10 Tips And Tricks To Get Your Car To 200,000 Miles On A Budget

2. Know the difference between dealer recommended service and factory recommended service.

You may find yourself in a dealership due to a recall that you have no other recourse then to head into the dealership or you’re stuck with a repair you can’t do on your own. You may be handed a pamphlet and recommended a regime of services that include transmission flushes, engine oil flushes and oil changes at a certain mileage interval.

Guess what.These dealer recommended service have nothing to do with your factory recommended services. According to one service and parts director with more than 20 years experience in the industry,

"These menus are made by vendors at no charge to the dealer. These vendors are chemical companies that sell the dealership the necessary chemicals to perform FLUSHES on your vehicle. Needless to say these maintenance packages are going to have flushes and fuel additives built into them, none of which are needed for your vehicle and none of which the factory recommends for your vehicle. As a result of this common practice the maintenance package is going to cost more than if you had just stuck with what the factory (the makers and engineers of your vehicle) recommends."

For example, a common dealership or quick lube center service is a full automatic transmission fluid flush. However if you own a 2007 Acura RL you’ll know that the manual tells you to avoid fluid flushes as they can be detrimental to the overall health of your transmission.

Or another dealership service is a recommended oil change. But if you know already know when you’re due for an oil change per the owner’s manual, you’ll know to avoid that dealer recommended service.

Long story short, stick to your owner’s manual and listen politely to what your service advisor has to say and kindly decline whatever unnecessary service they may present. It’ll not only save you time, but money in the long run.

Next: Just buy one of these two cars first.