When preparing for a trip, travelers will remember to make reservations, decide what sights to see, and what clothes to pack. But the most important thing that you may depend on could be your car. Make sure it is ready to go at least one month before leaving. Many times, customers call us just before they plan to leave, only to delay the trip due to major repairs or waiting for parts to come in from out of town. What a disappointment! I remember when I was younger, my family was on a camping trip when one of the vehicles broke down. My cousins, brother and I had to entertain ourselves while we waited for our dads to repair the truck – it seemed like time dragged since we were anxious to get on the road again.

Even though your vehicle may have been very dependable up to this point, still have your vehicle checked before you leave. When you drop off your vehicle for the inspection, make sure you let them know that you are depending on this vehicle for your trip. This way the shop will check things that normally may not be checked. This will not guarantee that you will not break down but will eliminate some of the possibilities.

Check your tires. Are they getting worn? Do they have enough air? Are you prepared in case you have a flat with a spare tire and tools to change it, including the key to remove the lug nuts. If your tires look like they are wearing unevenly, have the alignment checked in case you might have any bad front end parts. When you have the tires rotated, have the condition of the brakes checked. If you plan to pull a trailer, make sure the tires on your vehicle are of the proper load range to handle the extra weight.

Listen to your engine. Do you hear any unusual noises such as rattles or whines? It could be a sign of something serious. If you ignore these warning signs, you could be left stranded. Plus, with the price of fuel today, you want to obtain the best gas mileage your vehicle can get.

Check the oil. Many times, shops will do a safety check when doing oil changes – some shops may charge a little extra but it will be worth it if it prevents a breakdown. In addition to checking for oil leaks, ask your mechanic to check for worn hoses, belts, fluids, battery, windshield wipers, lights and other components.

Pay attention to your fuel gauge. Some older vehicles do not have accurate gauges. The last thing you want to do is run out of gas miles away from home. A friend of ours was traveling in an older car. He said he filled up and had been traveling for hours when he noticed that his fuel gauge had not moved for quite a while. He was sweating as he watched for the next exit with a gas station.

Always travel prepared. If you have AAA, make sure you have the number with you along with other emergency numbers. Have your updated insurance card in the glove box. Take an emergency kit with a minimum of basic tools, jumper cables, a flashlight with extra batteries, warning devices such as reflective triangles and a first aid kit. If you take a cellular phone, make sure you have a charger that can be used in your vehicle or an extra battery. You will not regret being prepared but you may regret it if you aren’t. Have a safe trip and enjoy yourself.

Many people are concerned with the high price of fuel, trying to pay other bills, loss of employment, etc. The economy is hurting a lot of people – individuals and businesses as well. People are looking for ways to save money, make the funds go a little further. I don’t blame you. I do the same thing.

One way to help your dollar go further is to maintain your vehicle properly. Routine maintenance can help extend the life of your vehicle. It can also help prevent more expensive repairs – sometimes when you wait too long, parts break or cause additional parts to fail, resulting in extra fees. If a vehicle is not running right, it could be using more gas – and who needs that with today’s fuel prices? Yes – the fuel prices have come down – but why waste it? In some cases, when a vehicle is apart for certain repairs, a professional technician may recommend replacing a part that is known to go bad – even though it is working properly now. While the cost of the part may be a little more than you wanted to pay, if you have to replace it later, you will have to pay to take the vehicle apart again – if it is a big job – you could save a lot in labor.

More customers are trying to save money by letting their friend work on their vehicle. Some of these people are technicians looking to make a bit of extra money on the side. Some of them are unemployed and are doing anything to pay the bills. While some of them can make the repairs properly, some cause more problems than you can imagine. I have no problem of you checking my business out – contact the Better Business Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, look at my website for customer testimonials, check the internet for reviews, ask around town. I want you to feel comfortable about having your vehicle fixed properly. If you decide to have a friend do it, you are taking a risk of getting someone who can talk like they know what is going on – if you don’t know much about cars you could believe anything they tell you – but can they do the job properly and safely? Sometimes they work in an auto related shop – so you think you can trust them. Some are very qualified. But many shops have certain technicians do certain types of jobs – ours included. We have one technician that mainly does our big jobs such as engine replacements but we would never dream of having our oil change person or the technician who replaces brakes do the same job – and they are all classified as an auto technician.

We have seen some of the results of a friend working on the vehicle. Sometimes easy jobs are not done properly. We have seen parts installed incorrectly, components left loose, we find additional parts that the other person missed, sometimes new parts are defective. Some vehicles are unsafe AFTER their friend makes the repairs. We have seen running problems where someone tried numerous parts – sometimes guessing what the problem is – and it now runs worse than before. Now you have paid for parts and labor – some of which may have been needed – but some may not have been – and you still have a car you can’t depend on. If you are lucky, you found someone who could do the job right the first time. But if you aren’t you have to decide – do you take it back to the same person and have him try again? Will he cover the repairs? Will he charge you extra? Will he take care of warranty on defective parts? Will the parts store cover labor if you don’t have a receipt to show you paid for it? How soon can he get it in? Can you trust his repairs this time?

Let’s look at it another way. Your vehicle is almost like a house on wheels. Of course my husband refers to my car as a purse on wheels. Your house consists of plumbing, heating, air conditioning, electrical wiring, etc. Many of you also have computers in your home. If you have a need in your home, you would probably call an expert such as an electrician. Your vehicle also has these same components – and then some – but usually compacted into a much smaller area. There are many components on a vehicle that could fail at any time. My husband is a Master Certified ASE Technician – he has to know something about all these components – so he is like a plumber, electrician, heating & air conditioner technician, computer technician, etc. but works on cars instead of buildings.

While there are some very dependable people who can make the proper repair the first time in their personal garage, you take a chance on losing money when you take it to someone who can’t. You are sometimes further ahead to pay the extra to the professional. Don’t get me wrong, professionals can and will make mistakes – after all we are human – but professionals have a better chance of doing the job right the first time and will usually offer a guarantee in case a new part would fail.