Proactive Maintenance of a 98 Camry

Ajanta · 2005-06-25T04:12:28+00:00

My previous car was a used 92 Camry. Other than check air, change oil,and change muffler when it became noisy, I did not do any proactivemaintenance. As a result a few things failed on me at most inconvenientmoments: radiator, water pump (which required changing timing belttoo), battery. As I often found myself in emergency sits, I wasn'talways able to plan where work should be done, I had to take what Icould get. I just bought a 98 Camry with 80K miles on it. It is in great shape andI want to keep it for at least five years, maybe until 150K. I want toavoid my previous mistake and be proactive about maintenance, but alsonot throw away any good parts that would last until 150K.The previous owner just got a new battery. Tires are Regata 2 with 35Kmiles. Because of a flat I have had them evaluated repeatedly and theyseem good for 1-2 years.How should I approach the maintenance of this car? What should be done and when?Secondly, where should such work be done? I am so happy to be able tpplan that, instead of being limited by who is near and who is openduring a holiday weekend! Are big national chains like Sears, Pep Boys, WalMart etc any good?CarX, Midas, Firestone? (Recommendations for places local to Chicagoare also welcome.)I stopped at a local garage in an area where I had to kill time today.He suggested (1) changing belts (incl timing) and (2) getting atune-up, even if nothing seems wrong. Is that good advice? He was unsure about water pump: it would be $80 if done with timingbelt but a lot more if it had to be done on its own, but nothing iswrong and it could possibly last.Anyway, dear experts, I would be most grateful for your guidance on howto keep this car perfectly maintained. :-)