Keeping car maintenance costs down would be great, but we don’t have control over that. Or do we? A study was done to see which manufacturers have the most expensive maintenance. The data are for all models combined that the manufacturer makes.
Car Maintenance
Car maintenance is the routine services that a car needs to keep running properly. These results were judged for a run of 10 years of maintenance to see which of the manufacturers cost the most to maintain. Of course, this is an average of all of their car models, so there are some models that cost far more than others within the data.
The top ten costliest cars to maintain are the ones made by BMW, with an average cost of $17,800 over the 10 year period. Here is how the runners up fared:
Mercedes-Benz $12,900
Cadillac $12,500
Volvo $12,500
Audi $12,400
Saturn $12,400
Mercury $12,000
Pontiac $11,800
Chrysler $10,600
Dodge $10,600
The winner in this contest is Toyota, which costs only $5,500 to maintain over the course of 10 years. If you’re looking for a very economical car to drive, that would be the best you will be able to do. Here are the runners up:
Scion $6,400
Lexus $7,000
Honda $7,200
Mitsubishi $7,400
Mazda $7,500
As you can see, the foreign cars appear to be the most economical to own, on average. American made cars appear closer to the top of the expensive list and are most of the brands in the middle of the results of 30 car manufacturers.
The Best Car to Buy
The maintenance expenses you will expect is only one factor of many you should consider when purchasing a new car. You will need to take into account numerous factors. When you stop by for your next oil change at A1 Performance Auto Repair, feel free to ask our mechanic’s opinion on the best all around car to buy.
Audi parts are available as Original Equipment Manufacturer parts and Aftermarket parts. Of course, the aftermarket parts are going to be less expensive, by a lot. But are you losing anything by buying aftermarket?
Audi Parts
There are a lot of aftermarket parts (made by non-Audi manufacturers) to choose from. You can get any part you need at the local auto parts store, through your mechanic or even online and none of them were made by Audi. This makes the parts so much cheaper. But is that a good thing?
OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) parts are the ones that the dealer will always install on your car. This is one of the reasons that going to your Audi dealer always costs so much more than using your local auto mechanic, like A1 Performance Auto Repair. These parts will come with a warranty and you just take it into your dealer for replacement when using the warranty.
Aftermarket Audi parts are made by various manufacturers and they have varied warranties, if any at all. But like any company, their reputations are not all alike. Some brands are known to be problematic, others are considered good and some are considered better than original Audi parts. When it comes time to use the warranty, it could be a problem. In order to sift through which brand’s parts are great and which aren’t, you’ll need to rely on your mechanic’s experience. There are brands he will avoid. There are some parts that Audi will void your car’s warranty on if you use an aftermarket part, so ask your mechanic about that when deciding to go the cheaper route.
A1 Performance Auto Repair
At A1 Performance Auto Repair, we’ll give you the choice of Aftermarket or OEM Audi parts for your repair and explain the differences. Stop by today to meet us and get your oil changed.
How up to date is your auto shop? Well, there is one in Poland that takes their equipment very, very seriously. They installed a Commodore 64 25 years ago and are still using it today.
Auto Shop
The Commodore 64 was put on the market in August of 1982. It was the bestselling computer in the history of computers, which at the time was a fairly short history. The personal computer had arrived and anyone who had the (today’s equivalent) of almost $1500 in their pocket was in line at Radio Shack to get one of those. It was probably the same scenario in Poland, back in the day.
So, the auto shop bought one and started using it for their day to day computing. Oddly enough, their day to day computer must not have changed much over the past 25 years, because they are still plugging away on it.
The computer they are using hasn’t been all that well cared for, but it keeps clicking away without complaint. They say it has been sitting near a window that has bathed it in rainwater now and then. Birds found it necessary to disrespect it with some poop on occasion. Clearly the Commodore 64 was a well build machine that was ready to take on whatever you have to throw at it. And it continues to take the abuse until this day.
It does make one wonder, though. How many thousands of dollars have you spent on upgrades, software and new computers since 1982? Maybe? Is it possible? Is it possible that none of that was necessary and everyone could have kept tapping along with those huge floppy discs? Have we been duped?
A1 Performance Auto Repair
At A1 Performance Auto Repair we pride ourselves in being an auto shop that stays up with current technology. The Commodore 64s of the world are probably happier in Poland.
