Free Republic

For all the expense, worry, and inconvenience of automotive maintenance and repairs, you’d think we would know better. But time and again, we ignore or do certain things to our vehicles that will almost always drive repair bills into the stratosphere. And no matter how highly rated or reliable your daily drive is, no matter how “bullet proof” you think it might be, these very simple things will roll any vehicle into an early grave:

Without trying to toot my own horn, I know a lot about cars. I understand how most items on a car function and how they fail. I know the difference between a 6 ply tire and a bias-ply tire; I can talk about the pros and cons of direct injection; I can argue in favor or against anti-lock braking systems, etc. This knowledge frequently causes frustration when I take my vehicle in for basic services like an LOF (lube, oil, and filter), tire rotations, etc. and I’m “pitched” an unnecessary service item. While I know the service being pitched is...