Wasting money on your car, part 2

Given all of the talk about gas prices, you'd think that nothing else about your vehicle mattered except the mileage it got! This article on MSN.com gives 20 ways you waste money on your car. I’ll comment on these needless expenses and toss in a few more for good measure. This post will talk about costly choices when having your car fixed or maintained.

Not shopping around can cost you a bundle:

• Using a dealer for major services. A mechanic will probably do it a lot cheaper. Still, shop around and get a warm fuzzy that the mechanic is reputable.
• Using a dealer for oil changes. Unless you can make good use of your time spent at the dealership, it's most times cheaper to go somewhere else for an oil change.
• Going to any old repair shop. Get references, look for a clean shop with courteous staff, and an Automotive Service Excellence seal of approval.
• Buying brand-new parts when used will do just fine. Some mechanics will install quality used parts at your request, or even install parts you bring to them. (Some will not because they don't want to entertain liability if the car gets trashed because of the part. It may not be their fault at all, but it's hard to prove.)

Some things are easy enough to do yourself and it's not sensible to pay someone else to do it:

• Not replacing your air filter and wiper blades yourself. Most times these are a snap to replace.
• Not knowing how to change a tire. After seeing it done it's not that difficult. But if you're out in the middle of nowhere without someone who knows how to do it, it will cost you a bundle of money and time.
• Going to a car wash. What's wrong with a bucket, soap, water, a big sponge, some towels, and a sunny day?
• Not changing your own oil. This might not be for everyone, but it does have benefits beyond the small amount of money you save doing it yourself. If a mechanic or a discount oil change place damages your oil pan or some other part of your vehicle when changing the oil, it may be hard to prove they did it, and thus you're out the cost of a new oil pan, which can be expensive to replace and put in.

Then you can just have the wrong thing fixed!

• Assuming the problem is major. Sometimes it's a cheap part that failed, not the engine.
• Letting a brake squeal turn into a brake job. It's not always an indication that brake pads and/or rotors need to be replaced.
• Replacing tires when you should be replacing shocks. The kicker here is persistent faster-than-normal or irregular tire wear, despite conservative driving and proper inflation.
• Telling a mechanic what needs fixing rather than the symptoms of what's wrong. Honest mechanics will diagnose a problem themselves regardless of what you say (like mine does), but there is a risk that they will fix or replace exactly what you tell them to fix or replace, even if it doesn't solve your problem.

The last post will deal with vehicle money wasters that have very little, if anything, to do with the vehicle's performance!