In twenty years, the average age of French cars has dropped from 7 to 8.3 years or around 100,000 km on the clock. This mileage, formerly a harbinger of scrapping, corresponds to the end of the adolescence of a car. As you go for the bmw repair greensboro you can expect the best choices there.
But if we take care of it, it can still cover double that. It is only after twenty to twenty-five years of service that it will be good for breakage, when seals and hoses, electrical connections, underbody and airbags will declare forfeit.
However, we see that the maintenance budget decreases with age as if the owners aligned it with the market value of aging vehicles. From a regular revision at the dealership during the warranty to periodic inspection at the auto center, we end up with a simple emptying from time to time.
This slackening precipitates the wear and tear of the vehicle and often leads to its scrapping, as deplores Raymond Minez, vice-president of the National Federation of Automobile Crafts:
Saving 200 to 300 $ per year by skipping maintenance is losing 100,000 to 150,000 km of use, a very bad calculation. And neglecting preventive maintenance is also expensive in repairs imposed by technical control.
Once the 100,000 km mark has been crossed, certain operations become essential:
- Replacement of the timing belt (every 100,000 to 200,000 km or every four to six years),
- Replacement of diesel glow plugs (every 100,000 km),
- Gearbox emptying,
- Bleeding brake and coolant fluids,
- Air conditioning recharging (every two years),
- Replacement of petrol engine spark plugs (every 40,000 to 60,000 km),
- Replacement of filters (fuel, air, passenger compartment) according to the recommendations in the maintenance book.
Change the “neglected” parts
Some interventions are neglected by dealers and auto centers because they are not very profitable or difficult to carry out, as experts deplore:
The technical inspection report often indicates these faults to be corrected, but since they do not carry any repair obligation, they are mostly neglected. In the long list of points to watch out for, you will have to pay particular attention to certain operations:
- Gearbox emptying,
- Replacement of the air conditioning drier: The correct operation of this inexpensive part (around $ 50) depends on the survival of the compressor, which is billed from $ 300 to $ 1,000,
- Replacement of engine Silent blocks: After ten to fifteen years, they tend to wear out, no longer absorbing vibrations, which accelerates the general aging of the car. Worse, the unbraked movements of the engine deteriorate the universal joints and the gearbox. Few mechanics suggest their replacement. The price of these elements is however low from 25 to 60 $ the complete kit and their installation requires only one to two hours of labor,
- Replacement of the rear and front suspension arm silent blocks: They are generally replaced when the shock absorber is changed to restore the vehicle’s silence, handling and original comfort.
Drive differently
The main enemy of modern mechanics, especially diesel, is no longer wear, but fouling, now the main cause of the breakdown. Once the engine is warm, you should not be afraid to accelerate, without stepping on the floor, but delaying shifting up a gear.
