Personal Consumer Issues • Re: Does an averagely reliable car last long if it is faithfully maintained? A possible chance to save on car

Dealerships and some mechanics will often recommend service items that are unnecessary, or too early to make more money off you, like transmission fluid, brakes, tires, batteries and carbon cleaning. Also many things are not on the maintenance schedule but still wear out or break like shock absorbers, suspension bushings, and wheel bearings. So trying to 'faithfully maintain' a vehicle is fraught with opportunities to get ripped off, especially if you have to take it to the dealer or a workshop.

I think the best way to save money on a car is to learn how to DIY maintenance and repairs. I didn't have anyone to teach me, so I just learned from forums and YouTube. I started off with oil and filter changes, and gradually moved up to doing shocks, bushings, water pump, wheel alignment, etc. For tools, I have many cheap tools from Harbor Freight and AliExpress that work fine, but I also eventually bought a $1,000 QuickJack and a $250 Milwaukee impact wrench to make things easier. I have a 2012 Audi and a 2012 BMW with terrible reliability, but by doing all the maintenance and repairs myself, I can keep them running very economically. In fact, I often find myself browsing for massively depreciated used German cars so that I can fix them up.

Statistics: Posted by tortoise84 — Sun Sep 15, 2024 10:53 am

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