible, hit 400,000km....and keep going.

I recently bought a 2011 Leaf and will miss doing oil changes, though it turns out there's a reduction gearbox I can put new oil in

 

[KGMtech]

As long as you take as good care of yourself as the car, over maintenance for a car is not going too cause shame on this forum.

The issue is that you never know when that car is going to be totalled, stolen, or flooded. That part hurts.

 

[Number_35]

How many failures did you have as a result of over maintaining your van?

Exactly so! Maintaining one's vehicle well, even if it might not matter in the long run, is sort of the automotive equivalent of Pascal's Wager.

Overmaintaining Your Vehicle -
Either it provides prolonged vehicle life/fewer breakdowns/reduced overall cost, or it doesn't.

If it does, great, you made a good decision.

If it wasn't necessary, you're out a few $ for addition oil/tranny/diff fluids. No big deal.

Under Maintaining Your Vehicle -
Either the vehicle fails prematurely or it doesn't.

If it doesn't fail, good, you saved a few $ on fluids and filters.

If it does fail, you're out a lot of money and/or inconvenienced.

*******

It seems to me that the downside of neglecting maintenance is way worse than the downside of doing too much maintenance.

 

[macarose]

Thanks for your reply. A few responses are needed here by me.

LOL about the crush on the service writer. I am about to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary.

On the Odyclub.com forum, the transmission issues were discussed, the consensus seemed to be: If you change your ATF fluid every 15,000 miles you're golden (meaning you won't ever have transmission issues in the 2005 to 2007 Odysseys if you do the ATF drain/fill every 15k miles).

Regarding the oil changes, as I mentioned in the post, about 2 years ago I switched to lower priced oil and filters.

I kept an accurate list of all repairs. Some of the more pricy repairs were the timing belt, water pump, tensionser, camshaft seals.
Also the power sliding doors were quite expensive to maintain as other mechanics don't want to touch them, they all say take it to Honda. I had various repairs done to the sliding doors over those 10 years, including new motors, latches, and several other parts.
The Honda dealer I was using would mark up the parts about 150% if you let the service department order the parts, so I got their permission to actually go to the parts counter at the same dealership directly and order the parts to eliminate that extra markup.
But still each service visit averaged $1,000 per sliding door. (with about 2 repairs per sliding door over that time = $2,000 * 2 = $4,000 just to keep the sliding doors working perfectly. Other expensive repairs were new rotors for all 4 wheels (3 times), new brake calipers, leaks in the rear hatch and sun roof, engine mounts, air conditioner compressor and condensor failed, power steering pump failed, and alternator failed. Several other repairs and maintenenace such as PCV valve replacements, suspension parts, etc.
I really liked the van, and it had the aeura of Japanese reliability, but these vans as nice as they are, are not frugal vehicles.

The total of all the repairs and maintenance over 10 years totaled close to $20,000.
I was fortunate with the used car market still being pricy, and was able to sell the van for $5,200. I had paid $13,500 for it back in 2013.

Honestly, I'm looking at Consumer Reports magazine's car reliability ratings.
I'm thinking about migrating to Toyota Corolla's in the future, as I just want a vehicle that has a low cost of ownership.

So your costs come to $27,300 over 10 years. Roughly $230 a month.

That's not bad. Knock out those doors from the equation it would have been around $23k. Going to an Indy would have reduced those costs another $6k and doing the basics yourself would have saved roughly $2k.

$15k over 10 years is about $125 a month. Get a 2016 Corolla with about 50k miles for $12900 that still has the serviceable 4-speed automatic transmission (L trim) and do the following.


Walmart pit crew oil change every 5k miles ($25, 24 times, $600)

Transmission drain and fill every 30k (DIY: $20, 5 times.$100 total)

Buy air filter and cabin air filter in bulk at Rockauto ($100 for 120k miles)

Power steering and brake fluid at Walmart ($20)

Automotive fluid extractor pump for removing those fluids (DIY: $10)

Front Brake Parts (1 pair of rotors, 3 brake pads : $100)

Rear Brake Parts (1 pair of rotors, 2 drum brake sets) $80

It would cost at most $100 to have those brakes installed at a shop. So that's $400.

Two sets of tires at Discount Tire or Walmart : $800 ($160 less if you coupled local price matches with rebates that are done during most holidays)

So this would be roughly $2000 over 10 years if we assume no repairs which, for a Corolla in a rust-free climate with smooth roads is entirely possible. Whether you need to replace a compressor, alternator, or starter is entirely a role of the dice depending on the type of driving you do and where you drive it.

