Hi all, I recently purchased a new Honda Civic.  I realized that all I have been doing is taking it into the dealership for an oil change (or whatever it is they do) every 5000 miles or whenever the owner's manual tells me to. I read that other people take their car in for a tune up every two years, is this something I should worry about?  Also what about any maintenance for the body, how often should I be washing it and should I buy any car care products to put on it?  How about the inside of the car, will regular vaccuming or keeping it picked up on a regular basis be useful at all in the long-term? My plans for this car are to keep it for as long as I can, which might be the lifetime of the car.  I guess it all depends on if I meet someone, have kids, and need a 4 door instead of a 2 door.  I have never owned a new car before and really don't know anything about how to keep cars up nice (neither of my parents has ever owned a new car before either).  Could you help me out with some specific advice, such as what I should be doing and how often I should be doing it? Thank you very much! Fringed

Hi all, I recently purchased a new Honda Civic.  I realized that all I have been doing is taking it into the dealership for an oil change (or whatever it is they do) every 5000 miles or whenever the owner's manual tells me to. Yup. Continue to do what the owner's manual suggests and the car should give you many years of reliable service. You do not have to have routine maintenance work such as an oil change done at the dealer, but a once a year checkup by the dealer would be a good idea.

Change the spark plugs every 30,000 miles or so. Probably can even go 50,000 on one set of spark plugs.  Change the oil whenever the manual says to.         Don't go in for the tune-ups at the dealer. They area total ripoff.   Get the spark plugs and oil changed at a gas station.  Having 4 new plugs put in should only cost about $20 to $40, depending on whether they have to remove anything to get at the plugs.      Of course you'll need new brake pads and shoes once in a while, too.

Yes do what your owners manual suggests. Different service intervals will require different things to be checked/serviced. For example the 8,000 mile service may only require that the oil be changed. The 10,000 mile service may require that the valves be adjusted, oil changed, air/fuel filters changed, and emission control system serviced and checked. Now the key to this is to take your car to the *dealer* and say that you want the 10,000 mile service. The dealer has the service manuals, testing equipment, and training to properly service your vehicle. They know what is required to be checked at each mileage interval. A neighborhood mechanic will not have the specific service manual for your vehicle. Therefore they will not know what all should be checked/serviced for a specific mileage. Also they will not know how to properly perform tests for some specific control devices. The *manufacturers* service manual is the key to proper service and gives detailed instructions for testing/servicing each and every thing. You can get a service manual from your dealer's parts department BTW. The third party service manuals from auto parts stores are not worth the paper they are printed on if you ask me. People who prefer 3rd party service manuals have never seen a *real* service manual, nor would they follow its directions if they had one.