When you need a car repair, you’ll likely be faced with the question: Do you want new parts, remanufactured or rebuilt? Rebuilt parts, you’ll be told, are just as good as new and far cheaper. But are they really as good as new?
Car Repair
Cars are the big money pit once they get about 50,000 miles on them. You’ll be replacing brakes, the alternator, starter and if you’re super unlucky – the transmission or engine. There is no doubt about it, any car repair is expensive and it is a bill you didn’t have scheduled to pay. Your mechanic will offer you a choice between new parts and saving some money by installing a rebuilt part. Here is what you need to know.
Rebuilt Car Parts
When you choose a rebuilt part then you’ll have your car part repaired. If your part is too far gone then a rebuilt part will be purchased. In that case, the part was completely inspected and the mechanic that rebuilt it replaced all the pieces in it that were broken. In theory it works as good as new now, unless something was missed or miscalculated. Sometimes it’ll work fine for a few months and fail again. Sometimes it is a great deal, but there are times that for only a couple of extra bucks you can have a brand new part. You need to do the math.
Remanufactured Parts
Remanufacturing parts takes extra care in remachining parts and making them as close to brand spanking new as possible. These parts really are like new and have a good warranty. They have far fewer incidents of failure.
New Parts
The best parts to get for your car repair are going to be new. But when it comes to replacing an engine or transmission, remanufactured parts are a lot more affordable. The next time you need work done on your car, give us a call at A1 Performance Auto Repair.
The quickest way to find out what the recommended Prius tire pressure should be is to look inside the car’s door jamb. You’ll see a label that is where your car door connects to the body of the car. On that label you’ll see your tire PSI number. Fill your tire to match that number. If you cannot read the label then you’ll need to try a few other things to find it.
Prius Tire Pressure
Another way to find your Prius tire pressure is to check the manual. Hopefully, it is tucked away safely in the glovebox. You can open it up and use the index in the back of the manual to find page numbers listed for tires or tire pressure.
Unfortunately, not everyone has kept their car manual. Buying a used car is especially problematic when it comes to having the manual still with the car. If yours is missing then you can download a copy of it on the Prius website.
Select your car model and year in the drop down menu and it will pull up a brand new manual for you to download and then print. Keep a copy of that manual inside your car.
Guessing what your tire pressure should be is never a good idea. This can cause the tires to be overinflated or underinflated. When this happens it can cause uneven tire wear, greatly shortening the life of your tires. You will need to know for sure the psi your tires should be.
A1 Performance Auto Repair
If you cannot find what your Prius tire pressure should be with the above methods then stop by A1 Performance Auto Repair. We can look it up and then replace the information on the sticker in your door jamb.
An auto repair place that does a great job and is affordable is A1 Performance Auto Repair in Sunnyvale, CA. They work on cars, trucks and all makes and models of cars. They will even tow you in for free!
Auto Repair Place
There are several ways to check out a new auto repair place before you go in. There are organizations where you can check their reputation, ask friends and neighbors who they use and read the yelp reviews.
Yelp Reviews
You can learn a lot from reading the reviews on Yelp. You will spot a trend if there is a particularly good service they provide or if they have a problem with serving their customers. Sure, there is an undeserving bad review by a customer that just loves to complain, but if you see the same complaint over and over, it is probably true. Be sure to read the bad reviews on a repair shop and read the good ones, too!
Diamond Certified
When a car repair shop is Diamond Certified, it means that he has achieved a high satisfaction level with customers. The Diamond Certified program will call a huge sampling of customers and survey them on how things went when they had their car repaired at that shop. Only the best shops are allowed Diamond Certified status.
ASE Certified
The ASE program tests mechanics to make sure they really know their job. There are a couple of different levels of testing that they do. Shops that are ASE certified have proven their ability to work on your car.
Free Towing
A1 Performance Auto Repair offers a free towing service when the car is within 3 miles of their shop. This can save you a lot of money when you need an auto repair place fast to get you going again.
Cliff and his team are some of the best mechanics around. Minh always provides an awesome customer service. I brought my car for major service about two... read more
The people here are amazing, genuine and beyond kind. Every mechanic goes above and beyond--consistently surprising me with the level of customer service.... read more
Minh, Cliff, and everyone at A-1 are the best.
I've brought my cars here for the past 2 years.
Minh usually takes care of me and is super knowledgable.... read more
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