What Is the Difference Between Auto Repair & Car Maintenance?

People can often mistake auto repair and car maintenance for the same thing. However, there is a notable distinction between the two. Auto repair is often your mechanic’s response to an issue that your vehicle is experiencing, whether it’s a flat tire, dead battery, worn struts, etc. And car maintenance is preventative vehicle services that help increase the longevity of your vehicle and its parts, like regular oil changes, tire rotations, etc.

We strongly recommend integrating both into your vehicle care regime. Here are our top services for both categories:

Car Maintenance

When you integrate preventive maintenance into your vehicle care, you will not only extend the longevity of your vehicle, but you will also be safer on the roads when you drive. Neglected tasks can cause major issues to your vehicle that could have you pulling over stat. 

• Change your oil. Do not skip this. Depending on your manufacturer’s recommendations, you should change your oil and filter between 3,000 and 6,000 miles of driving. Your engine needs oil to lubricate while dissipating heat and removing contaminants too. When you don’t change your oil regularly enough, this can cause your engine to work a lot harder, which can result in major engine repair or replacement.

• Balance and rotate tires. It’s not uncommon to find an auto shop that rotates your tires after they change your oil. But if you change your oil yourself or your auto shop doesn’t, it’s a good idea to take your vehicle in for a tire rotation and balance. When your tires are in proper alignment, the tread wear is more even, extending the life of your tires.

• Keep your fluids up. From your windshield wiper fluid to coolant fluid, there are lots of fluids in your vehicle that help it run smoothly. Take a moment to check all your vehicle’s fluids and when you get the time, schedule a flush and full replacement of more crucial fluids, like engine coolant.

Auto Repair

As an auto shop, we can’t recommend skipping out on any auto repair service. However, here is a few of our top auto repair services to invest in: 

• Perform tire repair or replacement. It’s very hard and dangerous to get anywhere when you have a tire that is in need of repair or replacement. This is one of the top repairs we recommend to make sure you are driving safely on the road. 

• Check brake integrity. Brakes are essential for safe driving on the road. Take note when you hear screeching or grinding when you hit your brake pedal or even if it’s taking you longer to come to stop. This is a good sign to take your vehicle in for a check up of the brake pads, rotors, and brake calipers.

• Replace car battery. Your vehicle is not going to go far with a dead car battery. This is where a replacement battery becomes essential to getting back on the road. This is one you shouldn’t (can’t) skip out on. 

We hope this post helped you see the difference between auto repairs and car maintenance. Hopefully, it will also encourage you to not discount either one. Swing by if you need either service – we’d be happy to help however we can.