Mr Weeze

The Midas on Mason actually seem decent I've found

Yorkieabroad

Is that the one sort of opposite James Coney Island? My father in law used to go there until they told him he needed 1500 worth of work doing on his brakes. He took the car over to Meineke and they fixed it for just over 100 bucks. Maybe I have a jaded view, but I think all of them are sharks deep down - the important thing is being able to spot it when the fin breaks surface......

Mr Weeze

Could be, it's just north of Randalls. The other one I found is Katy Auto Care on I10 feeder just near Hooters between 99 and Mason. They are independent and honest, but generally pretty fully booked.

Yorkieabroad

Yeah, I went to Katy Auto Care last year. I was getting a tyre rotation/balance at Discount Tyre and they snapped a wheel stud - sent me to KAC to get it fixed. While I was there, I mentioned that I had a funny noise on the front axle, so we went out for a test drive to see what it was. I was thinking wheel bearing, but he told me it was a "noisy" tire, and it should be changed out under warranty - even called Discount Tire to tell them that, and they agreed to change it. Bet they regretted snapping that stud I made a mental note to go there next time I had a non-routine problem.

The other place I've been impressed with is Katy Honda Specialists (or something like that) in the workshops/storage place out the back of Discount Tire on I-10 at the top of Mason. 2 guys, ex Honda Cars mechanics, now on their own, specializing in Honda and other Japanese models - used to use them a lot when we had the Pilot. Cheap, professional, honest. Some of the smaller places seem more interested in building a long term relationship with decent honest work, rather than ripping off the punter for the fast buck and risking losing the customer if they wise up.

MostlyYank

Newer engines need more attention to oil than old engines. Picture an old Ford 300 ci (4.9l) cast iron straight six. It takes a nuke to kill. Oil is optional Compare that in your head to a 1.3l OHC all aluminum straight 4. It might be able to run forever and get great mileage while being incredibly efficient, but by golly you'd better keep the oil clean and for Petes sake don't let it over heat!

I don't use a set interval except as a guide. You can pull your dipstick and look at the oil. And in the case of the aforementioned 1.3l and other small tight tolerance engines, if you're in tune with your car, you can tell by the way it runs!

'Good' oil still sits like a bubble on the dipstick. 'Bad' oil turns flat and gritty.

I've used dinosaur and synthetic oil. I like synthetic, but believe (with no proof except good running long term cars over the years) that if you change your oil at 5000 or so regularly, and aren't driving in real extremes (desert, artic, delivery or racing) you're probably OK with dino oil.

Your overall maintenence should really be dictated by how long you plan on keeping your car imo. I keep my cars for years, 7-8-9-10 or until they rust, so I flush the coolant system every year, injector cleaner every oil change, change the transmission filter and fluid in the pan every year or two, change the brake fluid when I change the brakes, the hoses plugs and (if so equipped) spark plug wires every 4-5 years, shocks usually around 100k, the rear differential fluid (I usually have RWD) every 50K or so, and the power steering fluid once in a blue moon if I think of it.

2X on the timing belt tensioner. If one has to take off the belt to get to the water pump it might be a good idea to a have that done while they're there.

'Fan' belt tensioner too, when you change your serpentine belt it should be inspected. Aluminum heads and or aluminum (aloominneeum? ) blocks do not like overheating as mentioned: belt failure = water pump failure = warped heads = wallet failure.

Blah, blah, blah I enjoy this stuff though.

Pete

Dan725

I change the oil as per what it says in the book for a "Normal" schedule. This whole every 3k thing is complete barlicks, IMO. Of course all the oil change places will tell you that - the other thing it really has become a way of life over here, and is why so many people do it.

Generally speaking, if you go with the manufacturers schedule for everything, you can't go wrong - they made the cars and ought to know...not Jiffylube. Amusingly however, you'll even get the franchised brand specific Main Dealers trying to Jiffylube you...that's what annoys me.

Steerpike

Remember that the manufacturers have a vested interest in making the interval as long as possible; when calculating the 'Total Cost of Ownership' on a car, the service intervals are taken into consideration. People are going to be attracted to a car that claims a longer service interval, so the service interval becomes part of the sales process. This is probably a bigger factor in the UK than here, since in the UK 'fleet' cars are a big deal (company cars). If Ford can claim their model 'x' can go 30,000 between services, that model may be selected as the 'company car' for some company.

My car tells me when a service is due based on driving patterns; that is, if I drive it hard, and / or on lots of short trips, it will tell me a service is due sooner than if I do lots of long trips at steady speeds. I haven't tried to calibrate this, but it makes sense to me. I just take it in when the dashboard tells me to

MostlyYank

Btw folks I'm not a mechanic, but I'm pretty good at breaking things in the name of fixing them

If anyone's looking for info on a repair and needs some help drop me a line and I'll try to help, at least perhaps point in the right direction, if you're lucky lol.

Pete

Yorkieabroad

This thread getting bumped reminded me....it wasn't the Midas that tried to rip off my FIL - it was the Firestone just a few blocks up, opposite the James Coney Island. Err, sorry, my bad

HarryTheSpider

And you continue to do business with them because...?

dakota44

I always get a kick out of folks who will spend 25, 30, 35k or so on a car and then get cheap on the maintenance. Saw a lot of it over 30 years. Simple fact, take care of it and it will likely take care of you, with rare exception. Every trade-in that I ever saw with 300, 500 and even more than 700k on it was owned by someone that had extensive service records, oil changes every 5k, transmission flushes (automatic) every 75k and so on. They were usually also the kind that, when they needed 2 new tires, they installed four to have equal tread on all four wheels, something that is often critical for control in wet or slippery conditions, and they never mixed brands or tread type since doing so can defeat the vehicles handling charactistics. Never have different size tires on the front and rear (unless it is standard equipment...Ford put out a Mercury Marauder some years back that had larger tires on the rear. The Service department made the booboo of rotating them so there were two different sizes on the front and the back. Played hell with the stability control and traction lock and you couldn't even get out of the parking lot. LMAO ) especially with vehicle stability control. They also had a full set of snows, not all seasons for winter driving.

Snows are made softer so that they do not harden as much as all seasons in extreme cold and you do not start out driving on tires that are like bricks. It is the tread and softness combination that provides the better grip. While all seasons will provide some reasonable grip in light winter conditions, snows will outdo them every time on snow and ice. Of course, be sure to change them back as soon as possible in the spring because they will wear out much faster than all seasons on dry roads.

Driving conditions and habits have a significant influence on proper maintenance. When you pay good money for a car, the smartest thing is to not go cheap on maintenance. It can cost you in many ways. When it comes time for resale, a car with an impressive maintenance list brings more bucks.

N1cky

I was lucky if a set of tyres lasted me 9 months in the UK, bloody Milton Keynes roudabouts.

Just bought a new Jeep and for the first time ever bought the full service option, got it at an incredible price. So determined to get it serviced at every interval suggested.

Bink

I'm at 7,500 miles on my Acadia and it's already been serviced twice (had it 4 months...)
I too will be sticking to the suggested intervals since I'm doing a reasonable amount of mileage and it was a fairly significant purchase (for me, car-wise at least).

Weeze

I was surprised as the manager of Midas is always great with me.

Yorkieabroad

Because they charge $30 for an oil change on a 5.7l engine including interior valet and exterior wash........cant beat that, as long as you can say "no" to all the unnecessary
stuff. And my kids would probably tell you that is my favorite word ;-)