Preventative Maintenance: Your Cheapest Insurance Policy

Preventative – adjective; designed to keep something undesirable from occurring. Also known as preventive.

Without much more said, the Oxford Dictionary pretty much sums up this topic. Preventative Maintenance. Why does the manufacturer want you to follow a service schedule, and why is it important to keep that schedule intact?

Each manufacturer provides a maintenance schedule that should be followed when servicing your vehicle. And let’s not limit this to just cars and 4WDs, this applies to just about everything with an internal combustion engine. So, why do they want you to follow this schedule? By regularly changing fluids at the appropriate intervals, you’re actually prolonging the life of your vehicle’s components.

But it’s more than just changing the oil and spinning off and on a new oil filter. There are multiple checks, both electronic and visual, that need to occur as well. By having these done at each interval set out in the service handbook, you can be warned early if something looks like it’s wearing out. Then, when it comes time to replace that item, usually before failure, you’ve prevented an unscheduled breakdown.

I’m not sure about you, but I can’t think of anything worse than being stranded in a different town with a broken-down car, relying on people you don’t know to fix the issue. Don’t get me wrong, most workshops are very helpful and honest, which makes a tough situation better than the alternative. But then there’s the stress of finding last-minute accommodation if you’re not towing your own. All these little things add up quickly.

That’s why scheduling your maintenance with your local workshop, and having repairs completed before they become breakdowns, is so important.

Most service advisors or workshop managers can view your service history and warn you months in advance of any upcoming expenses you’ll need to budget for. They’ll work with you to ensure your vehicle is truly looking after you, your family, and everyone else on the road. Having access to Buy Now Pay Later schemes can help too, if you’re eligible. Many people find these useful for managing their budget and breaking costs down into manageable instalments.

Preventative maintenance is essential for keeping your vehicle in its best condition. More and more people looking to buy second-hand vehicles pay close attention to how often routine maintenance has been done. They’ll check that each spot in the service handbook has been filled out and stamped by a reputable service centre, and that the odometer readings at each checkpoint haven’t strayed far from the manufacturer’s specifications. If you’re aiming for the best resale value, this is a massive selling point. The buyer can be confident that you’ve actively invested in your vehicle and that any defects would have been addressed. They can drive away knowing they’ve purchased a well-maintained vehicle.

If you plan on keeping your car, having scheduled services completed gives you first-hand knowledge of where things stand and what needs attention. Most service handbooks stop at 200,000 km, but that doesn’t mean you stop servicing. Simply return to the beginning of the schedule: at 210,000 km, your service becomes the 10,000 km service again.

Doing these set services is cheap insurance. Insurance against costly breakdowns and major repairs like engine replacements. If you’re unsure about your service schedule, or your second-hand car no longer has a handbook, reach out to your local service centre for advice. They’ll help you move forward and keep your vehicle as reliable as possible.