You have probably heard your dentist say, "If you ignore your teeth they will go away".

Without proper dental hygiene and regular visits to the dentist, it is very likely that someday you will be soaking your teeth instead of brushing them. The same thing can be said about your car. If you deny your car proper preventive maintenance and avoid regular car trips to a good technician, then, like your teeth, your car will go away.

Up until the mid 1970s, most car owners practiced preventive maintenance. This was largely due to the fact that as the ignition points wore out and lead in the fuel masked the spark plug, vehicle performance and economy began to deteriorate very noticeably. The car would then be brought in for the proverbial "tune-up". This tune-up usually took place about once a year or every 12,000 or 15,000 miles.

This was also a good opportunity for the technician to check for additional maintenance needs in areas such as the radiator and heater hoses, and coolant condition, the fan belts, the vacuum hoses, the fuel and air filters, the canister filter and the condition of the battery, the tires and the emission control and exhaust systems, just to name a few.

With the advent of electronic ignition and unleaded fuel in the mid 1970's, as well as the addition of computer controls in the early 1980's, the deterioration of the cars' performance and mileage is hardly noticeable. This, combined with the fact that there are very few full service gas stations left today (full service meaning that there is a knowledgeable person on hand to check under your hood as a form of preventive maintenance while filling the tank), causes most vehicle owners to practice what is called "reactionary maintenance".

Reactionary maintenance is when you continue to drive your car as long as it runs well, neglecting to raise the hood to check the oil or anything else. Then, the first time you notice a change in drive-ability, usually at 50,000 to 60,000 miles, you rush to a repair facility and want the problem fixed in a couple of hours.

Often you complain about the cost of repairs. It may sound a little harsh, but this scenario happens thousands of times each day across the country.

Today's cars need regular, preventive maintenance. Even though oil and gasoline have improved, and car manufacturers will try to persuade you that their product has improved, new cars still wear out. Actually, new cars are wearing out faster than old ones due to the lack of preventive maintenance.

If you want your car to last as long as the payments, dig the owner's manual out of the glove box. Turn to the "Maintenance Instructions" section and read it carefully. Pay particular attention to the page which discusses oil change intervals. You will note that the manufacturer differentiates between "normal driving conditions" and severe driving conditions".

Usually, severe driving conditions are defined as: driving through dusty areas, towing a trailer or boat, frequent idling or idling for long periods, and driving for 10 miles or less in freezing weather. Cars operated under these conditions should have an oil and filter change every 3,000 miles or three months, which ever occurs first.

Normal driving conditions occur if your driving does not fall in any one of the severe driving categories. However, less than 25 percent of the cars on the road actually qualify for the normal driving category. In addition, if your car is equipped with a turbo-charger, frequent oil changes are a must.

If the turbo becomes coked up, it could cost as much as $1,000 to replace it, and the factory warranty won't cover the bill if you can't show proof of oil changes at the factory-recommended intervals.

Engine coolant and transmission fluid are two more items that must be changed regularly to ensure a long life for your car. Engine coolant should be changed every two years and diluted with 50 percent water, as pure engine coolant will freeze at around 0 degrees Fahrenheit. This mix gives you the best cold weather protection and the best heat dissipation ability in hot weather.

The life of the automatic transmission fluid is basically determined by how hot the fluid has been during operation. Since you have no way of really knowing how hot the fluid has been, an easy way to check is by pulling out the transmission dipstick and looking at the fluid. If the fluid is brown instead of red and smells like you just ran over a skunk, it needs to be changed ASAP! It is a good habit to have the transmission fluid changed every two years or 24,000 miles.

The high temperatures under the hood of today's cars take their toll on rubber and neoprene components such as radiator and heater hoses, fuel lines, and vacuum hoses. One of the main causes of breakdown is fan belt and/or radiator/heater hose failure. The best insurance against this catastrophe is to have the belts and hoses replaced every two years.

While on the subject of rubber, you shouldn't forget to mention the tires. There is no reason why steel belted radial tires shouldn't last at least 70,000 miles or longer. It takes only three things to make this happen.

1. Have wheel alignment and tire balance checked once a year.
2. Keep tires properly inflated and check weekly.
3. Rotate tires every 6,000 miles.

Perhaps the key is to examine the tires once a week. If you notice any unusual tire wear patterns, have a good alignment shop check the alignment, the suspension components, and the tire balance. Tire wear problems do not fix themselves.

One final area to discuss is the battery. Most batteries are replaced on the first cold morning that the car won't start. The average life of a battery is three and one-half years. If you are driving around with a battery that is older than that, then you shouldn't be surprised if you are stranded at the train station parking lot or the shopping center when it is 10 degrees below zero and the wind is blowing at 20 m.p.h.

Why not just replace the battery before this happens? That is what preventive maintenance is all about; looking, checking, and replacing automotive components before they fail.

You are probably thinking to yourself that preventive maintenance is too expensive to follow. On the contrary, would it be more expensive to replace the battery in your car before it leaves you stranded, or pay a service call and a new battery plus the inconvenience of being stranded? The fact is, preventive maintenance is cheaper in the long run than reactionary maintenance. The question that often remains is: "Where do I get the money for preventive maintenance?" Most people budget only for car payments, insurance, and gas.

All that really needs to be done is to keep the close track of the miles you drive each week. Set aside ten cents for each mile that you drive and place this money in an interest bearing account.

At the end of one year, if you have driven 15,000 miles, you will have saved $1500 to spend on preventive maintenance. That will buy a lot of maintenance. Any money left over can either be left in the account to let your balance grow, or can be put towards the principal of your car loan. This will reduce both the interest you are paying as well as the number of payments.

Your car is a major investment, so why not take care of it? If you borrow $16,000 to purchase a car at 14 percent interest, and you pay this off over a period of four years, you will eventually pay almost $5,000 in interest. That's $21,000 that you pay out of your budget in a four year period.

If you practice preventive maintenance, your car will outlast your payment book. Then, if you keep your car for another four years and make those same car payments to yourself, you will have $21,000 to spend.

Remember, it is cheaper to look at, check, and replace components before failure than it is to drive your car until it drops. If you are not fixing your own car, there are thousands of repair facilities across the country that are very capable of performing the preventive maintenance which have discussed. Give preventive maintenance a try, and you will find yourself with money in your pocket.