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Routine maintenance is practical, yet some motorists skip out on services that can save them frustration (and expensive repairs) later. You may have a friend or family member in this category of driver, or you might be one yourself. If most people recognize the benefits of maintenance, why would anyone choose not to follow the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance guidelines? There are a few that come to mind, and the answers differ depending on whether the maintenance is for a passenger vehicle or commercial one.

On the passenger vehicle side, two constraints are time and money. Unless you're covered under a maintenance program, you'll need to pay something to have your vehicle looked at by a technician. While most folks understand vehicles need maintenance, not everyone preps for the eventual cost. Drivers may underestimate the number of miles they will drive in a year, meeting their mileage maintenance interval sooner than expected. They also may have tight budgets and not as much to put away for these services. At Fleet Repair Services, we offer financing to assist with automotive repair and maintenance costs. A dedicated credit card for car care can help make maintenance and any unexpected repairs more manageable.

Other motorists opt out of maintenance for DIY jobs. For those who know what they are doing, it's a way to save. However, it means foregoing an official service and proof of maintenance. If you plan on keeping your vehicle until the end of its service life, that won't be of much consequence. If you foresee the possibility of selling in the future, having a record of maintenance can help you negotiate a better price. Last, there are drivers who plan on taking their vehicles in for maintenance but forget or have "other things to do." We recommend making maintenance one of those "things to do" because we find it to be worth the time. As for forgetting, if you're reading this article now, when was the last time you had maintenance done? Now might be a good time to check and make a note in your smartphone calendar or whichever calendar you use.

Fleet maintenance has a different set of variables. In fact, there are different types of maintenance for fleets, including: proactive maintenance, reactive maintenance, predictive maintenance, and reliability centered maintenance. Companies vary in which type they follow, based on operation costs and application. You can read more about each in Operations & Best Practices: A Guide to Achieving Operational Efficiency (Chapter 5). This guide, released by the Federal Energy Management Program, reviews the pros and cons fleet managers should consider when choosing a maintenance schedule.

At Williams Automotive Repair, we do our utmost to make fleet PM easy. Come to us or schedule a mobile fleet service, and we'll come to you! Our trained staff will work with you to keep your commercial vehicles operating at their best, so they continue to reach their destinations. We work with many types of commercial vehicles, and we do our utmost to ensure a quick turnaround time.