Finally get a Shop Your Way card that offers between 5% to 10% off of gas. Or get a Costco membership. Hate Costco? Get Sam's Club. Sometimes they are giving those away for nearly free.

Oh! Batteries! Walmart has basic ones for $70 and the Maxx for around $120. You'll need two of those over 10 years. Or you can find out which auto parts stores sell used batteries and get a 'second' which is a store brand battery that didn't sell after six months, but was kept in a temperature controlled environment the whole time. Pretty much a brand new battery. They cost $46.

BTW, the only reason why I took such a deep dive on this is because I have a 2016 Toyota Corolla in my inventory right now. Yesterday our dealership sold a 2006 Corolla w/ 136k miles for $5000 to an older couple that drove four hours to buy it.

I love buying and selling Corollas. If I could find enough Toyotas I wouldn't buy any other brand.

https://atlanta.craigslist.org/wat/ctd/d/powder-springs-2016-toyota-corolla-only/7757955992.html

 

[Leo99]

Exactly so! Maintaining one's vehicle well, even if it might not matter in the long run, is sort of the automotive equivalent of Pascal's Wager.

Overmaintaining Your Vehicle -
Either it provides prolonged vehicle life/fewer breakdowns/reduced overall cost, or it doesn't.

If it does, great, you made a good decision.

If it wasn't necessary, you're out a few $ for addition oil/tranny/diff fluids. No big deal.

Under Maintaining Your Vehicle -
Either the vehicle fails prematurely or it doesn't.

If it doesn't fail, good, you saved a few $ on fluids and filters.

If it does fail, you're out a lot of money and/or inconvenienced.

*******

It seems to me that the downside of neglecting maintenance is way worse than the downside of doing too much maintenance.

I was on track to be an actuary. The OP had 9 tranny services. Figure at least $100 each with tax. Probably more. At least $1000 in PM for a part that would cost about $4000 to $5000 to repair/replace. Unless the tranny breaks at a rate higher than about 25%, that's a poor EV.

Pascal's wager has much higher stakes.

 

[tblt44]

Only thing over maintained in my opinion was trans

 

[Number_35]

I was on track to be an actuary. The OP had 9 tranny services. Figure at least $100 each with tax. Probably more. At least $1000 in PM for a part that would cost about $4000 to $5000 to repair/replace. Unless the tranny breaks at a rate higher than about 25%, that's a poor EV.

Pascal's wager has much higher stakes.

Agreed on Pascal's wager ... but figure that peace of mind has to count for something w.r.t. the tx services

 

[dubber09]

I tend to think I over maintain my Sportage but it cost me under C$3000 in 10+ years including a set of tires, so on average $300 a year which I'm perfectly fine with. Everything except oil changes is done way sooner than required or recommended e.g. brake fluid, coolant, ATF, filters, tx and diff oil.

 

[Kurtatron]

For me, it’s age. The older I get, the less I care about going nuts maintaining a car. I used to buy outrageously boutique oils, e.g. redline for my daily driver economy cars and use amsoil oil filters. I changed redline oils every 3,000-4,000 miles.

That was 15 years ago. Now I’m getting pennzoil platinum and Fram ultra filters at Walmart at 6000-7000 mile OCIs. I just don’t enjoy getting greasy and crawling around on my back as much as I used to.

 

[dkryan]

Thanks for your reply. A few responses are needed here by me.

LOL about the crush on the service writer. I am about to celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary.

On the Odyclub.com forum, the transmission issues were discussed, the consensus seemed to be: If you change your ATF fluid every 15,000 miles you're golden (meaning you won't ever have transmission issues in the 2005 to 2007 Odysseys if you do the ATF drain/fill every 15k miles).

Regarding the oil changes, as I mentioned in the post, about 2 years ago I switched to lower priced oil and filters.

I kept an accurate list of all repairs. Some of the more pricy repairs were the timing belt, water pump, tensionser, camshaft seals.
Also the power sliding doors were quite expensive to maintain as other mechanics don't want to touch them, they all say take it to Honda. I had various repairs done to the sliding doors over those 10 years, including new motors, latches, and several other parts.
The Honda dealer I was using would mark up the parts about 150% if you let the service department order the parts, so I got their permission to actually go to the parts counter at the same dealership directly and order the parts to eliminate that extra markup.
But still each service visit averaged $1,000 per sliding door. (with about 2 repairs per sliding door over that time = $2,000 * 2 = $4,000 just to keep the sliding doors working perfectly. Other expensive repairs were new rotors for all 4 wheels (3 times), new brake calipers, leaks in the rear hatch and sun roof, engine mounts, air conditioner compressor and condensor failed, power steering pump failed, and alternator failed. Several other repairs and maintenenace such as PCV valve replacements, suspension parts, etc.
I really liked the van, and it had the aeura of Japanese reliability, but these vans as nice as they are, are not frugal vehicles.

