How long has it been since you brought your car in for a tune up? If you’re struggling to remember the date, then it’s probably time and possibly past time. That’s certainly true if you’ve begun to notice that your ride isn’t operating as smoothly or efficiently as it once did, or if your gas mileage is beginning to suffer.
The good news is that help is only one stop away. As the top-rated shop in the region, we do a lot of tune ups in Alexandria, VA for the customers we serve, and we’d be more than happy to assist.
A lot of our customers want a number to use as a rule of thumb which prompts the question ‘Exactly how often should I be bringing my car in for a tune up in Alexandria, VA?’ It’s a fair question and the answer is that it depends.
If you have an older vehicle that doesn’t have an electronic ignition system, we recommend having your vehicle tuned up every ten to twelve thousand miles. If your car, truck or SUV is more modern and has an electronic ignition system and a fuel pump, you can get away with much less frequent tune ups. The specifics will vary depending on what you drive but tend to fall in a range between 25,000 and 100,000 miles.
On average though, we recommend having your vehicle tuned up every 30,000 miles to maximize its useful life and keep it operating at something close to peak performance. While that’s a good rule of thumb, the reality is that if you start noticing a general degradation in your vehicle’s performance, electrical or air flow issues, or reduced gas mileage, your best bet is to bring it in and let us take a look.
Our tune up service in Alexandria, VA is comprehensive and is all about inspecting and replacing components of your vehicle that see a lot of wear. Among other things, it includes:
- Replacing your air filter
- Replacing your fuel filter if it needs to be replaced
- Installing new spark plugs and replacing ignition system cables that are showing signs of wear
- Checking the valve-cover gasket and adjusting the valves as needed
- Inspecting and topping off all fluids
- And replacing your PCV valve if necessary.
The core problem is this: If you don’t bring your vehicle in at regular intervals for an inspection and tune up, the small performance issues we described above will inevitably worsen over time and lead to much more significant problems that are both harder to diagnose and more expensive to repair.
Don’t let that happen, at the first sign of trouble or every thirty thousand miles, stop by our shop and let us help keep your vehicle in good working order.
