The key to a having car in perfect working order is proper and thorough maintenance. However, you shouldn’t fall for every trick and use all services that workshops have to offer. Most of the things that workshops do are needed and important for your vehicle but some services are only there to take your money and give you nothing in return. Here’s a couple of things you should avoid doing to your car, simply because they are useless and they will not improve durability or any other aspect of your car’s performance.

1. Engine Flush

Engine flush is not a regular maintenance, but a complicated process of cleaning the inside of your engine from dirt that accumulated over the years. If you used your car normally there’s no need for this kind of treatment whatsoever and neither is this procedure recommended by any car manufacturer. It is not cheap and even if your engine is really very dirty inside, the improvements in power delivery and fuel economy are virtually non-existent.

2. Fuel Injectors Cleaning

If the quality of fuel varies in your area, your fuel injectors can become clogged and your car can experience some loss of power and bumpy idle. This is a clear sign that your fuel injectors need cleaning. The cleaning can be done in the workshop by dismantling the whole injection system, and you can do it yourself simply by adding fuel injectors cleaning fluid you can buy at any gas station for a very low price. Both ways have the same result: your injectors are clean and the car works properly. But one is expensive and time-consuming and other is cheap and fast.

3. Fuel Savers

Some services offer installation of some fuel saving devices. No matter how good they are advertised, or how convincing the commercials are, they are all rubbish. There is no magical way of saving fuel, and the only real fuel saver is your right foot. So, never believe that any fuel saving device is going to do any good to your car and avoid installation of something like that on your car.

4. Oil Additives

There are numerous oil additives on the market. Some of them help oil lubricate the engine better, and some even help the engine run without any oil, putting the thin slippery chemical layer on the engine’s moving parts. Do not use any of it and any mechanic that tries to sell you that story is certainly wanting to charge you for something you really don’t need. If put in the right amount and quality according to manufacturers specification, your engine oil is totally sufficient for perfect performance and working order. Anything added to it can affect the engine work and sometimes even cause problems.

5. Long Life Antifreeze

The trick with long life coolant fluid is that after putting it in your cooling system, you will be able to use your car for a couple of years without changing or worrying about it. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But the truth is that all new and newer cars have that feature straight from the factory and you really don’t need something you already have. Do not let anybody mess with your cooling system and always use a recomended type of cooling fluid since you don’t want to mix two types and ruin your fuel pump.