The act of buying a new or used car is frequently encouraged by the assumption that this will end all costs related to the maintenance and everyday care of the vehicle. Reality is different. One should keep in mind that the key to extended life of the car, it is regular cherishing and maintenance carried out. It also ensures the advantageous selling value of particular vehicle when the right time comes. The wholesales company Getz Bros. & Co. (Latvia) Ltd., which is a distributor of car care products and accessories, tried to define the common myths related to the maintenance of the car. Andris Sivickis, Director of Autobrava Ltd., the official dealer of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Jeep in Latvia, was asked to share his expert’s opinion on the issue.

1. There are no maintenance costs on the new car. Not true! Regular investment is the must to ensure a proper technical condition of the vehicle. Some of the necessary ways of treatment are quite apparent, such as maintenance of the paintwork, for instance. At the same time, there are costs on preventive maintenance to be considered, such as timing belt and oil replacement, as well as a regular inspection of the running gear. The consequences arising from the lack of such care become observable with delay of the treatment. One saving on the maintenance should be better saving the money on buying a car at all. For the lack of care of the vehicle can easily become a threat to both people driving the particular car, and the other people involved in the road traffic. It is also worth to keep in mind that most of the used vehicles from the Western Europe enter Latvia’s market because of three reasons: High Mileage, Engine or Gear Box Defects, Car Crash. It is quite an unwary hope to expect the second-hand engine being faultless in terms of technical or visual aspects without any claim for additional investment to be made in it.

2. The car does not necessarily need the salon air filter. Not really. Certainly, the operation of the vehicle doesn’t become affected because of the salon filter missing. Still, one should always remember that the filter secures the interior being protected against most of the traffic pollution, which might be a cause of different health problems. Besides, the lack of the salon filter eases the windows to become dimmed in humid weather, and it does not allow the proper air circulation in the car.

3. The quality of the alternative spare parts and OEM parts is the same. False! A simple evidence of that is the fact that the lifetime of alternative spare parts turns out to be significantly shorter in most cases. What seems as a saving when purchasing the replica rather than the OE product, it becomes an overpayment when considering the decreased lifetime of the spare part and the labour costs for repeated replacement within the shorter period of time.

4. There is no risk of damage to dirty paintwork, even if it that has not been washed for months. It is incorrect statement, especially after the winter season. The protective layer of the bodywork has been scratched by salt crystals and other hard particles used to keep the roads clean and safe in the cold weather. The deposit of such kind of traffic pollution has filled each and every gap and crack of the bodywork parts whenever it could attach. Notwithstanding, the traffic film can do harm in summer, too. The dirt that has stuck to the chassis gets dissolved by rain or mist and such mixture encourages corrosion on the metal parts to take place.

5. The quality of the windshield does not affect the properties of the wiper blades. Not true! Damaged windshield glass shortens the life of the wiper blade by faster wear of the wiper blade rubber as a result of mechanical rubbing. Of course, there is also a co-relation between the price of the wiper blade and its lifetime. The quality parts are made of increased durability rubber, which is much more resistant to the harmful effects of the environment. And those are supposed to last longer, even if the windshield already has defects.

6. There is no difference between the dealer service and any other garage. Not true! The authorised dealer workshop pays special attention to the quality of the service. It has an exclusive technical information background, educational programmes for mechanics and strictly set standards for the customer loyalty behind it. And that all guarantees the highest result of the service provided. Regular staff training on certain engines makes the dealer mechanic a skilled specialist. Meanwhile, a common garage mechanic mostly trains himself on the engines unknown beforehand, while doing a practical service job. It is because the technical information from the vehicle manufacturer is unavailable to him, and the garage does not invest the money in the education of the mechanic.

7. It is cheaper to maintain the used car. Not really. The maintenance costs on the new car basically consist of the periodical services being carried out. While opposite with the used car. Considering the condition of the used European vehicles entering Latvia, it is wise to add the repair costs to the price of the vehicle before making the purchase. The replacement of the engine control unit on used vehicle is also done out of pocket of the owner. And this is not the only part that might need to be replaced. Summarising the necessary maintenance costs per annum, obtaining a new small size car should cost less than the used vehicle.

8. It is not safe to drive a small car. It is not true unless there are certain arguments behind such statement. Safety tests on modern cars are more rigorous and careful than a decade ago. Even a small car with a five star safety rating complies with higher safety standards than a big ten year old vehicle. And it makes sense to weight up logically what car could be the most appropriate to fit the owner’s needs. A small car is much beneficial and safer in the city traffic, for instance.

9. Water can be used instead of the cooling fluid in the radiator. False! Tap water causes corrosion of the cooling system. Besides, the boiling temperature of the water is lower than the one of the automotive coolant.

10. Water can be used instead of the windshield fluid. False! The windshield detergent fluid contains ingredients providing the cleaning properties in different kind of weather. The use of special automotive screen-wash fluid allows saving the wiper blades and the windshield itself. Consequently, thus we save ourselves and the others involved in traffic.