The total of all the repairs and maintenance over 10 years totaled close to $20,000.
I was fortunate with the used car market still being pricy, and was able to sell the van for $5,200. I had paid $13,500 for it back in 2013.

Honestly, I'm looking at Consumer Reports magazine's car reliability ratings.
I'm thinking about migrating to Toyota Corolla's in the future, as I just want a vehicle that has a low cost of ownership.

“I kept an accurate list of all repairs. Some of the more pricy repairs were the timing belt, water pump, tensionser (sic), camshaft seals.”

If you have a Japanese vehicle with a timing belt, you can expect to have to replace the cited parts, minus the camshaft seals, as part of your ownership costs. The actual cost is based on where you take it to have the work done, Indy versus dealer. Your choice = your cost.

“I really liked the van, and it had the aeura (sic) of Japanese reliability………”

Seriously? Based on this…………?

“……..Also the power sliding doors were quite expensive to maintain as other mechanics don't want to touch them……”

“…I had various repairs done to the sliding doors over those 10 years, including new motors, latches, and several other parts.

“But still each service visit averaged $1,000 per sliding door. (with about 2 repairs per sliding door over that time = $2,000 * 2 = $4,000 just to keep the sliding doors working perfectly. Other expensive repairs were new rotors for all 4 wheels (3 times), new brake calipers, leaks in the rear hatch and sun roof, engine mounts, air conditioner compressor and condensor failed, power steering pump failed, and alternator failed. Several other repairs and maintenenace such as PCV valve replacements, suspension parts, etc.”

I don’t mean to come off as being harsh or judgmental, but the reality is, at least as far as I can see, is you purchased a not so reliable vehicle that you thought you absolutely had to have.

The sliding door problems were apparently unique to that make and model.

But, having owned Toyota, Acura, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, and Subaru vehicles,
I have yet to replace brake rotors three times in 180,000 miles of driving, nor have I had to replace calipers, engine mounts, a/c compressors or condensers, p/s pumps nor alternators on ANY of the aforementioned makes.

Lucky? Probably.

But it wasn’t because I over maintained those vehicles.

Other than potential issues with certain driving habits causing your constant brake problems, the rest of what you cited can be attributed to wear and tear or just lousy components.

Hence, your thread title should read more like “here’s what I had to replace during my 184,000 mile roadtrip.

And here’s what it cost because I chose to go to the Honda dealer……”

 

[4WD]

I’d say I over maintain somewhat - but I buy products on sale and clearance - have them always - try to do PM’s in the cooler weather … Sometimes that means doing it a bit early …

 

[dishdude]

The Honda dealer I was using would mark up the parts about 150% if you let the service department order the parts, so I got their permission to actually go to the parts counter at the same dealership directly and order the parts to eliminate that extra markup.

This is a bit appalling, I have never heard of a dealer marking up parts over retail.

BTW, great thread. I too wasted a lot of money over maintaining in the past, now I follow the manual. BITOG helped me get over this and has saved me a lot of money, time and effort.

 

[Carmudgeon]

This is a bit appalling, I have never heard of a dealer marking up parts over retail.

Matrix pricing has resulted in parts being marked up above MSRP for a long time…40% gross is said to be the desired target.

Only time I usually approach the dealer's parts counter is when 1) it must be OE, 2) it's relatively cheap (a few bucks) or a random/isolated need, or 3) it needs to be in hand faster than ordering it (at 20% below MSRP) and waiting for delivery can accommodate.

Our friendly resident Ford parts professional can probably provide some insight.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Of course-to each their choice.

I look at it this way...how many vehicles do you see at the side of the road broken down anymore? Hardly any. And the few that do....those owners probably had warnings, noise, symptoms and ignored them.
Vehicles are better than they have ever been-over maintained or not.

Have you been to a junkyard? Lots of newish vehicles there with no signs of a wreck. Most people dont just leave there vehicle on the side of the road anymore. I see people on the side waiting for a tow all the time.

 

[SC Maintenance]

This is a bit appalling, I have never heard of a dealer marking up parts over retail.

BTW, great thread. I too wasted a lot of money over maintaining in the past, now I follow the manual. BITOG helped me get over this and has saved me a lot of money, time and effort.

They do here at the parts counter. Both Toyota and Nissan. Don’t know about in the shop.