New Life for Your Older Car in Columbia

Isn't it amazing how much of our stuff is disposable these days? Clothes, electronics, housewares, furniture.

Remember the days when Columbia families mended their clothes, polished their shoes and neatly put away their toys every night? If something was lost or ruined through neglect, your parents just told you to do without, that you should have taken better care of it. They considered the loss a “life lesson.”

But today many Columbia drivers tend to neglect one of the more expensive and important purchases we make: our vehicles. Vehicles are a lot more reliable today than back when we polished our shoes, and that reliability can sometimes make us take them for granted. Drivers in Columbia neglect good car care practices and procrastinate preventive maintenance. What we're really doing is heading straight for one of those dreaded “life lessons.” Eventually we'll pay for our neglect in repair bills and a shorter life for our vehicle.

Is procrastinating routine maintenance really so terrible? Consider procrastinating brushing your teeth or washing your clothes or getting the dishes done. Gunk builds up, makes the job harder, and ultimately damages your teeth, clothing or dishes. It's the same with your car. Some of the best auto advice out there for Columbia drivers is to stay on top of routine oil changes by bringing their car into Tim's Automotive. Even a few thousand miles extra between oil changes can result in oil sludge, which can clog passages in your engine. This means oil can't get to some of the engine components, and they'll wear out faster without lubrication. Every time you procrastinate an oil change, the problem gets worse, eventually cutting years off the life of your engine.

The same is true if you skip cooling system service. Corrosion inhibitors in the fluid become depleted over time, opening the system up to damage. Consistent neglect will lead to holes in your radiator. Talk to your friendly service advisor at Tim's Automotive for suggestions and feedback.

Neglect of other fluids can also result in engine damage. Brake fluid, transmission fluid, differential fluid—all of these need to be serviced on a regular basis. In addition, your fuel system needs periodic cleaning or it can start to break down and cause permanent damage to your engine.

The good news is that it's never too late to get on track and start getting good, regular preventive maintenance for your vehicle at Tim's Automotive. You may not be able to reverse damage that's already been done, but you can prevent further damage.

It really does all start with an oil change. With a full-service oil change at Tim's Automotive, your fluids will be checked and your car inspected for wear and tear. Our pros at Tim's Automotive can also advise you of other inspections and maintenance items that are coming due. If you're on top of oil changes, your service advisor will keep track of your maintenance schedule and remind you what needs to be done.

Older vehicles are going to need repairs. But with good maintenance, those repairs will involve fairly routine stuff like alternators, water pumps, belts and batteries. But the cost of these replacement parts at Tim's Automotive is much cheaper than the repair bills that come with serious engine damage, and they're certainly less than the cost of a new car.

We may not need to polish our shoes anymore, and tossing out that outdated cell phone may not be such a loss, but when it comes to our vehicles, they're just too valuable to be treated as disposable. Let's take a step back, listen to our parents, and take care of our stuff. If we don't, we could be on our way to a “life lesson” involving our bank account and a bus pass.

Tim's Automotive
5822 Brown Station Rd
Columbia, Missouri 65202
573-424-6910
http://www.timsautomotiverepair.com