Author: Rob Morris

“Is it worth it?”

This question comes up pretty frequently in the shop, and we understand why!

Are you saving or losing money keeping your tried and true vehicle as opposed to starting over with a new car? It’s not difficult to decide when you break down exactly what factors are going into your decision.

With a little evaluation of your finances and a little math, you can make a sound decision.

How much are you (really) spending on maintenance?

Initially, you have to figure out  how much you’re spending on repairs from month to month. Even a couple-hundred-dollar repair bill every few months is significantly less than a new monthly car payment. Assuming that your insurance and fuel costs won’t change much, your old car’s maintenance probably costs less than purchasing a new car.

If you’re still making payments on your current car, you’ll also lose the money you’ve already put into both paying off the car and what you’ve put into any previous repairs. (This can be especially tricky when you purchase a used car, as it may come with some future repairs!)

Unless you feel as though you’re “always bringing it to the shop” and your maintenance costs are exorbitant, you probably won’t save money by trading your old car in for another.

How much are you spending on repairs?

Because maintenance is a cost that comes with every vehicle, the real issue is whether or not the repairs are worth it. This all-important decision comes down to a couple questions you should know the answers to before deciding.

Does the repair cost more than half the market worth of the car?

If not, you should go ahead with the repair. Even with a car that is worth $5000, a $1,500 dollar repair would be worth doing in terms of the longevity of your vehicle. (Websites like Edmunds True Market Value Calculator and Kelley Blue Book are useful in this calculation!)

In going ahead with repairs, you can benefit in 2 ways: Not only are you getting your problem fixed, you can also add to the eventual trade-in value of your car.

How much “life” can your car get from going ahead with the repair?

Now imagine your car is worth $2,200, and you’re faced with the same $1,500 repair. Think of the cost in comparison to potential costs from purchasing a new car instead.

If this $1,500 repair would keep your car road-worthy for a few more years, then compare to how much it would cost for a down payment, new insurance, and the equivalent amount of time in monthly payments for a new vehicle.

The repair usually comes out on top, especially when you have an honest and knowledgeable mechanic you can trust to tell you whether or not it’s going to be worth it. (Like the technicians and service staff we have here at Lowell’s!)

Is the repair less than a few months’ car payment on a new vehicle? 

If the repair in question costs less than one month of payments, and your vehicle on the other hand is paid off, your decision is pretty well made.

If the cost is less than a few months of payments, and your car would be able to go for more than a few months without additional repairs or maintenance costs, then it makes sense to go ahead with the repairs, in this case, too.

Is it in your budget?

If it is hard to pay for a costly repair, how hard will it be to fit a car payment into your current monthly expenses?

In this post, we’ve tried to outline some of the key factors to consider when deciding to repair or replace your vehicle.

At Lowell’s, we’re biased – We usually think repairing your vehicle makes more sense than
replacing it.

But your situation is unique, and may include other considerations.

As always, feel free to talk your decision through with Lowell’s. We’ll give you our honest assessment of your vehicle while helping you make your decision.

With so many things to keep up with on your vehicle, we know it can be hard to stay current on the maintenance for your vehicle.

To help you plan regular service items, here’s the Lowell’s guide to Toyota maintenance:

Oil Change
Oil changes are the single most important service to extend the life of your car. Lowell’s recommends oil changes every 3,500 miles* or every 6 months, whichever comes first.

Cabin and Engine Air Filters
We recommend replacing cabin and engine air filters every 15,000 miles. (If you’re driving in especially dirty or dusty environments, you might consider more frequent replacements.) Check out our guide to cabin air filters here.

Brake Inspections
We recommend brake inspections every 15,000 miles. If your vehicle is equipped with drum brakes, we’ll also clean and adjust your brakes.

Flushes (Brake System, Transmission, Coolant, Power Steering)
Fluid maintenance is another important way to extend the life of your vehicle. We recommend fluid flushes every 30,000 miles. What’s a flush? Great question, and we have your answers here.

Valve Clearance Inspection and Adjustment
We recommend valve clearance inspections every 60,000 miles. Learn more here.

Timing Belt
We recommend timing belt changes every 90,000 miles. (If your vehicle is equipped with a timing chain, it should not normally need replacement.)

Tune-Up
We recommend getting a tune-up for your vehicle every 30,000, 60,000, or 120,000 miles, depending on the kind of spark plugs your vehicle left the factory with. Check out our guide to tune-ups here.

Call the shop if you ever have any questions about your vehicle or recommended service. We’re always happy to help you prioritize the services your vehicle needs.

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*Note: We know that many Toyota owner’s manuals now recommend an oil change interval up to 5,000 miles. We still recommend oil changes every 3,500 miles.

