What kind of maintenance do you perform on your vehicle and how?

monokitty · May 16th, 2011, 02:55 PM

As the title states: What kind of maintenance do you perform on your vehicle(s) and how? i.e; do you change the oil yourself, bring it to your personal mechanic or follow the service manual to the letter at the dealership? Do you skip major services or do it all? How often do you have your car's exterior/interior cleaned?

dona83 · May 16th, 2011, 03:21 PM

My car hasn't seen the dealership for maintenance since the warranty expired, except when I brought it in for a $250 set of switchblade keys to replace ones that I lost.

But with the two sets of keys I was able to make a third set of keys so I never have to spend $250 on another set of keys again. I change my own fluids and do my own brakes, shocks, struts, spark plugs, etc. I'm not sure what else needs to be lubed aside from hinges and in our Mazda 3/5 the rear sway bar bushings. I would like to do my own clutch but I have yet to look into it. Things that require special equipment like tire mounting and wheel alignments I'll bring into a shop of course, plus last time I took off my brake rotors and brought them into a shop to be resurfaced. That may be the one item I bring in although I do want an aftermarket clutch. I am going to be seafoaming my car before my next oil change, it's starting to feel a tiny bit sluggish and using about 0.5L/100km more than it should at 138,000km.

I wash my car once or twice a week. I fully detail in the spring -- remove all old wax/sealant, claybar, polish, seal (sealant provides 12 month paint/clearcoat protection under the wax), wax. Every three months I'll claybar if necessary and rewax. My interior just gets wiped down and vacuumed... I really need to fully detail it.

monokitty · May 16th, 2011, 03:36 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by dona83
	My car hasn't seen the dealership for maintenance since the warranty expired, except when I brought it in for a $250 set of switchblade keys to replace ones that I lost. But with the two sets of keys I was able to make a third set of keys so I never have to spend $250 on another set of keys again. I change my own fluids and do my own brakes, shocks, struts, spark plugs, etc. I'm not sure what else needs to be lubed aside from hinges and in our Mazda 3/5 the rear sway bar bushings. I would like to do my own clutch but I have yet to look into it. Things that require special equipment like tire mounting and wheel alignments I'll bring into a shop of course, plus last time I took off my brake rotors and brought them into a shop to be resurfaced. That may be the one item I bring in although I do want an aftermarket clutch. I am going to be seafoaming my car before my next oil change, it's starting to feel a tiny bit sluggish and using about 0.5L/100km more than it should at 138,000km. I wash my car once or twice a week. I fully detail in the spring -- remove all old wax/sealant, claybar, polish, seal (sealant provides 12 month paint/clearcoat protection under the wax), wax. Every three months I'll claybar if necessary and rewax. My interior just gets wiped down and vacuumed... I really need to fully detail it.

Dedicated.

As for me:

Maintenance: Dealership-serviced (at the dealership I trust, purchased the car from and have built good relations with) - 90% dealer maintained. I perform all services (major) in addition to the regular oil changes. I feel better about the car and its life span when everything is performed as recommended.

Wash the car once every week or every other week - depends on weather conditions. If rain is forecasted for 7 straight days like this week, then both weekend cleanings are post-phoned. The washings also come with a vacuum of the interior. The interior is detailed (by myself) thoroughly every couple months (every 2 or so). Exterior wise - major detailing job is done once a year, normally in the spring. (Clay/Wax/Sealant.)

The car has been flawless so far and looks and runs like new.

dona83 · May 16th, 2011, 03:50 PM

It was the $350 96,000km service that turned me to doing my own maintenance. I did everything in that service plus made the official switch to synthetic oil for 1/3 of the price. I'm never going back to dino oil ever again I can tell you this.

I heard a detailer's secret on the interior.... 1 part Woolite and 6 parts water. Have yet to try it myself but I'm doing my spring detail this weekend, after I receive a motherload shipment from Griot's Garage.

Your car is pretty new.

