Is there a website to help manage car maintenance?
Cars come with owner’s manuals and maintenance schedules which will tell you everything you need to know about managing the maintenance of your vehicle.
Read the documentation that came with the car, then work with your favorite mechanic to follow the maintenance schedule listed in the manual.
It’s as simple as that.
Certain makes have one setup for the purposes. Maybe check out on your makes website to see if it exists.
And, I would add that making a chart helps you to see at a glance what was done and when, rather than having to go through invoices each time you have a question about your maintenance history. On the left hand side of the chart, list the procedures specified in your car’s maintenance schedule. Along the top of the chart, list the dates and odometer mileage when each procedure was performed. Place a check mark where the two axes intersect.
I do this, and even though I also maintain my records on the Subaru owner’s website, it is actually easier to just open up a file folder and look at my own chart. Sometimes a low-tech solution just makes more sense, IMHO.
You use this link at www.edmunds.com
http://www.edmunds.com/maintenance/MaintenanceServlet
I use a Steno notebook to keep track of gas and service on my cars.
Each time I get gas, I record the following.
Date, Price, Amount($), Gallons, Trip Odo, Odo, Mpg
I also note the date and mileage for anything I check or do on the car, i.e. tire pressure, oil, coolant, trans fluid, etc. I record any maintenance and repairs, i.e. oil changes, brakes, coolant changes, wash and waxes, etc.
Maybe it’s a little overboard, but it’s handy to have all this info in one place.
Ed B.
Don’t know of a website. I use spreadsheets to keep track of 5 vehicles at our house. The vertical columns are MOnth, Year, Mileage and Notes. Use a separate file for each vehicle as the record gets long. Brake work, belts, batteries, water pump, filters, tire rotation, new tire valve stems, new tires, antifreeze change are a few exampples if things recorded.
A printout for each vehicle gets posted in the garage where I can take a quick look if there is a question.
I do it the hard way.
I go through all my files (invoices) to see what happened when.
What the hell, I’m retired eh? Lotsa time.
Edmunds seems to be more work than what its worth. I have found no reason to track fuel costs, so I don’t keep track of that at all. Just gums up the important info.
What I do is have one single loose leaf book. I have sections for each car and also for other major equipment like lawn tractor, snow blower, etc. I just record the mileage, date, cost and description of any maintenance and repair. Also any other notes of symptoms etc. that may be relevant. Its an easy matter to look back and see when the belt or hoses were changed etc. to know when to do it again. A few pages a year is all it takes and has all of the info needed in one place. I also tuck receipts and warranty info at the beginning of the section so its always right there.
Its quick, easy, complete, and gives me all of the information I want if I want to do any cost per mile calculations. I also include yard and house maintenance and repairs in the same book. So in one book I know when plugs were changed last, when a tree was planted, when the furnace was serviced, and so on. I highly recommend keeping it simple and effective.
The best by far is the carfax app. It is awesome. I now use it exclusively to track maintenance. Its really good.
12 year old thread.
gracious me!