Preventative Maintenance

Preventative Maintenance is the act of servicing or replacing worn or damaged individual parts and components of a system before their enevitable failure causes a total breakdown of the system.

A policy of preventative maintenance is preferable to a policy of fix-after-failure because preventative maintenance can be performed at convenient times and has predictable and manageable costs, whereas repairs after failure are often required at inopertune times, in remote locations, and at unpredictable and often extreme cost. 

One example of necessary preventative maintenance is the scheduled replacement of rubber or composite engine valve timing belts on the newer automobiles.  The belts are expected to last from 50,000 to 70,000 miles and must be replaced on schedule.  A timing belt most often fails when the engine is under changing or heavy load at high rpm.  Many newer engines do not have enough clearance between the valves and pistons so that when they get out of synchronization, due to a belt failure, the pistons come up and hit and bend the valves.   The cost of replacing an old and worn timing belt can be one or two hundred dollars depending on the vehicle, but the inconvenience of being towed from a remote location and having to pay from one to two-thousand dollars for a valve job with replacement of damaged valves, makes preventative maintenance of timing belts relatively convenient and highly cost effective.

From experience we can say, with total confidence, that in all cases, the cost of preventative maintenance is far less than the cost of repairs after failure of old and worn parts.  Preventative maintenance is also far, far more convenient and less stressful.

Call us and let's talk about the preventative maintenance schedules and requirements for your particular make and model automobile.

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