Visiting many car forums as I do, I frequently come across complaints of high maintenance costs. It’s not unusual for people to spend $500 or more on a 30,000-mile service. But this doesn’t make it right. In many cases these owners are trusting that everything suggested by the dealer needs to be done. In many cases, though, dealers recommend shorter intervals and even more items than the manufacturer calls for.

To learn which maintenance items are actually recommended and required, check your owners manual or a separate factory maintenance schedule booklet.

Often many items on the list are of the “inspect X” variety. These take very little time, and will often be performed for far less money by an independent shop. Or by yourself, if you have a basic mechanical knowledge of automobiles. When I take my cars in for an oil change I ask the garage if I can take a quick peek beneath the car while it’s up on the lift.

One disadvantage of not having the dealer do all the work: many manufacturers are much more likely to provide out-of-warranty assistance if you’ve been a loyal customer of a specific dealer. But even if you do have a dealer do the work, you don’t have to do everything they recommend. Make sure you know what the factory actually calls for when you take the car in.