by Eric Peters EricPetersAutos.com
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You dont have to be a mechanic or even much of a DIYer to save money on car-related expenses. For instance:
Use your ears
You can avoid costly brake problems by listening to your brakes. If you hear anything, its time to do something. Brakes should be silent. When theyre not, its a good bet theres a problem. It might just be a squeak caused by glazed (or misaligned) pads, or slightly rusty rotors which can happen when a car is left to sit for a awhile. But it might also be that your pads are on the verge of wearing out and about to gouge your expensive rotors into expensive junk. Dont go by mileage since your last brake job. Brake pads can and do sometimes wear out sooner than you expect them to.
Bottom line, if you hear something, get it checked ASAP.
Use your eyes
To watch and keep track of the dials in front you, in the instrument cluster. Gauges vs. idiot lights are great. If youre paying attention. Idiot lights which most cars used to have only illuminated when it was already too late to do much but pull over and call for a tow. For example, the little light that said oil typically came on only when you had next to no oil pressure. It might as well have said you lose. Same with the other idiot lights: Temp meant the engine was already overheating. Batt meant the alternator just croaked.
Gauges which most late-model cars have give you much more information. If youre paying attention to them. You will be able to notice, for example, abnormal or rising engine temperature before the engine actually overheats. This might give you time to get off a busy highway or get to a service station as opposed to being stranded by the side of a busy highway and far from help. A low or erratic oil pressure reading noticed in time might just save you a $5,000 engine replacement. A number of late-model cars (well, trucks mostly) are even blessed with a transmission temperature gauge. If you pay attention to it and see the fluid temperature rising and shut the vehicle down before the needle gets into the red zone, you will probably have saved yourself a $3,000 transmission job.
Bottom line: Get into the habit of regularly scanning your gauges and becoming familiar with normal readings so that youll immediately notice the abnormal ones before its too late to do much about it.