· Scheduling an oil change is something that’s easy to put off.  

Maybe you don’t have the time or money to get the oil changed right now.

But if you postpone it too long, you increase the risk of sludge buildup in the engine.

If enough gunk builds up inside the engine, it can have serious and expensive consequences.

Follow the recommended service intervals in your owner’s manual,

or get it changed every 3,000 miles if you do a lot of short-trip, stop-and-go driving, especially during cold weather.

· If the brake pads are worn down to minimum thickness, or are starting to make noise,

don’t put off having the brakes inspected.

If you postpone needed brake repairs for too long, the pads may wear down to bare metal and ruin the rotors. 

Driving with bad brakes is also very dangerous and increases your risk of brake failure or an accident.

· The timing belt is an engine component that many motorists don’t realize is a maintenance item.

Rubber timing belts have a limited service life, typically 60,000 miles on pre-1995 vehicles,

and 100,000 miles on later-model vehicles. 

The timing belt drives the engine’s camshaft and valve train. 

If the belt breaks, the valves stop turning and the engine dies immediately.

Worse yet, on many engines, the pistons will hit the valves, and bend or break them.

This type of engine damage can be very expensive to repair.

So if your timing belt has a lot of miles on it and needs to be replaced, why gamble? Get it replaced now.