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Dear Dub, Do you happen to know the record for time/miles between oil changes? A little voice told me that you would be the guy who would know. I really don't like to spend any money that I don't have to on my car, so I check the oil to make sure it's up near the full mark on the dipstick and add a bit when it gets a touch low which only seems like maybe twice a year, but my car has run great for the three years I've had it...

Imagine that you've had to take your car into the shop for a problem with a noise from the right front of the car. The mechanic gets the car up on the lift and assesses the situation, then calls you back into the garage to show you just why you need to give him your first born in exchange for all the work you need. He starts talking about how your franistan is interfering with the disgronificator, and how you might even need headlight fluid, and your head starts to spin...

If this was April instead of mid-October I could have put off the new set of tires for a bit. But with inclement weather lurking around the corner 59,700 miles is all I was going to be able to get out of this rubber. On the CarSpace forums you'll regularly see complaints about tires wearing out prematurely...

Dear Dub, Is my dealer ripping me off? They have this recommended service schedule where they have me coming in every 7500 miles and every other service seems pretty pricey. My car runs well and doesn't seem to need any service when I take it in for these "checks", so I'm wondering if I can get by with changing the oil when I think it needs it...

Is there anything sadder than seeing what the next owner of your car has done to it? Just over a year ago I sold my 1996 Nissan Sentra after purchasing my new Versa. The Sentra had 236,000 miles on it, and while it certainly wasn't in pristine condition, I made the effort to maintain the vehicle and it continued to serve me well...

There have always been caricatures of slimy car dealers and their service departments. Some of them were downright funny like the Sample's Sales bit from the Hee Haw televison show that hit the airwaves in 1969. Yesterday my 2001 Altima reached 150,000 miles and went in for the next installment of the regular service schedule. Once again I had a marvelous experience from the dealer service department at State College Nissan, so I thought it was time to give them their proper due...

I'm a believer in sticking to regular maintenance schedules on your car to make it last as long as possible. I've averaged about 175,000 per vehicle over the last 27 years, but Gresham, Wisconsin's Frank Oresnik has me beat with a V-8 Silverado that just turned over 1 million miles. He said he's had the truck's oil changed more than 300 times...

The Alternate Route is on the road this morning... sort of. My Nissan Versa had to go in for its 15,000 mile service and as my dealer has wireless access, I've moved my "office" to their waiting room for the morning...

Admit it it guys. Your wife or girlfriend is a lot smarter than you are. How do I know that they're smarter?..

My birch tree is trying to tell me something. It's not quite so green on this mid to late September day and if you look closely you'll notice a number of leaves beginning to appear on the grass. For those who pay attention to the subtle signs, the time to winterize our vehicles is fast approaching...