Man in need of car repair
Most vehicle owners understand the importance of regular maintenance being performed. Whether it's routine, preventative maintenance, or professional repairs, have your car worked on when it needs it helps to prevent small problems from becoming big, costly problems. It also helps your vehicle run more efficiently, and keep running for a long time. Recently, the Toco Warranty Corporation conducted a survey of 1,001 car owners and lessees to find out how many Americans are keeping up with maintenance on their vehicles. Here's a look at the findings.
Scoring
To measure the level of maintenance each vehicle owner was performing, each was given 5.55 points for each of nine common maintenance tasks required for any vehicle, and also assigned an additional 5.55 points when those tasks were performed at the recommended frequency or more often. To gain points, participants in the study could perform the maintenance themselves, or have them done by a professional mechanic. A perfect score of 100 would be given to individuals who performed all nine maintenance tasks on time. The average for American drivers was 76 out of 100.
Who maintains their vehicles best?
Different groups of drivers were found to be better at keeping up with their vehicle's maintenance than others. For example, those with a vehicle service contract scored about 5 points higher than those without one.
Urban drivers and rural drivers both were found to perform more maintenance on their vehicles than those that live in the suburbs. The difference, however, was only about 2 points.
Drivers of an SUV were the best at performing maintenance on their vehicles of any type of vehicle and sedan owners were close behind. All other vehicle owners lagged significantly behind.
Whether or not a vehicle owner had kids at home also played a major factor in the amount of maintenance performed on their vehicle. Those with kids scored about 3 points higher than those without. Those with kids who were able to drive also scored about 3 points higher than those with kids who didn't yet have a license.
Who performs the maintenance?
This study also revealed which vehicle maintenance tasks most Americans feel comfortable performing themselves, and which are most often trusted to a professional. Not surprisingly, washing the vehicle and checking the tire pressure was usually performed by the vehicle owner. More than half of drivers asked a mechanic to check the battery or change the air filters, however. For oil changes, coolant changes, spark plugs, engine belts and brake maintenance, between 60 and 70-percent of vehicle owners went to a local auto shop.
Is maintenance performed on time?
It's also interesting to note which maintenance services are being performed on schedule, and which are being neglected past the recommended mileage. About three out of four drivers in the study had brakes checked and air filters changed every 12-months or 12 thousand miles. Only about 60-percent changed coolant and checked their spark plugs with the same frequency. Only about half of drivers had their oil changed every 3 thousand miles and about 40-percent checked their tire pressure each month. Only a third of drivers had their battery inspected every 3 thousand miles and only about a quarter of drivers had engine belts checked on schedule.
How do you measure up to the average American vehicle owner when it comes to maintenance?
If you're a BMW, Mercedes, or Hummer H1 owner, contact us at Benzin Motor Works to stay on schedule. We'll help you keep your vehicle in top condition and make quick, quality repairs whenever they're needed. Give us a call at 918-728-6081.