You know, we get a lot of people asking about how to prepare their car for a trip. That’s a big deal. You could be driving through mountains and deserts in some pretty lonely areas so you may be anxious to know that the car is up to the task and won’t leave you stranded.

You really do need to plan ahead for a major road trip – there are a lot of things to get ready. Where should you start? You could start with the tires. Look them over for tread wear and check to see that they are properly inflated. Take a quick test drive to see if you can feel any vibrations: are the wheels are in balance? Is the car tracking straight? Is the alignment ok?

The next thing is a full service oil change to make sure all of your fluids are topped off and you have fresh oil for the trip. And if your car has over 75,000 miles, you may consider putting in the high-mileage formulation to clean harmful sludge deposits in the engine. You may also need a new PCV valve and an engine air filter.

How about your transmission and brakes? Have you had your transmission and brakes inspected in the last six months?

How are your wiper blades? There’s nothing like not being able to get rid of the bug juice on a long road trip.

Check your owners’ manual for any other recommended service and have your service center do the multi-point inspection they do so well before you head out.

Consider also having the coolant system serviced – you want to stay within the manufacturer’s recommendations. If you’re towing a trailer you’ll want to be keep in mind that you’ll be going a long way under severe conditions.

A lot of folks overlook severe conditions like towing, or summer heat, or driving on dirt roads. Plan ahead for your next road trip – we want you to get there and back.

So you’ve bought a new car. How do you know what you’re getting? It is hard to know what you’re getting because people sell cars for different reasons. Think about why you’ve sold cars. Did you just want something new or were there problems that you wanted to run away from. Maybe it was a little of both.

Used cars with 25,000 to 35,000 miles on them are often lease returns, corporate program cars or vehicles that have done duty in rental fleets. We feel pretty confident because they’re newer and may still be under warranty. But how well have they been maintained?

If you plan on owning a car for a long time, you’ll keep up on the maintenance so that you can avoid expensive repairs down the road. But, if you know you’re only going to have the car for two or three years, you may not be so committed to maintenance. It would be easy to think that skipping an oil change here and there wouldn’t ruin a brand new engine. Then it’ll be someone else’s problem when it comes time to pay for the damage.

It would be very tempting to skip the 30,000 mile service if you knew you’d be turning in your leased vehicle in a couple of months.

If the vehicle didn’t come with maintenance records, you need to assume the worst. Most likely the coolant system and transmission have never been serviced. The cabin air filter has probably not been changed and a fuel system cleaning may be in order.

You’ll want your service center to check the air conditioning, battery, engine air filter, serpentine belt and hoses. An inspection is well worth the cost.

And if your “new” used vehicle has more miles on it, an inspection is even more important. Check your owner’s manual or talk with your service advisor about what should have been done. Please don’t forget the timing belt; that can be very expensive if it fails.

Your service advisor will help you with a plan to take care of critical services and get the rest caught up. If your budget won’t allow you to take care of everything right away, your advisor can help you prioritize your needs and get it taken care of over the next several months. And remember to keep your maintenance records. They’ll help you get top dollar when it’s time for you to sell.

North Americans love their cars.  And nothing goes with cars better than the road trip.  Freedom from daily schedules, new sights and the open road – it’s great!  But there’s nothing like car trouble to bring the fun to a grinding halt.

Now you can’t always avoid problems, but you can take steps to reduce the probability of getting sidelined on your trip. The first step is to look at your trip plan from your vehicle’s perspective.  What kind of roads will you be traveling – winding byways or super-highways?  Mountains or plains?  What weather conditions are you likely to encounter?  How many miles will you travel?  How much weight will you be hauling – passengers and luggage?  Lugging a trailer or roof top carrier?  Will it be dusty?

Armed with the answers to these questions, you can start a trip inspection to help you prepare your vehicle for your big adventure.  A lot of people prefer to go through this exercise with their automotive service adviser to get their input and make sure they haven’t left anything out.

A great place to start is with the tires.  Inspect them for tread wear and proper inflation.  Is it time to rotate your tires?  Replace them?  Are they up to the job – you wouldn’t want to drive regular highway tires on a muddy off-road adventure.

Shocks and struts play a major role in both driving comfort and safety.  If they need to be replaced, you’ll really be glad you did once you hit the road. Is it time for a wheel alignment?  Fighting a car that’s pulling to one side all day can be tiring and dangerous.

And don’t forget your brakes.  Any strange noises, grabbing, soft or hard peddle feel?  If there is any doubt, get a brake inspection before you leave.
Moving under the hood, have your belts and hoses inspected.  If something is excessively worn or near failure, the stress of a long road trip might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

Your engine air filter will be important.  For every gallon of gas you burn, your car will filter and use 12,000 gallons of air.  If the filter needs to be changed, you’ll notice the fuel savings on your trip.

How close are you to your next oil change?  Will you be able to complete your trip before it’s due?  If not, just get it taken care of before you go so that you don’t need to interrupt your trip.  In fact, a full service oil change is a great idea because they will top off all your fluids and check to see if any other maintenance items are due, such as transmission or cooling system service.

Do you notice any unusual odors in your vehicle?  If so, it could as harmless as a dirty cabin air filter.  But if it’s an exhaust leak it could be fatal on a long trip. Of course you’ll want to be comfortable, so get an air conditioning service if you aren’t getting the cold air you used to.

Are you wiper blades still working well?  If not, that is quick and inexpensive to fix.  Headlamps are often overlooked when planning for a trip.  If you haven’t changed the bulb in six months or so, replacement bulbs will really light up the night on your trip.

All the items mentioned are part of any good vehicle maintenance plan.  These are things that you want to take care of anyway, but they all come into focus as you plan for your trip.

They will always save you money in the long run and may prevent inconvenient delays on your trip.  After all, you wouldn’t want to miss the world’s largest ball of string, would you?