The Dangers & Costs of Neglecting Your Car

You’re busy. Probably busier than you should be, right? But life isn’t going to slow down for any of us! We have families, work, friends, hobbies, obligations, chores, and unending responsibilities that keep our days busy and our free time limited. It’s difficult to take care of just our basic daily workload, let alone any “extras.” There are many tasks which fall by the wayside in the midst of our hustle-and-bustle lives. Some are harmless – like forgetting to mail that thank you card. But some can be a little more serious – like forgetting to get that scheduled oil change. Is it really that big of a deal? You’re way too busy to go get that oil change this week. It’s not a problem if you postpone until next week… or the next week… right?

Unfortunately, postponing regular and basic car maintenance can create devastating consequences for you and your car. You certainly aren’t alone in neglecting your car during the busy periods of life – plenty of people ignore suggested oil change dates, screeching engines, whiny brake pads, or overheating engines, simply because they have too much going on. But do you know what you’re risking?

Oil changes are by the far the most neglected maintenance for car owners. When they’re regularly scheduled they don’t seem urgent or problematic, so it’s easy to put them off when you have busy obligations stacking up. The bad news is that neglecting oil changes can increase the buildup and friction in your engine. At best you’re looking at wasted gasoline and decreased fuel efficiency, at worst you’ll experience overheating, friction, blockage, and serious engine destruction. You may think you’re saving $30 in the short run, but in the long run it will take hundreds and maybe even thousands to fix a grimy, blocked, overheated, overtired engine.

Screeching engines or complaining brakes are often neglected by car owners because the car is still operating effectively. The noise may sound scary but if the car is running it can’t be that bad! Well… yes it can. Eventually your car won’t start, and what will that mean? You were trying to save money or avoid the problem, but now you need to pay for a rental, expensive repairs, sometimes even a total car replacement! If you had taken your car in for routine maintenance or rapid repair at the first sign of trouble you might have prevented these more costly repairs.

So even though your life is busy and your car’s maintenance seems non-urgent or less important than your crazy to-do list, it’s absolutely critical that you take care of the basic needs of your car. Stay on top of regular oil changes, and the scheduled replacement calendar for things like air filters, brake pads, etc. As soon as you experience a problem or concern – make it a priority to address and fix it. Understand that neglecting your car is both dangerous and exponentially more expensive than fixing problems immediately! Use high quality oils and additives like CleanBoost® Maxx™ to take care of your engine in between your regular oil change appointments.