It's 2009, has your car been serviced?

Now that it’s the new year, this is a pretty good time to take a step back and think about if your car needs any service. Most people know that their cars need service at certain intervals (usually every 30k miles), but there are other periodic things that really need to be taken care of.

Let’s put it like this: doing the maintenance on time can save you thousands of dollars down the road.

So how do you know what to do and what not to? The best place to look is in the owner’s manual. Almost every manual has a schedule about what maintenance needs to be done, and at what interval. (Usually it’s listed in miles.)

Don’t have your manual? Some websites (Edmunds, for example, http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/select.html) will let you look up a car’s schedule and figure out what you need to do. Edmunds’ site will even give you a price estimate. For example, let’s say you have a 2004 Dodge Grand Caravan EX with 46,000 miles. It turns out that your engine air filter, cabin air filter, and oil should be changed, at an approximate cost of $93 in parts and labor. Your parts and labor costs will probably vary from a website’s estimate, but it gives you a ballpark.

For our example Dodge, there’s not anything critical or expensive on the list. Changing the oil at the recommended interval is very important, of course, for the long-term health of your car. But it’s not difficult or expensive. Keep in mind that some of these scheduled maintenance costs can be a lot. For example, at around 60,000 miles the service for a 1999 BMW 530i will run around $430.

That doesn’t mean you should skimp! Just be aware of these periodic costs. Trust me, having to replace an engine is going to be a lot more than $430.

Hope that helps!