What would happen if your dentist didn’t schedule tooth exams and cleanings every 6 months? And what if you didn’t brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss your teeth?
I think you know the answer…lots of cavities, pain, gum disease and maybe even having to have teeth removed and getting artificial teeth later in life. That’s what’s called preventative maintenance.
Cars are pretty much the same proposition because, just like your teeth, there are lots of parts which need regular maintenance to prevent breakdowns or very expensive failures later. All of that information is in your car’s owners manual, but a lot of you probably haven’t even opened it up. Unless you have a mechanic who regularly checks your car, you might just be driving your car day after day, getting occasional oil changes and just hoping nothing goes wrong. When it does, which it always will, you then could be stuck and facing a big towing and repair bill.
The problem with that approach is the fact that you’re living on borrowed time and things which you’re not checking are going to wear out, make your car less safe or efficient and leave you stranded without any warning when they fail. Your car is also going to lose more value, netting you less money when you go to sell it or trade it in.
On the other hand, you might be someone who pays close attention to your car’s maintenance and is doing everything right. However, that takes a lot of discipline and attention to knowing when is the right time to do the various maintenance tasks and which mechanics to use (unless you do it all yourself).
The fact is that cars built in the last 20-30 years have much better quality and will work well for over 20 years and 200,000 or more miles if you do the recommended maintenance.
That’s where the BluCare app comes in…because it was developed to help everyone with their car ownership and maintenance and it works with any car of any age.
It’s really simple to get started…just download the app to your phone, create an account and login. Next, add your vehicle(s) by simply using your phone to scan the vehicle identification number (VIN) barcode or QR code on your car. That allows the app to gather the manufacturer information about your car which will be used for proper maintenance recommendations.
The app asks for your car’s current odometer reading so that it can get a baseline of your vehicle’s mileage. Whenever you drive your car and have your phone with you, the app will keep track of your trips and mileage and update the app’s vehicle mileage as well. This is how the app will know how much driving you’ve done and will be able to give you regular reminders of important maintenance items.
It is also a complete reference source for information about your car. It lets you download and search your original factory owner’s manual, keep copies of all important owner and vehicle documents and labels and keep all service and driving records, including warranty information for all repairs. Tips and tutorials is a great place to quickly find and watch every video on the internet related to a particular question you have about your car…I call them “2-click tutorials”.
We’ve just added a Quick Entry button which you can access both inside and outside the app to quickly create any type of service or driving record, update your vehicle mileage or search your owner’s manual. Most of the most common types of entries are displayed to quickly select and not have to type anything.
When you’re ready to do some maintenance on your car, you can use the Repair Shopping page to either search for and order parts from every major car parts online retailer or search for all repair facilities in your area, read reviews and contact them for an appointment.
There are lots of handy reminders which can be customized just for your type of driving. Those include reminders to turn off your headlights after you park after driving at night, turning on your headlights if driving past sunset or if it is raining, checking the rearseat for infants or pets who you might forget after parking, warning about leaving behind infants or pets when dangerously low or high temperatures are expected, rolling up your windows when rain is in the forecast, checking engine oil and tire pressure every week or when fueling up, checking air filters every month and changing engine oil and filter every 7500 miles.
The app also automatically saves your car’s last parking location so you can quickly locate it when you want to return to it. There’s also an Activity & Fitness page which currently shows your last week’s driving activity and which will be further updated with lots of car health and usage data in future updates.
We’re going to be updating the app with great new features regularly so please download it, give it a test drive and let me know what you think about it. I want to hear your comments so that we can keep improving it and make it the absolute best car care app available.
All the Best!
Craig