For extend the life of your carcarrying out proper maintenance of the car is mandatory. Spaniards spend an average of just 85 euros per month on car maintenance, a small amount depending on the fleet we have and, especially, its age.
The amount is so low because many drivers They do not perform maintenance properly of their cars, which, in addition to not promoting road safety, can cause major breakdowns with such high repair costs that they may even be forced to change their car.
Neglecting to take care of your car can be very expensive. Here we offer you Six common mistakes and oversights that you cannot afford due to the high costs they can cause to your car.
Timing belt
Vital to the functioning of the car, if it breaks down the destruction that it will cause in the engine will make the cost of its repair cause you to consider changing your car. Therefore, although it is one of the most expensive maintenance tasks, it is worth it Do not neglect deadlines or mileage that the manufacturer recommends for this.
The deadlines may vary depending on the model and use, but most manufacturers recommend a first inspection at 80,000 km and replacement after 50,000 km. 150,000 kms (depending on the manufacturer) or every five years at the most. According to Autingo, a web platform that calculates the price of car repairs, changing a timing belt can cost about 380 euroswhile repairing the damage caused by the breakage can vary depending on the parts affected from 1,500 to 4,000 euros. Sometimes, it is even better to consider buying a new car. We also leave you an article with the differences between the timing belt and the timing chain.
Putting gasoline in a diesel
It is a very mistake more often than it seemseither through carelessness or because of the confusion that is often created by the “names” that oil companies give to their products. As we already told you in detail, if you made a mistake when filling up with fuel, the best thing you can do is not start the car and call a tow truck (paid by the insurance) to get a mechanic to come and fix it. Drain the fuel and clean the linesThis simple operation costs around 200 euros (in addition to what you have paid for the fuel you put in and what you will have to put in the car, which can cost you another 120 euros).
If in addition to pouring the wrong fuel you made two other mistakes, starting the engine and driving the car, the breakdown can be fatalsince the repair may force you to change cylinder liners, pistons, connecting rods, etc., raising the bill to over 2,500 euros.
Water in the fuel tank
If you did not close the tank properly and rainwater entered or for any other reason water has entered the tank of your car, you have a serious problem. It is true that it is rare for this to happen, but if it does, it requires immediate attention.
Can cause the inside of the tank to rustcausing damage to the filter and the engine fuel system, seriously damaging the injectors, breaking the injection pump, the cylinder head… A very serious damage, which can cost you around 3,000 euros to repair, in addition to the 200 that it will cost to empty and clean the tank.
Lack of oil in the engine
Check the oil level in the engine It is one of the simplest preventive operations that a driver can perform on his car. Just look at the levels on the dipstick to avoid problems. In addition, nowadays all cars They have witnesses in the picture to warn of a serious drop in levels. For these reasons, these types of problems should not occur, but the truth is that they are still common due to neglect in vehicle maintenance.
When the engine runs out of oil, the most important parts for its operation, the moving ones, lose lubrication and friction at high speed generating such a high temperature that many of them literally melt, seizing the engine. It is one of the most expensive repairs and may result in having to completely replace the engine. The repair costs more than 3,500 euros.
Excess oil
Falling short is just as bad as going over.. Oil level dipsticks allow you to check not only whether the engine needs oil, but also whether it has too much oil. If the engine has too much oil, it can get into the cylinders and consequently burn more oil than necessary and reach the combustion chamber.
Excess oil causes the engine lubricant to receive more air than it shouldwhich generates foams in its composition that deteriorate it and also do not allow the mechanics to be lubricated as they should, which causes undue overheating.
Removing excess oil is a simple and inexpensive operation, just 40 eurosIf we do not do this and repeatedly allow the engine to run with excess lubricant, the joke can become expensive, even exceeding 1,500 euros.
Lack of coolant
Nothing worse for an engine than a over temperature. Coolant protects the vehicle from low outside temperatures and from limescale build-up in the cooling circuits. Depending on the vehicle, the cost of maintenance can be as high as 70 euros.
You must Check the tank levels frequentlybecause if you don’t, that’s when the surprises come that leave you stranded on the road. If you run out of coolant, the engine overheats and this causes serious mechanical breakdowns, including the most common one being a broken cylinder head, the repair cost of which can reach 3,000 euros.
