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Originally Posted by Daedalus
Wow! Is your wife in sales?
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Nope, but her round-trip commute is ~60 miles... My wife's car gets the easiest duty there is - 25 miles of interstate per trip. Temperatures stay constant, batteries live a long time (forgot to mention I replaced the battery once in my original post), tires wear well with periodic pressure/wear checks, etc...
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Originally Posted by Daedalus
I buy my tires from Costco and they rotate them for free every 5000 miles.
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Me, too - Michelin from Costco is the way to go IMHO...
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Originally Posted by Daedalus
I change all fluids every 2-3 years, except for engine oil, which I change every 3-6 months, depending on the vehicle. I go by time, not mileage, as I only drive about 8000 miles a year spread over 3 vehicles. I have record-keeping software for car maintenance that makes it easy to see when things were done and what's due soon. Excel works just fine too.
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Yep! I agree in your instance that time versus mileage is the ticket.
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Originally Posted by Daedalus
Just this year I picked up a few MityVac fluid evacuators which make maintenance a little easier. The one-man vacuum brake bleeder is nice.
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I have a Mity-Vac hand vacuum pump / kit for this as well. Great tool.
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Originally Posted by Daedalus
I don't pay for fluid exchanges (I think "flush" is often misused for these services), so I rely on more frequent changes to "rotate" through power steering, coolant and auto trans fluids, which can't be completely drained easily. E.g., when I evacuate my trans fluid, I only get a little more than 1/2 of the fluid out of the system. Drain and refill 2x and I have about 80% new fluid in there. Do this regularly (every 9 months, depending) and you ensure the fluid is relatively fresh at all times. Exchanging fluids regularly makes a huge difference to the longevity of various systems. Anywhere there's fluid, there are rubber seals, and seals deteriorate in the presence of moisture. I even replace the AC oil and drier every 4-5 years.
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Again, agreed - I would be doing this much more often were our annual mileages more similar. Highway trips get fluids up to temperature quickly which boils / evaporates moisture off.
I don't mess with the A/C unless I have to open the system, but I won't open one without putting a new drier on it.
Something else I didn't put into my original reply - keep in mind that quick lubes and chain service centers tend towards the cheapest filters available. Use OE or better.