I don't think you should be afraid to buy out the lease, Mazdas are every bit as reliable as Toyota and Suzuki if you ask me. I'm going to do some major preventative maintenance by slightly rebuilding the engine at 200,000km, mostly to put in a new head gasket (I don't care which car you have, these things will eventually go, it's better to replace it before it needs to be replaced), new seals, and inspect the condition of all the parts. Probably put in a new timing chain as well while I'm at it.

screature · May 16th, 2011, 04:09 PM

Regular fluid and other maintenance as is recommended by the manufacturer. I have a 2008 Escort wagon still going strong. Not a huge amount of mileage... actually well bellow average at 165K kms. I bought it used with very low mileage and I only use it for commuting and errands and such (it was 3 years old when I bought it and only had 30K kms on it).

When we take a long road trip, like down to the east coast a few years back, I rent a car to do the heavy mileage. Sure it costs a few hundred bucks but the way I figure it, it is mileage better put on someone else's vehicle rather than my own. So far the strategy seems to be working as my car is now 13 years old and I should easily get at least another couple of good years out of it.

monokitty · May 16th, 2011, 04:10 PM

Yeah, I switched to synthetic oil at 24,000 KM. I'm now at about ~61,000 KM, a little over 2 years into owning the car. Also - I purchased it, not leased it, so it's all mine. I'll probably keep it for around ~6 years total. Knowing my upkeep of the vehicle, it could likely go longer, but I enjoy new cars and their new goodies and features, so at that point, I'll probably replace it regardless of its condition. (Quite possibly for my then third Mazda3.)

dona83 · May 16th, 2011, 04:42 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by screature
	Regular fluid and other maintenance as is recommended by the manufacturer. I have a 2008 Escort wagon still going strong. Not a huge amount of mileage... actually well bellow average at 165K kms. I bought it used with very low mileage and I only use it for commuting and errands and such (it was 3 years old when I bought it and only had 30K kms on it). When we take a long road trip, like down to the east coast a few years back, I rent a car to do the heavy mileage. Sure it costs a few hundred bucks but the way I figure it, it is mileage better put on someone else's vehicle rather than my own. So far the strategy seems to be working as my car is now 13 years old and I should easily get at least another couple of good years out of it.

Either you have a 1998 or it's currently 2021.

The Ford Escort is a good car, it was one of my top contenders for a 2nd car. Cheap, simple, reliable.

	Quote:			Originally Posted by Lars
	Yeah, I switched to synthetic oil at 24,000 KM. I'm now at about ~61,000 KM, a little over 2 years into owning the car. Also - I purchased it, not leased it, so it's all mine. I'll probably keep it for around ~6 years total. Knowing my upkeep of the vehicle, it could likely go longer, but I enjoy new cars and their new goodies and features, so at that point, I'll probably replace it regardless of its condition. (Quite possibly for my then third Mazda3.)

That's good! Six years is a good plan.

I did contemplate trading up for the 2012. The extra torque and extra gear was nice, and they offered me a whopping $7,000 on my car, but in the end I decided to keep my 2007.

screature · May 16th, 2011, 04:49 PM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by dona83
	Either you have a 1998 or it's currently 2021. The Ford Escort is a good car, it was one of my top contenders for a 2nd car. Cheap, simple, reliable.

Yes my bad.... 1998... stupid me.

I know you like your Mazda's which the Escort of that gen basically was...

I like buying the domestics that are basically imports (greater depreciation when buying used and generally cheaper parts than an outright import)... It has been a great car.

Before the Escort I had a Dodge Colt which was basically the same scenario... domestic labelling based on an import car (Mitsubishi)... it was a great car as well.

DR Hannon · May 16th, 2011, 08:19 PM

I do the brake work (disc only). that is about it.

Chimpur · May 16th, 2011, 08:56 PM

When I had a car, I did as much as I could myself. It helped that I worked at a dealership and could use their equipment if it was after hours or not busy. (BTW, my ex killed that '98 Escort about a month after I left lol!) But my Mother is horrible with her car. She rarely goes in at the correct milage and wants to do the bare minimum as per maintenance. She has a 2010 Mazda 6 and it has given her a number of problem already. Since accepting delivery of the car in Feb 2010 its had a number of problems. The drivers rear window has been working/broken intermittently for nearly a year, the drivers front window creaks and rattles unless all the way up or down and the blower motor switch/relay blew in the winter. Perhaps its karma for her tardy maintenance of her previous Mazda's???