The Power of Preventive Maintenance

As a vehicle owner, there are few things you can do that will be as beneficial for your vehicle as performing preventive maintenance. Whether you purchased your vehicle new or used, it’s important to keep up with the maintenance schedule to give that vehicle the best possible chance of a long and useful life.

We understand that it can be tempting to skip some of your scheduled service visits. Life gets busy, and it seems like it wouldn’t be a big deal to just skip out on these maintenance appointments once in a while. That’s a habit that will likely come back to cost you in the end, however, so let’s use this article to reinforce the importance and value of ongoing service.

Enjoy Cost Savings

For most car and truck owners, this is going to be the primary motivation for keeping up with preventive maintenance. Simply put, you can expect to spend less money over the life of owning your vehicle as compared to skipping maintenance and only dealing with problems when they come up.

Of course, it doesn’t always feel like this at the time, which is why you might decide that it’s just cheaper to go without the maintenance. It’s not free to have your car serviced, so you might keep that money in your pocket at the moment while choosing to disregard the issues that may come up later. In the months and years ahead, you’ll likely find yourself wishing that you had gone ahead and made those service appointments, as it would have been a matter of spending a small amount of money at that time to save far more money later on.

It’s important to work with an honest and reliable service department so you don’t wind up paying more than is necessary for your maintenance. At Taylor & Sons Chevrolet, you can count on us to provide fair pricing for all of our maintenance work, and our trained and experienced team is more than up to the challenge of getting this work done correctly.

Avoid Frustrating Downtime

If you run into automotive issues, you’ll have to deal with the downtime that comes with having your vehicle in the shop while it is repaired. The time that it has to stay in the shop will depend on a number of variables, including the work that needs to be done, the parts that must be ordered, how busy the shop is, and more. This may have a minor impact on your day-to-day life, or it could turn into a major headache that requires some serious sacrifices to work around.

Keeping up with preventive maintenance doesn’t guarantee you’ll never face these kinds of problems, but it does make it less likely. Following the schedule for maintenance that is recommended by your manufacturer, you’ll give your vehicle the best possible chance at success in the years to come. And, even if there are problems that come up, those issues may be less serious and require less time to correct.

Stay Ahead of Issues

When you skip out on maintenance, you are putting yourself in a position to always be playing catch up with your vehicle. As the problems add up with the passage of time and miles, it will seem like there is always another issue coming up that has to be addressed. This is a frustrating way to own a car. It will be a more enjoyable experience – and kinder to both your wallet and schedule – if you can stay ahead of the game all along the way.

This is why manufacturers have designed strategic maintenance plans for the vehicles they sell. Those plans take into account the expected wear and tear of various parts, and the service that is required at common intervals will address things that are likely to need attention at that time. If you choose instead to do your maintenance in more of an on-demand style, meaning you just address problems when they come up, you’ll never be in a position of getting out in front of the vehicle’s needs.

Maintain Value for Resale or Trade-In

Finally, there is the matter of the residual value of the vehicle to consider with regard to maintenance. At some point, you’ll likely want to sell or trade in the vehicle to purchase another. When that day comes, you naturally want the vehicle to be worth as much as possible. With a more valuable trade-in, for instance, you are able to effectively bring down the price of the car or truck you want to purchase, meaning this is another way for you to save through maintenance.

There are two ways that keeping up with a service schedule can pay off when it comes time to sell or trade in. First, you will have kept the vehicle in good condition all along, so anyone who checks it out is likely to be impressed by what they see. It will be a desirable vehicle to others simply because it has been so well-maintained while you owned it.

Also, you can provide the service records to give confidence to potential buyers that they are getting a vehicle in good condition. Many vehicle owners don’t keep up with their service schedules effectively, so if you do, you can show those records as an indication of just how much attention the vehicle has received throughout your time as owner.

If you need to make an appointment for an upcoming maintenance visit, please contact Taylor & Sons Chevrolet today and our team will be happy to help. By planning ahead, you can pick a spot on our calendar that is convenient for your schedule, making it easy to come by and have service performed without interrupting your daily life in any meaningful way. Thank you for stopping by and we are excited to serve you!

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