News

by: Mike Najjar

When it comes to their vehicles, some St. Louis people don’t have a maintenance mindset. They know they need to take care of their cars, but it just seems really hard to get them to remember to do it. St. Louis drivers generally accept that many things in life require regular maintenance, but just may have not applied it to their sedans.

For example: the lawn. You water it and mow it every week. And weed the flower beds and rake the leaves. There are other things that St. Louis people are good about maintaining. Going to the dentist twice a year. Clothes to the dry cleaner. Flu shots. Taking the kids to your St. Louis doctor for a checkup before school starts.

So St. Louis people really are maintenance minded. They just have to learn to apply that mindset to cars. I mean, if you never brush your teeth or go to the dentist, you’ll become painfully aware of your neglect when you get a big cavity. Once the damage is done, we learn our lesson and start to take better care of things.

Unfortunately, St. Louis sedan owners too often learn the hard automotive lesson when they bring their vehicle to Master Auto Repair on a tow truck. So many times a little routine maintenance would have prevented a breakdown.

So how can St. Louis drivers get into the habit of taking care of their sedan? It’s so easy to forget. If you skip cutting the grass, you see it every time you pull in the driveway.

Here’s something that will help: The key to good vehicle maintenance starts with the oil change. Think about it – when you go in for a full-service oil change, your Master Auto Repair tech will check all your fluids. If one of them is low, he can look for the reason why. If yourserpentine belt is cracked, he’ll see it and let you know. Corroded battery cable – they’ve got you covered. And at Master Auto Repair, we check to see if your sedan manufacturer has recommended any services at your current mileage.

The oil change becomes kind of a focal point, a way to check in to see what needs to be done. The fact is that vehicle inspection surveys consistently reveal that over 80% of vehicles have one or more unperformed repair or maintenance service. Vehicles are generally very reliable and can take a lot of abuse and neglect. But, you’ve got to remember that sedans are complicated machines. There are parts and fluids that are critical to their function. Without them, the sedan won’t run at all.

So when you come in to Master Auto Repair for an oil change, you get a visual inspection from your friendly service advisor and a reminder for recommended services so you can avoid a total failure. And remember that your Master Auto Repair service advisor can help you work out a maintenance and repair plan, prioritizing and scheduling the work to make sure you and your family are safe, and avoid expensive breakdowns.