7 Vehicle Maintenance Myths That Will Have You Baffled

A lot of mechanics will have you making unnecessary repairs and have you over-maintaining your vehicle. This causes you to spend hundreds of dollars on unneeded maintenance. So here are seven ways you can start saving money on your car.

1.  Tire Pressure

When you look at your tires and you see Max. Press. 35 PSI this tells you the maximum cold pressure the tire can handle. Cold pressure meaning when the vehicle is cold (early in the morning or when a car has been sitting in a shaded area for a few hours). Filling tires to the maximum PSI every time can make the tires' life decrease and when you brake the vehicle's back end could slide out. Check the spec that is listed on the inside of the door for accurate tire pressure for your vehicle or for most tires filling them to 30 and 32 PSI is best.

2. Warranty Validation

If you need to get maintenance done on your car and when you bought the car the dealership said: “you have to bring it here in order for the warranty to be valid,” this is not true! You can get maintenance done where you please. According to the FTC, "It is illegal for a dealer to deny your warranty coverage simply because you had routine maintenance done by someone else." Also, the “Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act makes it illegal for companies to void your warranty or deny coverage under the warranty simply because you used an aftermarket or recycled part.”

3. Oil Change

Most mechanics will tell you that you need to get your oil changed every 3,000 miles but new cars can last around 7,500 miles or what is suggested in the car’s owner manual.

4. Premium Gas Is Better

Premium gas is 15-30 cents more per gallon than regular octane. If your car doesn’t require premium gas it offers no benefit to you. According to the FTC “, the recommended gasoline for most cars is regular octane. In fact, in most cases, using a higher-octane gasoline than your owner's manual recommends offers absolutely no benefit. It won't make your car perform better, go faster, get better mileage, or run cleaner. Your best bet: listen to your owner's manual.”

5. Car Donation

When it comes time to get a new car, you may be debating on donating it because you have heard the process is long and complicated. That is not the case when you donate to Vehicles For Veterans. You can have your vehicle donated in a few minutes by calling us at 1-855-811-4838 or you can fill out our 2-minute online donation form. Once that is finished you will get a call within 24 hours to schedule your vehicle pick up. Lastly, once your vehicle is towed away you will receive you tax deductible receipt in the mail.

6. Nail In Tire

If you run over a nail and put a hole in your tire, you do not need to replace the whole tire. In this case, most repair shops would be able to patch the hole for less than $50, versus you going out and buying a new tire for a couple hundred dollars.

7. Vehicle Air Conditioning

If you feel that driving with your AC on will use a lot of fuel and having you windows down doesn’t impact your fuel usage, here are the facts! Many different studies have shown that having your AC on will use more fuel than having just your windows down. However, having your AC on won't impact your fuel economy that much. In most cases, if you change the way you drive, that will make the most impact saving gas.