Anyone with experience working on vehicles or has spent much money having their own fixed will agree that we can’t afford to ignore preventative maintenance. Just as people should have an annual physical to ensure proper health and preventative care, your vehicle should have regular maintenance to ensure proper engine health and preventative care. A routine checkup for your vehicle would include things such as, checking your tire pressure, changing your oil and scheduling an inspection of even more belts, hoses, fluid levels and other components within your vehicle. Regularly checking on components like these in your vehicle give you a chance to catch any serious or minor problems before they actually happen- which could save you hundreds, perhaps thousands of dollars, depending on the issue. We’re going to offer you some tips (that can be applied to any vehicle) on this web page to illustrate what you should do as a vehicle owner for preventative maintenance and how frequently. (To better familiarize yourself with the specific check-up and routine maintenance needs of your own vehicle, we recommend you read your owner’s manual.)

Make sure to keep an eye on the obvious things such as working headlights, taillights, and blinkers in order to keep you safe while driving. We also recommend you buy a tire pressure gauge and check your tire pressure (found on the tire sidewall) every month or so in order to ensure you are getting the best gas mileage and even wear on your tires; also keep an eye on your tire tread to ensure you have enough left to drive safely on wet streets in particular. An easy trick for determining tire tread is to insert a penny into your tread with Lincoln’s face upside down and looking at you; if you can see all of Lincoln’s head, then your tread depth is less than 2/32 inch and it’s time to replace your tires. (Doug’s carries a wide variety of the best tires brands at competitive prices!)

Doug’s automotive is here to assist and advise you on any of your preventative maintenance needs, and we’d love to do just that and more! Bring your vehicle by and we’d love to check out it’s various fluid levels, such as transmission fluid, antifreeze, power steering fluid and more. Again, we advise you to check your owner’s manual or simply contact us and we can figure out when your timing belt and serpentine belt needs to be replaced. One of the most important aspects of regular maintenance is the necessary oil change to keep your vehicle running smoothly, cool, and clean. Inspecting your battery to determine its health and cleaning the contacts (when necessary) is also a crucial part of making sure your car will start when you need it to. We can also assist you with fresh wiper blades to ensure clear visibility during inclement weather to keep you safe. Changing your engine air filter and cabin air filter regularly can improve the gas mileage in your vehicle and improve the air quality that you breath in your cabin; so those two are certainly components to remember for checkups. This list is not exhaustive, but we wanted to mention just a few of the things that we can help you with to keep your vehicle running smoothly and keeping big problems from sneaking up on you and your wallet.

From headlights to taillights, and everything in between, Doug’s Automotive wants your vehicle to have a long and healthy life. When your vehicle is ready for its scheduled maintenance, allow Doug’s Automotive to play doctor, and give it a good check up!