The 5,000 mile interval may be safe for very new vehicles, but we don’t recommend it for vehicles that are more than a few years old.

If your engine has been leaking or burning oil, the extra 1,500 miles can result in permanent engine damage because your engine lacks enough oil to lubricate properly. Plus, your oil can still get dirty and contaminated, and can start to break down before the 5,000 mile point (which again could result in engine damage). 

That’s why our recommendation is different from Toyota’s. 

One of the most frequently used – but least understood – terms used in our industry is “tune-up”.

A few decades ago, vehicles required frequent mechanical tuning to keep them operating optimally. Over time, “tune-up” became a common way of saying “make my car run better”.

In today’s electronically-controlled vehicles, however, a tune-up is very different. Many of the mechanical adjustments we made in older cars are now made by your vehicle’s onboard computer.

So when we talk about a tune-up at Lowell’s, we mean changing your vehicle’s spark plugs and, when appropriate, your fuel filter and engine air filter.

A spark plug converts an incoming electrical charge into a spark which ignites the mixture of air and fuel that  powers your car’s engine. The spark jumps between two electrodes at the end of the plug, creating the controlled explosion that drives an internal combustion engine.

Spark plugs can wear out. Each spark burns off tiny bits of metal on the electrodes, and after hundreds of millions of sparks, the spark plug doesn’t fire as efficiently. Spark plugs can also become coated with residue (‘fouled’) if your fuel doesn’t burn cleanly.

Fouled or worn-out spark plugs can reduce your fuel mileage or cause your engine to run roughly. When the gap between the electrodes becomes too large, your ignition coils strain to generate sufficient current, and coil damage can result. (Note how the center electrode for the old plug on the left has tapered into a cone-like shape, requiring significantly more current to spark.)

The electrodes for Toyota plugs (made by Denso) are plated with different highly conductive metals: nickel, platinum, or iridium. The type of metal used determines how long the spark plug lasts: Nickel-plated spark plugs typically last for 30,000 miles; Platinum for 60,000; and Iridium for 120,000 miles.

When we do a tune-up at Lowell’s, we remove and inspect your old spark plugs to see whether there are any issues other than normal wear. We replace them with new spark plugs, adjusting the gap between electrodes when necessary. If needed, we’ll also replace the fuel filter and engine air filter.

Feel free to call the shop with any questions, and – if it is time for a tune-up or other service for your vehicle – to make an appointment for service.

Finding and fixing vehicle noises are one of the most difficult tasks for our technicians.

Sometimes, we can’t make the noise occur in the shop or on a test drive. Other times, we might hear a noise, but it isn’t the same one that our customer heard. Often, the customer who brings the vehicle into the shop to fix the noise isn’t the car’s primary driver, and hasn’t really heard the sound and can’t adequately describe it.

So we’ve put together this simple guide to help you describe the noises your car makes. Following the tips we share below will save you time and money, and help us diagnose the issue faster.

1) Describe the kind of noise.

Because your car makes so many sounds, describing the particular kind of noise it is making will usually help us locate the issue faster.

Would you call it a rattle or a squeal? A thump or a hiss? A clank, a ping, a buzz, a scrape, a click, or a pop? Or something else entirely?

Using specific terms like these to describe sounds will help us zero in on the noise and what might be causing it.

2) Notice when and how the noise occurs.

If you can tell us when the noise happens, that will also help us re-create it here in the shop. And if we can hear it in the shop, our chances of finding and fixing the problem go way up.

Here are a few examples of helpful details around noises:

• It usually happens once, and then doesn’t happen again for a while.
• It happens over and over.
• It happens when starting the car; just after starting the car; when the car is cold; first thing in the morning.
• It happens when the car has warmed up; when it is hot outside.
• It happens when turning; turning left; turning right; turning sharply; going around curves.
• It happens when going over bumps or potholes.
• It happens when using the brakes.
• It happens when sitting at the light.
• It happens when cruising down the highway.
• The noise gets faster or slower (or louder or softer) as the car moves faster or slower.
• The noise is accompanied by a physical sensation – a vibration or bump that you can feel in the steering wheel or in your seat, for example.

In addition to helping us replicate the noise, these details can give us important clues about what parts of the car might be causing the noise.

3) Make the noise for us.

It sounds kind of funny, but it really helps if you can mimic the exact sound your car is making. It might seem embarrassing to make an “EE-er-EE-er” sound for us in the lobby, but we truly appreciate how much it helps us find the right sound faster. (Besides, people make sounds for us all the time. We’re used to it!)

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The more that you can tell us about the noises your car makes – what kind of noise, when it occurs, and what it sounds like – the faster that our team here at Lowell’s will be able to help. And we’re here to help!