While Technical Service Bulletins are written with the intention to increase the comfort and reliabilty of SAABs, these publications are not the only means of keeping your SAAB running well. Car owners that properly maintain their cars have discovered increased comfort and reliabilty also, and to that end, proper maintenance in conjunction with upgrades outlined in TSBs make for longer lasting and more reliable cars.
It is crucial to note that cars have been increasing marketed to need less maintenance and many consumers believe that this is an indication of a higher quality automobile. It is important to remember that cars are machines and like all of mans’ creations they are subject to entropy, wear, and failure. Everything wears out given enough time and as complex as an automobile is, it’s amazing that it offers as much trouble free service as it does. The only way to prolong the inevitable failure of the high wear systems in your car is to properly and regularly maintain it using the correct fluids and proper service techniques. Despite the fact that cars are subjected to the same laws of physics that govern all things in the universe regarding wear, the marketing departments of modern auto-makers regularly suggest otherwise. General Motors was the first of many car-makers, for example, that publicized that its spark plugs needn’t be changed for 100,000 miles instead of the industry standard 30,000 miles. Spark plugs simply don’t perform properly for that length of time and the car unduly suffers if regular maintenance is not performed. In addition to lowering performance by not observing proper maintenance, lower reliability and lower gas mileage occurs and by prolonging regular maintenance a host of preventable problems develop. As noted above, one of these unanticipated problems is the formation of oil sludge in the engine. Left unchecked, this sludge build up causes engine failure and expensive engine replacement. Another example of expensive repair work due to prolonged maintenance intervals is spark plugs that have seized into the cylinder head because they are in the car for so long. The cost of proper maintenance is a fraction of the cost of expensive and complicated repairs caused by lack of attention and care to all the systems on your vehicle that naturally deteriorate during the course of driving.
For a comprehensive overview of proper maintenance, please click here.
|