Unless you own a rare or classic car, cars are an expense not an asset, and that expense is your cost of transport. Not only do you have to budget for fuel, insurance and registration, you need to weigh up the costs of repairs versus the replacement of a vehicle.
If you use your car for business and can afford a new car every few years, then the tax depreciation benefits far outweigh the ongoing maintenance costs of an older vehicle. If your car is privately owned, then it pays to maintain it properly and extend the life of your vehicle.
Amidst busy schedules and balancing the cost of living, skipping a car service or two can be a dirty little secret. Your mechanic and the car log book speak a lot about how you treat your car when it comes to regular car servicing. The owner’s manual from the car manufacturer has detailed information on how regularly your car should be taken for servicing to an experienced mechanic. Moreover, if you are skipping the scheduled car services just to save the operating costs on the car, you are not only putting safety at risk, but potentially setting yourself up for a higher cost of transport.
Before you are tempted to skip another car service or think that regular car servicing schedules make no sense, Car Servicing & You has 5 reasons why you should NEVER SKIP a car service.
Extends the life of your car: Regular car servicing ensures appropriate safety and efficient performance of all the components in the car. Any vehicle runs on precise mechanical functioning, electronic performance, lubricants and fluids. Car servicing keeps these parameters under check and up to the required benchmark according to the manufacturer’s manual. Keeping the components in great shape, inevitably extending the life of the car.
Reduced risk of expensive breakdown: Getting pre-warned about the hidden problems in your car is the biggest advantage of regular car servicing. Diagnosing and addressing the problems in the early phases prevents them from becoming more serious and unmanageable. For example, engine oil which has not been changed regularly can dramatically affect the internal engine parts, leading to a situation which would require a very costly engine replacement or repair.
Lowered car insurance premiums: A well-serviced car is less least likely to suffer unwanted accidents due to faulty car parts. This can reduce your insurance premiums immensely and prevent you from falling into a great financial risk related to repairs.
Maximum safety on the roads: Regularly serviced cars are great for you, your family and other occupants. A well-maintained car has no sight of worn tyres, faulty brakes, worn out windshield wipers, unbalanced steering, oil issues and other major technical difficulties which can lead to fatal car accidents.
Maintain car value: Cars are very expensive investments and letting them run at their peak efficiency through regular car servicing is an ideal choice. The servicing would maintain the car value and give you a good price when you sell it at some point of life.
So let’s do the maths. The average car in Australia travels around 15000 kms per year. Servicing your car twice a year will on average cost between $500 and $1500 depending on what the car requires. Some years this may be more, some years this may be less. So let’s think of this as $20 a week.
Let’s plan on keeping our car for 10 years or 150000 Kms. Let’s suggest this car cost $25000 brand new. On average, we are looking at around $10-15 thousand dollars over the life of the vehicle to maintain it well. Our cost of transport including the cost of the car and maintenance for 10 years is between $35000 and $40000.
Now let’s look at replacing the car every 5 years. That’s $50000 in car purchases plus maintenance. Over 10 years that equals $60000 to $65000. Take off $10000-12000 for the sale of your old vehicle and you are at $48000 to $53000.
Of course, there are many ways you can reduce your cost of transport that are not as convenient as owning a car and you may prefer to ride a bike, walk or catch public transport. But if you choose to own a car, having a car with a good service record makes financial sense. Some car owners might feel that they are spending a lot on servicing, but the fact is, it costs much more to repair a servicing-starved car. To make your cars run smooth and safe, contact Car Servicing & You at (03) 95710505 or carnegie@carservicingandyou.com.au for regular car services.
