Folks who know cars

What exactly is a tune-up? I know I should have one periodically, but what are the benefits?

I'm fifty six. I've gotten about two tune-ups in my life time. I change my oil about once a year. If your car ain't running rough, don't worry about it.

used to be that you needed P, P &C changed regularly. (Points, Plugs and Condenser) as well as checking the timing.

With all the electronics in ignition and EFI (Electronic Fuel Injection) those things aren't too important on modern cars.

Plugs can foul, and timing can slip but the electronics usually make up for it.

on edit: wouldn't worry unless there is some kind of performance problem....change oil every 300 miles or six month, it's the best insurance for long engine life you can buy.

i know that's gotta be a typo...i walk more than that a month.
...should be 3000 miles..which some can tach in a month or two...

:)

dp

Yep, meant 3000 miles.......

I put 175,000 miles on a company car and the only maintenance done was oil changes and tire rotations......no tune-ups...ever.

The only breakdown was an alternator going bad on me in the wilds of Northeastern Wisconsin

Like Ewagner Said, There Aren't As Importnat As They used To Be. It Doesn;t Hurt To Change Yer Spark Plugs Now And Again However.

I bought it last January with 67K on it. Now it has about 86K.

if you haven't noticed any performance drop, don't get too worried about it. Just get your oil changed every 3-5K.

Anyway, it will be in the shop for AC service this week, and an inspection to see if anything needs work.

You Can Change Your Plugs, But It's Not Necessary Unless You Are Noticing A Loss In Power Or Some "Knocking" Which Also May Be A Result Of Water in The Gas Or Too Low An Octane - Otherwise, Your Car Is Fuel Injected And In Need Of Little More Than An Oil Change Periodically.

They are only good to 60,000 miles...if it wasn't replaced then you should check that out as if it cracks then breaks..your engine will freeze up.

Beyond that...you only need to change the oil about every 7500 miles..and get an inspection every 60K...when you replace the timing belt, it makes sense to replace the water pump as well since the timing belt wraps around the pulley to the water pump...and it wears it down..it will be an extra 80 bucks at the time but will save you the cost of labor later.

I agree with everything folks here are saying. How old is your car, and what kind is it?

on edit: a '95 Beamer? hah - change the oil every 5k and don't put in crappy gas; you'll be fine... Maybe when you hit 100K miles, have a dealer or BMW-specific shop do the 110K service.

You need to have your oil changed every 3,000 miles.

You can do that with a filter, wrench and oil.

Every 15 to 30 thousand miles, you need to check your spark plugs and wires, grease fittings, brakes for the stuff than can cause expensive problems or can lead to an early, expensive death of your car.

I do that too, but I also have a certified mechanic go over my car every 18 to 24 months because he's trained and experienced enough to look and find problems a "shade-tree" mechanic will miss.

If you think it's expensive sometimes, they have a large investment in tools and experience you'll never match until you have to buy a new car.