Routine Maintenance
I have an '06 Mountaineer that my husband and I bought June of '07.
Gas prices continued to soar after our purchase causing much grief and second-guessing of our choice. I moaned and whined about getting an average of 14-15 miles per gallon.
My husband works at a Ford dealership in service where he recently had new tires put on my car and some other maintenance which included changing my fuel filter. He called me from work that day announcing that my fuel filter was the worst that he and even some of the mechanics have seen. YIKES! He said it was pure black and looked like it was dripping coffee...or maybe even coffee grounds.
HE is the one working in service at a dealership, but that's besides the point. The point is, my SUV has now improved gas mileage tremendously. I've reached as high as 24 miles per gallon. BIG improvement!
So, keep change those filters, people! (I really wanted to say LADIES...) :)
Story replies
Here I am replying to my OWN story with my name...gasp! I just wanted to add...that my fuel light does come on at 50 miles to empty. I HATE that! I've pushed it to zero miles a time or four. Oh, I'm not boasting. It's scary, really. Telling your teens that you're turning off the air, so roll down the windows and start PRAYING...is not cause for boasting. It's truly God's grace that I have made it to the gas station those five (did I say five? maybe it was four...)times. DON'T try this at home, teens!
Dealers sale original eqiuempnt. after market is just as good for instance you buy a car brand new and the battery goes out a year later. you buy a new duralast battery that last you 4 years. you can never determine the life of a part. some times the after market part doesn't last long at all. you might buy it today and it goes out tomorrow. One thing i can say though is you feel at ease because you have a lifetime warranty versus paying a 100 dollars more at the dealer and it goes out in a year and your out of pocket again. Me personally I always shop at my local auto parts and do it myself. I have purchased many parts from the dealer only because the auto parts couldn't get it. I love dealer parts OEM. but I trust my auto zone and O'Reilly's warranties. I can walk in auto zone and swap out for free brakes batteries, starter and alternator you name it I got a warranty. and not to mention I got like a million parts under warranty and not to mention every 5 times I make a purchase I get 20 dollars. dealer don't do that. My car has a lot money in after market parts under the hood but I drive it every day with no problems. I'm sorry for lying my starter has been dragging a lot lately so I think I will go swap it out and get a new one for free.
Dealers sale original eqiuempnt. after market is just as good for instance you buy a car brand new and the battery goes out a year later. you buy a new duralast battery that last you 4 years. you can never determine the life of a part. some times the after market part doesn't last long at all. you might buy it today and it goes out tomorrow. One thing i can say though is you feel at ease because you have a lifetime warranty versus paying a 100 dollars more at the dealer and it goes out in a year and your out of pocket again. Me personally I always shop at my local auto parts and do it myself. I have purchased many parts from the dealer only because the auto parts couldn't get it. I love dealer parts OEM. but I trust my auto zone and O'Reilly's warranties. I can walk in auto zone and swap out for free brakes batteries, starter and alternator you name it I got a warranty. and not to mention I got like a million parts under warranty and not to mention every 5 times I make a purchase I get 20 dollars. dealer don't do that. My car has a lot money in after market parts under the hood but I drive it every day with no problems. I'm sorry for lying my starter has been dragging a lot lately so I think I will go swap it out and get a new one for free.