April is National Car Care Month. Awesome. You don’t have to worry about the car the rest of the year, right?

No, that’s not true. If you care about your car, every month is Car Care Month. Of course, you can put car care on the back burner until next April. You could also find yourself paying for repairs that were avoidable with a little automotive maintenance. You might even find yourself on the side of the road wishing you hadn’t waited until April.

Car care refers to a simple equation: do you want to maintain your car and drive with confidence that nothing will break or cause you problems, or do you want to take your chances?

In truth, it’s not just a question of playing the odds. If you’re not properly maintaining your vehicle, your vehicle is wearing at a faster rate. For instance, if you don’t change your engine oil on schedule, the life of your engine is shortened as a result of your negligence. The same holds true for other parts of the car.

For instance, if you don’t maintain the air pressure in your tires, if you don’t keep them balanced, if you don’t keep the wheels aligned and the steering and suspension in good condition, your tires will wear at a faster rate and in an uneven manner. But, failing to maintain your steering and suspension can also allow problems to take root in this area of your car’s equipment.

A problem in the steering or suspension is a problem, if not taken care of quickly, that will spread. Soon, instead of replacing one part you’ll find that you have several parts to replace. But, if you keep the steering and suspension in good shape, they’ll leave your wallet alone.

Certainly, there are parts that effect your ability to safely operate your vehicle. This includes the steering and suspension. The ability of the brakes to safely bring your vehicle to a stop is essential to safety. But, what about the engine?

If the engine isn’t up to par, you may find that you need to pickup speed to avoid an accident. Or, you may want to pickup speed and, when the engine won’t keep pace with your demand, find yourself in a dangerous situation.

The point is that you don’t want to designate one month to worry about car care. You don’t want to worry at all. And, the way to not worry is to stay on top of your car’s maintenance.