How to cheat on car repair: don’t let them breed for money

How to determine what you are trying to raise money in the service?

In a tough economic environment in which our country lives for several years, more and more people begin to look for ways to save on owning a car. But, alas, you can not save indefinitely. Especially when it comes to car maintenance, which cannot be abandoned without harm to its technical condition. Unfortunately, in Russia, more and more motorists call in for service less and less, believing that the pass is planned THAT will not lead to anything terrible. But it is not. There is another problem for those car enthusiasts who can’t get enough money to repair the car, but nevertheless, who regularly come to the technical center for THE maintenance routine of your car. We are talking about the various tricks of the garages that try to extort from the client as much money as possible, forcing motorists unnecessary work. Now about this we want to talk about.

Yes, of course, every car owner understands that to save money on car maintenance is pretty simple. Because it needs only to be cut imposed on services. But how can we know what we want to breed for money? How to know what to do in the car is obligatory and what is not necessary?

1) oil change

Do not allow yourself to raise money, when you impose an unnecessary oil change in the gearbox or in the engine. For example, if you have recently changed the engine oil and the next service visit, the mechanic begins to show you a greasy film under the oil cap, telling you that it is due to the fact that the oil has become dirty, do not trust the words of this mechanic. Most likely, you just want to breed for a special oil change.

Remember that engine oil in any car with an internal combustion engine varies strictly according to the technical regulations of the vehicle manufacturer. Usually an oil change is every 10,000 km. In many modern cars automakers extended intervals of oil change up to 12 000-15 000 km. So even if you operate the car in difficult conditions every day, don’t you think you should change the oil before 8 000-10 000 km If you drive every day and in the year of passing no more than 20 000 km, oil change every 10 000 km would be optimal.

So if you want to breed for a premature oil change, feel free to relinquish the imposed services.

The same applies to changing the oil in the gearbox. Unlike the engine oil in the transmission is changed much less frequently. Each vehicle period for scheduled oil change in a box. To find it, read the instruction manual to the car, where usually the manufacturer specifies the frequency of changing the oil in the transmission. Of course, you need to listen to the recommendations of the vehicle manufacturer, not be carried out in an incomprehensible persuasion wizard. And don’t worry about the oil in the box changes very rarely. There is a casting of special gear oil, which can easily withstand large runs. In the automatic transmission is also usually a filter that collects all the dirt, protecting the internal components of the gearbox.

2) injector cleaning

This is another parts of the vehicle, which often breed of car owners at THE next MOT at the technical center. Yes, of course, the fuel injectors must from time to time undergo routine cleaning. But usually these works are very rare. In most cases, injector cleaning according to the regulations, automakers provided closer to 100 000 km (or more).

However, usually such recommendations to producers based on the fact that the car owner used only high-quality fuel. Unfortunately, in Russia this is not good. Especially in regions where there is still some gas stations found Frank surrogate fuel, which can very quickly ruin even the most reliable engine in the world.

Therefore, when operation of the cars in our country, cleaning the fuel injector needs to be changed more often than recommended by the automaker. But it does not mean that you have to pay for the cleaning of each injector. In any case, the interval between the cleaning of the injector should be at least 50000-60000 km.

So, if you come on my new car that traveled only 20 or 30 thousand km, and hear from the mechanic that your car is necessary to clean the injector, do not believe a word of it. You are trying to cheat to extort you extra money.

However, if you recently filled the tank of dirty, substandard gasoline, in this case, regardless of mileage, you is still better to contact the service for cleaning the injector, so as not to receive future issues of this part of the fuel system, which, in the case of failure, spoil your family budget in a round sum.

3) fuel Consumption

Here is another common case of divorce on many stations. We are talking about the urban fuel consumption of your car. Imagine: you come to the service for planned maintenance, and after some time you report that revealed your car has increased fuel consumption which is allegedly beyond permissible by the vehicle manufacturer. In the end, you say that, most likely, the car has a problem, you need to look for. But this requires a comprehensive diagnosis of the engine, fuel system, etc. (including electronic diagnostics). Next, if you agree, your machine, of course, conduct a thorough diagnosis (or pretend, if we are talking about a car with a bad reputation), the results of which, most likely, either did not find or identify some sensor problem, you will be asked to replace. In the end, you will get not only the cost of diagnosis, but also on the cost of the new sensor and the cost of its installation.

