10 Worst Things You Can Do To Your Car

[2005Beetle]

The 10 Worst Things You Can Do to Your Car - Yahoo! Finance

I look at that list and I think of my current problems. #4 is not checking tire pressure. I'm pretty sure that this is what caused my transmission pan to be destroyed.

I saw another beetle with low tires and thought the worst. Maybe they have a Panzer plate.

[Jeff2]

Considering #1 is "Putting off recommended / scheduled maintenance", several of the others follow from that (like #3, #5, and #7).

#2, "Ignoring the “check engine” light", was made fun of several times on Big Bang Theory. The character Penny drives an old VW Rabbit whose "check engine light has been on since I bought the car". In one episode she finally said something like "The check engine light is fine, it's the engine that's broken".

I have a problem with #8, #9, and #10.

How do you tell if a shop is "qualified"? I've seen some "qualified" techs working on cars (at a dealership) that I wouldn't trust to service a bicycle, let alone a car! I trust myself to do most maintenance on my cars.

As for OEM parts, I'd say it depends. Depending on what you're looking for, there are definitely some aftermarket parts that are higher quality, better performing, longer lasting, and etc. than OEM. But it is surely buyer beware here. Do your homework before buying.

And finally, as for #10, which is "Trying to service your own high-tech vehicle", I say it depends on the ability of the person. For example, replacing the a timing belt, tensioner, water pump, and etc. on a 2.0 liter BEV engine isn't for everyone, but it sure saved me a boat load of money doing it myself. With the Bentley Manual and the "how-to" advice in these newsgroups, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

[nighttrain1974]

No.10 makes me laugh.

When I got my car it came from a well known mechanic in the vw scene. I then spent the first year rectifying all the little bits he neglected to service.
I now prefer to do my own because it might take a little bit longer but I know at the end the job has been done right.

[pencilneck]

#9. I get to deal with that one often. Several times a week when I'm helping someone one a car, this occurs:

Me: So what is the issue?
Them: Blah blah blah (they explain the issue).
Me: Hmmm, you know, this kind of sounds like a [widget] issue.
Them: I just replaced the [widget] so that can't be it!
Me: Hmmmm.... and where did you get the [widget] from?
Them: Advance Pep Zone Pack.
Me: Oh, a Chinese Replacement Auto Part, there is your problem. Go to the dealer and get the part that will fix the problem, not introduce new ones.

And missing from that list, #11, installing worthless "performance" parts... aftermarket intakes and air filters.