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Budgeting for Maintenance In Oshkosh Wisconsin

Life's full of surprises in Oshkosh Wisconsin, some of which cost money. A leaky roof, a broken tooth, or an unexpected car repair. The Auto Authority LLC of Oshkosh Wisconsin and AutoNetTV have done some research on how we can budget for proper vehicle care.

Everyone in Oshkosh Wisconsin does our best to budget for scheduled vehicle maintenance. What's hard is unexpected repairs. The truth is that our vehicles can stay on the road longer than ever before with proper maintenance. That's because of improved vehicle design and manufacturing quality. But some of those same improvements also lead to higher repairs costs.

Let's take the fuel pump. Previous generations were often stranded by the side of the road by vapor lock. This occurred when the gas vaporized between the gas tank and the fuel pump. Fuel just stopped flowing.

You had to sit and wait until the car would start again. To alleviate the problem, fuel pumps are now located inside the gas tank. This is a great solution, but when the fuel pump fails, it's a much more expensive proposition to replace it.

Sealed wheel bearing assemblies are another example. These wheel bearings can't be serviced – you just have to replace the entire assembly when it starts to fail. That costs several times as much as service on non-sealed bearings.

So we all benefit in Oshkosh Wisconsin from design improvements, but we need to plan for repairs down the road.

There's a tool that can be found on Edmunds.com that you can use to prepare your service and repair budget.

Let's suppose you have a 2003 Toyota Camry – a very popular car in Oshkosh Wisconsin. It's now paid for and you'd like to keep it running for the next three years. You can go to Edmunds' True Cost to Own calculator and enter your vehicle's data. The calculator will provide estimates of what it'll cost to service and repair your vehicle over the next five years. The estimate is based on where you live in or near Oshkosh Wisconsin, manufacturers' recommendations and repair experience for your particular model.

Of course these are just estimates – there's no way to predict what'll actually happen to the car in your driveway, but it's a good starting point.

The calculator also has estimates for depreciation, financing, insurance, taxes and fuel costs.

Let's focus on maintenance and repair. This table shows that the average monthly cost of maintenance and repairs is eighty-three dollars. That may sound like a lot, but compare it to a new car payment.



So if you set aside eighty-three dollars a month, you'd go a long ways towards taking care of routine maintenance and being prepared for the unexpected repairs that arise.

Of course, you can't predict when something will go wrong or what it'll cost, but at least you have a reasonable target to shoot for.

Some people around Oshkosh Wisconsin are afraid of what can go wrong with their older car so they buy a new one. That's fine if you really want a new car, but if you properly maintain your older vehicle, you'll save a lot of money on new car payments and insurance. It just makes good economic sense.

Get with your Oshkosh Wisconsin service advisor at The Auto Authority LLC and work out a plan for keeping your vehicle on the road.

You can visit The Auto Authority LLC at 804 Witzel Ave in Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902 or just give us a call at 920-231-1016.

The Right Automotive Fluids For Green Bay Drivers

All those automotive fluids can be confusing for Green Bay drivers. Recent years have brought new grades of engine oil, types of transmission fluid, coolant, and brake fluid. The right fluid protects your vehicle and helps it perform at its best. The wrong fluid won’t work as well for Oshkosh drivers and could even cause damage.

In addition to new grades of engine oil, many sedans now leave the factory with synthetic oil. Green Bay drivers should always use the recommended grade and type of oil in their engine.

All coolant, also called antifreeze, used to be green. Now there are several other colors of coolant sold at The Auto Authority LLC in Oshkosh. Each type is designed to protect the cooling system components that are particular to your vehicle. The wrong stuff can void your sedan cooling system warranty and could even cause engine damage.

Most passenger vehicles on Oshkosh roads today use either DOT 3, DOT 4 or DOT 5 brake fluid. Your sedan power brake system is specifically designed to use ONE of these types – you need the right one. Higher numbers do not necessarily mean a higher, upgraded fluid.

Now, the important thing is knowing that your vehicle requires specific grades and types of fluids and that using the right fluids is good and using the wrong ones is bad. Once you’ve got that down, it’s easy to remember to check with your friendly The Auto Authority LLC technician or sedan owner’s manual to find out which automotive fluids to use.

Give us a call

The Auto Authority LLC
920-231-1016
804 Witzel Ave
Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54902