In most cases, the described action is pure deception. Yes, theoretically any car can have faults that affect fuel consumption. But usually such failures occur too high fuel consumption, which increases almost in two times. If your car recently started to consume more than 10-20 percent of the fuel, it is not likely a sign that the vehicle has a breakdown. In principle, it is the norm. Most likely, the increased fuel consumption associated with your driving style, weather conditions, under-inflated wheels, etc.

4) coolant change

We know that the cooling system in cars is the key to long engine operation. In the end, each time scheduled maintenance is necessary to test the system for tightness, also check the antifreeze level in the cooling system. If the level is at the minimum or below, you must adjust the coolant to avoid the problems associated with the cooling of the power unit.

Unfortunately, antifreeze is also a favorite excuse for cheating motorists at the service stations. So, very often the owners are trying to impose a premature coolant change, convincing them that the antifreeze has lost its properties and can not properly cool the engine. But do not rush to agree to this type of service. The fact that antifreeze, like engine oil should be changed strictly according to regulations. That is, either by time or by mileage. Usually on an interval of the planned replacement of the coolant is indicated in the service book to the car or in the manual. So if you’ve just recently bought a new car and the next time you visit the repair shop telling you that it is time to change the antifreeze, you better double-check this information, not to throw too much money.

5) replacement of the cabin air filter

And finally, another favorite consumable, which many garages make a fortune. This time we are talking about coal cabin filter, which is also in accordance with the recommendations of the vehicle manufacturer recommended change from time to time.

You will not believe it, but there are motorists that change these filters every while changing engine oil, throwing your money for nothing. The fact that most of the original coal cabin filters installed on the machine intended for longer operation of the machine unlike the air filter, which is recommended to be replaced every oil change.

But unlike an air filter, activated carbon cabin filter is usually more. Plus, in many cars, replacing the cabin filter is not as simple as it can be located in a remote place. That’s why many car services like to impose on their clients unnecessary replacement of the cabin filter. Because the longer the machine is on the service, the more the owner will leave money in it.

But how do you know if you should change the charcoal filter in the cabin? To do this, again refer to the manual of your car where usually the vehicle manufacturer specifies the regulations for planned replacement of passenger compartment filter.

In conclusion, I would like to say is always that everything you say in the service, you need to double-check.

As they say, trust but verify. This principle will help you save a lot of money during servicing of your car. But do not forget that not all proposed unplanned work for service is ignored. After all cases happen different, and sometimes some of the recommended work is still better to produce. For example, here is a list of maintenance work that is better not to ignore:

– Check oil level in gearbox (if you ignore, and you can uyezdtsy, in the case of oil leakage)

– Check the state of the guide fingers of the brake (caliper)

– Check condition of drums and their mechanisms in the brake system (pads and tightness of cylinders)

– Check the efficiency of the braking system

– Check quality of brake fluid and its planned replacement (usually changed every 2-3 years)

Checking the system warning of low fluid level

– Check transmission fluid level in power steering

– Check the installation angles of the alignment of the wheels

Performance test of generator

– Check the level and density of electrolyte in the battery

– Check the headlamp aim and adjustment if necessary

– Lubrication of hinges, lock cylinders, locks, hood and trunk

– Cleaning the drain holes from the cavities of the door (if you ignore the clogged holes can lead to premature corrosion of the bottom of the doors)

– Cleaning the drain holes and drain pipes in the hatch

– Eliminate the chipping of paint, to avoid rust on the body

– Check condition of anti-corrosion coating on the bottom of the car

– Check pressure in the air conditioner

Sometimesiamanasshole знатьЗаконодательствоТехосмотрЛайфхак
Knowledge base