Very often vehicles are towed in with major problems. Burned out coils, bad fuel pumps, broken timing belts and so on. The owner is quite often surprised by the failure and often remarks, "There were no symptoms." On older vehicles, it was true, there were normally symptoms that preceded breakdowns. For instance, an engine in need of being tuned may have idled rough, become harder to start or even loss fuel mileage.
This is not at all the case with today's vehicles. Though extensive computerization, engineers have largely eliminated such symptoms being relayed to the driver. In fact, none of the above symptoms is likely to indicate need for engine tune. Rather they are more likely to indicate failures in the system. Lack of engine tune may show no symptom at all, until there is a failure.
So with no symptom, why be concerned? If it’s not broken, why fix it? This is very expensive reasoning. The symptoms are there, they are merely not revealed to the driver. For instance, worn spark plugs simply demand more energy from the ignition coil(s). A restricted fuel filter over-works the fuel pump and a timing belt just breaks, in time.
This is why scheduled maintenance is so very important. Vehicle manufacturers specify intervals for certain parts to be checked and/or replaced. This is because they realize there will be no symptoms, in most cases. Their recommendations are also at the extreme end of what is possible. They extend intervals, knowing it makes the vehicle appear more attractive to buyers. They also realize, extremely high repair bills, down the road, is likely to drive the client to a new vehicle purchase.
Properly performing maintenance is the surest way to prevent huge repair bills and lower the over all cost of driving. It is also wise to consider that the level of service received may vary greatly from one shop to another. Let us show you how AGCO can lower your cost of driving and why we feel our maintenance service is superior.
