The average price for a new car reached record highs this summer. And with used car prices soaring too, keeping your current vehicle in tip top shape can be a major boost to a healthy household budget. And, tuneups do more than keep you on the road and improve energy efficiency. They maintain vehicle safety and help you avoid accidents.
Regular maintenance helps avoid unaddressed, easy-to-fix issues that can snowball into bigger problems. Improper tire pressure reduces gas mileage. Low oil and coolant levels can lead to engine failure. Bad wheel bearing? Wait too long to fix it and you may need a new transmission.
Here are three ways you can use Prisidio to help complete the easy vehicle maintenance that keeps your vehicle on the road longer, more safely, and with fewer expenses.
1. Stay ahead of routine maintenance to preserve your peace of mind
A “check engine” warning on your dashboard display is an easy-to-see indicator that it’s time to visit your service tech. Other signs, however, aren’t so readily apparent. With Prisidio, you can set automatic reminders to complete routine maintenance.
That’s especially helpful when recommended maintenance schedules may otherwise seem daunting:
- Once a month: check fog lights, turn signals, brake and parking lights, oil and coolant levels, tire pressure and tread depth, and windshield wiper fluid.
- Every three months: inspect oil and filters, battery and battery cables, belts and hoses, power steering fluid, and wiper blades.
- Every six months: rotate tires, examine your exhaust system and test your battery.
- Every year: clean your air filters; inspect the brake system, shocks, and struts; and replace engine coolant and antifreeze (flush the entire system every 60,000 miles).
- Every two years: check your ignition system, including spark plugs, plug wires, and coils; change your transmission fluid and your fuel filter.
Happily, it only takes a few moments to set a reminder using Prisidio’s app. Have trouble seeing through streaks on your windshield when it rains? Replace the wipers as you normally would, snap a pic of the receipt, and link it to your car in Prisidio.
Then, click “Add Reminder,” and enter a date and time (select a timespan that best reflects your seasonal driving conditions). With the reminder set, you can stay ahead of normal wear on your wipers and complete the easy vehicle maintenance of replacing them before they become an inconvenience or danger.
2. Organize documents to help extend your car’s life and efficiency
Maintaining a vehicle involves keeping track of a lot of documents. For example, your license, registration, and insurance all require regular renewal – likely at separate intervals. And if you have a boat or motorcycle in addition to your car? A convenient tool like Prisidio is even more helpful.
If you stick printed receipts in your glovebox, you’ll eventually throw them away. Lose your wallet or your phone? You may not have proof of insurance when you need it.
With Prisidio’s app, those items are only two clicks away, always available in the cloud. Set up a Car folder in the “Documents” function to store receipts and secure, digitized copies of items like:
- Vehicle titles
- Insurance cards
- Insurance declaration pages
- DMV registration
- Driver’s licenses
- Roadside service cards, like AAA
- Receipts for regular maintenance work like oil changes, tire rotations, and battery replacements
Then, use the places function to link to the location of the desk drawer, safe, or safety deposit box where physical items like your vehicle title are stored. And it’s just as easy to include contact information for your insurance agent, preferred mechanic, and automotive shops in Prisidio’s people section.
What’s more: if you’re in an accident, documented maintenance records can help support your insurance claims. The easier it is to prove your vehicle is well maintained, the more likely it is to receive a payout that accurately reflects its value.
3. Document your vehicle’s story – and its true value
Car Talk may be off the radio, but your vehicle has a story. The specifics vary, of course. The story can be as simple as documenting damage in a parking lot, or as detailed as the provenance of a classic car.
Say you’re including your pristine 1967 Mercury Cougar in your will and want your kids to know its story. Next time you think of it, simply pull out your phone and – snap, two taps! – you’re in the driver’s seat (parked, of course). You can talk about the summer you worked two jobs. And why you wanted a Cougar more than a Mustang.
The get started, add photo and video notes to your vault directly from your mobile app:
- Navigate to your car in the things section.
- Scroll down to photos and videos.
- Click “Add Photo or Video.”
- Choose a file already stored on your phone or use your camera to upload a new one.
- Once your file is uploaded, you can view it in the photos and videoss section.
You can add a new note to your item whenever you’d like. And anyone you’ve shared your item with will be able to view your notes as well. So you can add another note for your car’s future caretakers about how stiff the clutch is. Or, say you discover a dent in your fender after lunch. You can record a note for your insurance agent right from the parking lot.
Want a smooth ride? Pave the way with Prisidio
With complex head-up displays replacing analog dashboard instruments, the increasing prevalence of electric vehicles, and the advent of flying motorcycles finally, vehicles are increasingly complicated. But organizing the records that help keep them on the road can be simple.
Sure, you can rely on the driver-side sticker that reminds you to change your oil. But it’s easy to ignore that, or let it fade in the sun – and out of mind. Use Prisidio’s app, and you’ll be automatically reminded to complete the routine maintenance that helps pave the way for a smooth ride, no matter where you’re going.
