High gas prices have hit most of our budgets. If increased fuel costs are consuming a bigger portion of your budget, you may be tempted to skimp in some other areas – like scheduled maintenance.
According to news reports and industry studies, you're not alone. Nine out of ten personal vehicles on the road have at least one maintenance or repair item that hasn't been done. Some of these items are serious safety concerns. Others are just more likely to affect the cost of operating your vehicle.
In this area, we can take a lesson from professional vehicle owners: fleet owners and operators like trucking companies and delivery services. Because their livelihood depends on it, they have gotten scheduled maintenance down to a science. And the last thing they skimp on is regular maintenance.
Why is that? Well, for one thing they know that routine maintenance prevents expensive repairs and costly breakdowns. They also know that a well-maintained vehicle uses less fuel. For them, even a small decrease in fuel economy may mean not being profitable.
Here are some Auto Select services that could potentially save you some gas: Fuel system cleaning, transmission service, differential service, wheel alignment, oil change, tune-up.
Ring any bells? Is there at least one thing on the list that hasn't been done for your vehicle?
Let's suppose you chose to spend $100 and get caught up on some of these services and that they combine to improve your fuel economy by 15 percent. What would that mean to your pocketbook?
Well, the average personal vehicle is driven about 12,000 miles a year. If you get 20 miles per gallon in your vehicle, over the course of one year you would pay for the $100 worth of service and save an additional $165 if gas is at $2.79 per gallon.
So catch up on those services you've been neglecting. Talk with your friendly and knowledgeable Auto Select advisor about your vehicle's needs. Get a couple done now and a couple next time. Chances are you'll save a lot of money on fuel this year – and a lot more on repairs in years to come.