Welcome to Auto Repair 101! Everyone thinks auto repair is so complicated. While it would be foolish to try a DIY car repair without some knowledge of the parts required and process involved, taking care of your car isn’t so hard. You only have to be aware. Read ahead and Ill reveal four things cars have in common with the human body.
1. Negligence increases your risk.
If your doctor recommends a preventive treatment (and you fail to follow it), then you can only blame yourself when your condition worsens.
If you know there’s a history of diabetes in your family disease (and you choose to eat insane quantities of sugar anyway), then you’re setting yourself up for health problems in the future.
Neglecting your health and well-being today can produce negative consequences later on. The same fact applies for cars. Put off a tire replacement and you might have a blow-out. Ignore the maintenance recommendations in your owner’s manual and your engine might fail.
2. Prevention is always your best option.
Want to know what costs more money than taking good care of your car? Paying for repairs that wouldn’t have been necessary if you took better care of your car.
Your dietitian or nutritionist says: “You really need to eat more fruits, vegetables, and protein.” That recommendation goes in one ear and out the other. “Healthy eating is too expensive!”
Salads might be more expensive than french fries in the short-term; but if eating junk leads to serious health problems, you’ll end up taking a bigger financial hit in the long-term. Medicine has a bigger price-tag than a healthy diet!
Again, the same fact is true for cars. If you get your oil changes on time, you’ll spend about $120 in a year. If you fail to get your oil changes on time, your engine could malfunction. Replacing an engine can cost $4,000 or more. Want to take that risk? I don’t!
3. Several systems work together to make you move.
The circulatory system keeps your heart pounding. The respiratory system provides oxygen. The skeletal and muscular systems work together when you do any kind of movement.
If any single system is struggling, that affects your performance as a whole. Break a bone and it’s going to be difficult to move heavy objects, no matter how strong your muscles might be.
Cars work the same way. Antifreeze (coolant) is your car’s circulatory system (read: it prevents overheating). If there’s a coolant leak, your engine might overheat. Uh-oh… that’s bad news!
It doesn’t matter how new your tires are. It doesn’t matter how strong your brakes are. Even if everything else about your car is 100% okay, a simple coolant leak will leave you stranded.
Everything is connected. Peak performance requires coordination from all of the systems in your vehicle. If you neglect one of those systems, it will have repercussions that affect your car as a whole.
4. The same symptom could signify different issues.
In the age of Google, it’s easy to do a bit of research and assume we have all the answers.
Don’t be too presumptuous. It’s like when you notice an unusual mole or mark of some kind.
You spend hours on WebMD and convince yourself you have skin cancer (despite the fact it could have several causes and you haven’t even seen a doctor yet).
If your car makes a weird noise, don’t type a description into Google and automatically assume the first result you see is true (especially if it suggests something terrible).
I can’t tell you how many drivers have walked into my shop, terrified about their transmission, when the real problem was something minor in comparison. Also: don’t be so catastrophic. Go into a dishonest auto shop with that attitude and you’ll make yourself an easy target!
Instead of announcing what you think is causing your car problem, explain the symptoms. Stick with the facts. Don’t attach any interpretations to them. Tell the mechanic about any odd noises, sounds, smells, or other sensations you noticed. Disclosing this information will help them provide you with a more accurate and timely diagnosis.
Share this blog with your friends so they can begin Auto Repair 101 and become auto aware like you!
My car got a really bad dent, and I’m not sure what to do about it. It makes sense that I would want to get a professional to fix it for me. I can see how trying to fix this myself could end up causing problems.