Vehicle Maintenance

The Importance of Maintenance

Is your vehicle running as efficiently as it can?

Is it performing as designed by the manufacturer?

Routine maintenance should be an ongoing process that begins when the vehicle is new, because any machine that receives use will also accumulate wear.

Preventative Maintenance saves you money and time. It also helps hold the resale value of your car.
For most people, a vehicle is a major investment, second only to buying a house. A National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) study found that at least half of consumers neglect routine maintenance, with young people being the least likely to keep up with service schedules. Almost two-thirds of automotive technicians believe that consumers can take care of their vehicles’ maintenance and repair needs for less than $500 annually. Considering the average cost and complexity of a new vehicle, you may be penny-wise and dollar-foolish if you neglect routine maintenance.

Did you know?
Results from Car Care Canada's vehicle inspection events found 85% of vehicles needed some form of maintenance work. Some of the most common problems were:

• 20% of vehicles had low or dirty engine oil
• 18% had low tire pressures
• 16% had inadequate cooling protection
• 13% had dirty air filters
• 10% had loose or corroded battery terminals

What do we mean by "vehicle maintenance"?
Vehicle maintenance means keeping all the systems and features functioning as closely as possible to the manufacturer’s original design intentions. Routine maintenance should be an ongoing process that begins when the vehicle is new, because any machine that receives use will also accumulate wear.

Proactively tending to your vehicle’s maintenance needs is likely to help your vehicle start, run, and stop as the manufacturer intended, so you get the maximum amount of performance, reliability, and service life. Periodic inspections of the vehicle’s systems are the easiest way to monitor its health.

Being able to tell a service advisor at Paragon Auto Service as much information as possible about the nature of your vehicle's problem can go a long way toward ensuring the repair is done as quickly and inexpensively as possible.

Troubleshooting
Noises, smells, leaks and operating changes are all signs that something could be wrong with your vehicle. To make maintaining and repairing it faster and easier, pay attention to these signals and be prepared to describe them to your Paragon service advisor.