APRIL IS NATIONAL CAR CARE MONTH! What Does That Mean?

Did I mention to you yet that April is National Car Care Month?  My regular readers are shaking their heads in amazement!  By golly!  I don't think she did!  Well, fear not my fellow preventive maintenance enthusiasts, I did NOT forget, nor, did I plan on letting this month go by without at least bringing this to your attention, at least once!  The logo below is shown on all genuine "CCC" literature.  These guys have taken preventive maintenance to a new level!

So, here it is April 16th, and we're about half way through National Car Care Month.  I was actually waiting because I wanted to put together a fantastic, unbelievably great article that would not only bring this month to your attention, but, also make you want to do something about it!

I thought long and hard and I figured out that what I need to do to really get everyone revved up (yes, pun intended...) was to make it so easy, so unrealistically simplified, so non-thought provoking, that you would just take my advice and trot off to your local shop and have your car, truck, suv, van, or motorcycle serviced.  And, I did just that.  I have put together some things that will have you at your shop by the time you finish reading this.  And here's how.....

Inside a dirty motor, notice the
brown discoloration from "varnish"
from unchanged oil. All of this
can and will cause sticking valves,
bad gas milage and more!

Here's the top of a badly burned piston.  Also
caused by lack of oil and not changing the oil.
As with the "varnish" build up, this can cause
rough running and seriously bad gas milage.

First, I put together some pictures of what actually happens to the inside of your motor when you don't change the oil.  Yup, these are real, live pictures of just what happens to your poor motor when you simply don't take the time to care.  Now, I've also included some pictures of what happens to brakes when we don't change the brake pads regualrly.  Once again, these are pictures of rotors when brake wear down and score the rotors.  These are what's left to actually "stop" your vehicle when you're tooling down the highway at speeds sometimes in excess of 70 mph.  Not a very pretty picture at all!  Especially when you think that changing those brake pads is a very minimal expense compared to what you're going to  have to pay for if you can't "stop" your vehicle and even worse.

Set of seriously worn brake
pads. These worn pads will
cause the damage seen in the
lower photo of worn rotors.

Now, with all this being said, I also came up with a list of suggested preventive maintenance items and some materials that will help even the most mechanically challenged of us determine what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and why!  It doesn't get any simpler than that.  Clicking here will take you to a nice, general service schedule that has everything you need to have done to your vehicle regularly, in color.....very cool!

Rotors worn down by
bad brake pads.

All of this damage can be avoided by simply maintaining your vehicle.  And, that maintenance is far less expensive than replacing the parts that break and the labor involved in repairing this damage.

I have included a link to National Care Care Association's booklet entitled "The Car Care Guide" written by the Car Care Council. It's a great guide for determining what things need to be maintained on your vehicle and how often they should be done.  It's a great basis for planning out your scheduled maintenance routine and ensuring that nothing slips by.
The booklet not only describes each routine maintenance point, but, also gives a detailed explanation of why the service needs to be done.  It's a great guide for both the average car owner and the do-it-yourself'er to use as a reference.

There are other things to mention here in addition to what needs to be done to properly care for a vehicle, and here are some ideas to help save you money when you do actually have the services rendered.

1. When changing your oil, look for sales that include oil, oil filter and air filter combined into a single package deal.  Most auto parts stores will rotate different manufacturer's products into deals on a regular basis.  It's much more cost effective to "bundle" these items than to pay for each one of them separately.  We recommend Monthly Oil Change Special (OCS) page from Advance Auto Parts.  Advance Auto Parts offers a monthly oil change special each month to save you money on a bundle of everything necessary for your oil change.
2. Purchase "lifetime warranty" brake pads.  Most manufacturer's offer lifetime warranties on their brake pads.  Simply keep the receipt from your purchase and when it's time to change the pads, go back to the auto parts dealer and bring them back the used pads to receive a refund on the purchase price of the pads.  Essentially, you can purchase only one set of pads for the entire time you own the vehicle!  You can click here to go to our 'Online Parts Store' and search right there for the brake pads you'll need! 
3. Buy your maintenance parts while they are on sale and keep a small inventory of the parts you will need to replace.  Hoses, belts, and even small replacement parts are good to have handy, like the idler pulley for your serpentine belt, windshield wipers, and fuses, etc.

Planning out your preventive maintenance will help you keep your vehicle in top running form for the life of your car, truck, suv, or van.  It will help maintain it's value too.  Not enough can be said for the value of these small items which in total add up to great value.

And, of course, there's no better place to save you money than our good friends at Advance Auto Parts.   

Seriously, I wouln't preach if I didn't care.....so, get get your car serviced and feel better about it!  It'll give you the satisfaction of knowing that you're vehicle is running great and you've taken all the little precautions to keep you and your family safe!

Happy Motoring!