“Whaddya mean, it needs ______ already?!” is a common complaint heard at many repair shops. Fill in the blank with your favourite: tires, brakes, filters. It’s often followed by, “It’s a new car, and I just bought it!” Our expectations on how our vehicles should treat our wallets are often fueled by the legends of the water-cooler or tall tales told by Uncle Jim. You know the type; always bragging about their beloved sedan that they drove night and day for 10 years and never spent a dime on it other than oil changes and gas. Unfortunately reality is often quite different, but there are a few benchmarks you might find handy as you reach for your heart medication at the service counter.Original equipment tires on most mainstream personal vehicles will never last as long as the same brand and model sold at a retailer. Carmakers order tires with very specific operating characteristics. They want them to be quiet, smooth, with great grip and performance. They seldom worry about lifespan.

If you get 50,000 kilometres out of an original set of all-season tires consider yourself lucky. When it comes time to replace them, you can look for brands with better tread-life expectancy and warranties to back them up. Unfortunately it’s the original tire manufacturer that suffers when they agree to producing product with inferior lifespans just to satisfy a carmaker. If you buy a replacement set from a credible national brand and drive on mainly paved roads with average loads you can expect at least 80,000 km or more from an all-season tire.On a front-wheel-drive car, front brake pads should last from 60,000 to 70,000 km unless you’re a courier driver. Rears tend to last longer because the fronts are doing the lion’s share of the work. This doesn’t mean you won’t have to do some preventative maintenance to get this type of lifespan. Brakes should be inspected annually, and, on an as-needed basis, the adapters that hold the pads in place should be cleaned of rust and grit and re-lubricated.

Replacement pads or linings should last as long as the original equipment units.These humble units that drive steering pumps, generators, water pumps, and AC compressors have come a long way in terms of longevity. Only a few decades ago you were expected to replace engine drive belts every two years or 40,000 km. ac wall unit with thermostatToday, these belts can easily last four years or 100,000 km or more. hvac 5 ton priceThey are easily checked by means of a simple visual inspection. ac unit is not coming onIf they’re not overly glazed, or dry-cracked or frayed, or stretched they can keep on running. Timing belts are not so easily inspected as they’re usually located behind an engine cover. If your vehicle has a timing belt (rather than a lifetime chain) your owner’s manual will list a replacement schedule of either 100,000 km or 160,000 km (depending on manufacturer).

Few timing belts replaced at the correct interval will ever show any signs of imminent failure or even wear, but don’t skimp on this. If a timing belt fails (and the engine is the type that can let cylinder head valves contact pistons when this happens) your engine can easily be damaged to replacement level. These are referred to as interference engines. Your service provider can tell you what type your auto has.Like engine drive belts these suspension units have really improved in quality over the years and now are considered lifetime units unless the vehicle has been subjected to some really rough roads. They are probably one of the easiest things for a car owner to check themselves. Simply use your weight to push down on each corner of your vehicle and check to see how many bounces it takes for the vehicle to sit still again. Anything more than two or three means you’re getting more bounce to the ounce than you should and might want to consider some new units. Next time we’ll cover wheel bearings and common steering components such as ball joints, tie rod ends and others, and what to do if you think your vehicle has suffered some premature wear.

PHOENIX - It's already getting too hot outside to have a broken ac unit.But just because your air stops blowing doesn't mean you need to spend cash… you just need to know what to look for. Mike Donley, with Donley Service Center, took us around a viewer’s home to show us the simple things to look for before you spend cash on a repair call.First he says check your thermostat for batteries. It can be as simple as that. He says a good rule of thumb is to replace the batteries every spring.Speaking of the thermostat, Mike says set it and forget it.  You won’t conserve energy by constantly changing it so Mike says set it at the highest comfortable level and leave it.And try to keep lamps, TVs and other appliances away from the thermostat.  The thermostat can pick up the heat from those appliances and that will cause your AC unit to run more than it needs.Next, check your filters. They should be changed at least once per month and even though many of us already know this, we sometimes forget.