This week’s “Ask a Mechanic” is all about the right kind of maintenance for your vehicle.

Dave and Katie Neer, owners of Solomon’s Garage, have heard all of the excuses. Many people think that regular oil changes are the only necessary thing to do for a car to perform well.

Here are some great pointers on what really does need to be done consistently to our vehicles for them to keep running smoothly.

Why do I need to change my coolant? My spark plugs? My transmission fluid?

“All I should have to do is change the oil, and this car should run for 200,000 miles. It's a Honda! This car owes me."

Statements like these are often heard across the counter — or over the phone — by our service advisors.

If there's one piece of advice every vehicle owner should take to heart, it's the importance of following the manufacturer's maintenance schedule.

Our owner, Dave, often says that 90 percent of roadside breakdowns could have been prevented with routine maintenance. Our lead technician, Brian, puts it another way: You can choose when to perform maintenance on your schedule and within your budget, or you can let the vehicle choose for you.

Coolant: A small investment that prevents big repairs

For example, most maintenance schedules recommend replacing engine coolant every five years. Over time, coolant loses its protective properties and can become acidic. When that happens, corrosion can develop inside the cooling system, causing metal components to pit and rust. Debris can accumulate in the radiator, restricting coolant flow and reducing the engine's ability to stay cool.

Neglected coolant can also contribute to leaking water pumps, clogged radiators and overheating. A coolant service may cost a few hundred dollars, but postponing it can lead to repairs costing hundreds and even thousands of dollars. In severe cases, an overheated engine may require a full replacement.

Transmission fluid: One of the most expensive fluids to neglect

Another costly lesson many vehicle owners learn is the importance of transmission fluid service.

Many manufacturers recommend changing transmission fluid every 30,000 to 60,000 miles, particularly under severe driving conditions such as towing, stop-and-go traffic, mountainous terrain or extreme temperatures (like those we experience in West Central Ohio).

Depending on the vehicle, transmission services typically cost between $300 and $700, largely due to the cost of the fluid and whether a serviceable filter is involved.

Some manufacturers advertise "lifetime" transmission fluid, suggesting that the fluid never needs replacement, and touting a low cost of ownership of their vehicles.

However, their definition of "lifetime" can vary significantly, and is often considered to be only about 100,000 miles.

In fact, many of those vehicles are equipped with transmissions manufactured by ZF—a leading transmission supplier—and have maintenance recommendations from ZF that include regular fluid service every 30-60,000 miles.

If you consider that the vehicle manufacturers also make money selling new cars, you may start to see why they do not push transmission fluid changes. If you believe your transmission holds a "lifetime" fluid and doesn't need to be changed, your vehicle will fail earlier than it would otherwise, and you would end up just buying a new car rather than fixing it.

At an independent repair shop, we often see customers who want to keep their vehicles for the long haul. For those owners, regular transmission fluid changes can be one of the best investments they make.

It's an expensive lesson to learn when a $300 transmission fluid service that seemed unnecessary and like a shameless upsell from your service writer at the shop, is followed by a transmission failure a couple years later that costs $8,000 to replace. That is a very hard pill to swallow, if still making payments on the vehicle.

While no maintenance service can guarantee a component will never fail, regular fluid changes can significantly improve the odds of long-term reliability.

Maintenance is almost always cheaper than repairs

The reality is that every fluid, filter, belt, hose and spark plug on your vehicle has a useful lifespan. Maintenance isn't about spending money unnecessarily—it's about replacing items before they fail and create larger, more expensive problems.

If your goal is to get 200,000 miles or more out of your vehicle, don't think of maintenance as an expense. Think of it as an investment in avoiding breakdowns, extending the life of your vehicle and reducing the likelihood of major repairs down the road.

After all, the cheapest repair is usually the one you never have to make.

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Thank you for these helpful explanations, Dave and Katie! It really makes sense to take care of our vehicles that get us where we need to go!

To schedule your car for maintenance, call (937) 887-0029, or visit the Solomon’s Garage website at: https://www.solomonsgarage.com.