How to Keep Track of Vehicle Maintenance

Look at What It’s Worth Vs. What It Will Cost to Fix

You’d like to know how much you are spending on car repairs every year, but every time you get a repair done, you just throw the receipt in the center console (or worse yet, in your wallet or the bottom of your purse). Eventually, you clean out your car/purse and it ends up getting thrown out or lost. It doesn’t matter if this is your personal vehicle or you’re managing a fleet, it’s important to know how to keep track of vehicle maintenance. For a business, this is vital.

Understanding your auto expenses is important because it can help you decide whether your vehicle should be repaired, traded in, or junked. You need to look at what it’s worth vs. what it will cost to fix and think about what future repairs will look like with this vehicle. There are many useful apps to help with tracking vehicle maintenance if you’re not a skilled record keeper.

Best Ways to Track Vehicle Maintenance

Try an app! These apps can easily keep track of service, repairs, and fuel economy. Vehicle maintenance can be unnerving. It’s so hard to remember things like oil changes and tire rotations when you have work, family, kids, and many other things happening in your life. And if you have a fleet of vehicles that are constantly on the move, it becomes even more difficult and cumbersome.

Car maintenance apps keep track of all your regular vehicle maintenance so you don’t have to, providing reminders, storing service records, tracking fuel usage, and so much more. Here are some of the best maintenance apps to try:

CARFAX Car Care

CARFAX Car Care is a free app where you can track up to eight vehicles. This makes it a perfect choice for large families who have multiple drivers and vehicles or businesses with a small fleet of vehicles.

You add in what kinds of vehicles you own and it provides service reminders based on your specific car models. It also quickly alerts if there are any safety recalls.

Another great feature is that it automatically uploads when you have a service done. That way you don’t have to worry about forgetting to do it! Also when you sell your vehicle and a potential buyer sees your vehicle's CarFax, they will know you did your maintenance on time.

This app has a five-star rating and excellent reviews. However, one downfall may be that not every garage is recognized in the CARFAX system so you may have to add in your own information depending on where you go for service.

Drivvo

Drivvo is another free app that lets you track fuel, service, and registration costs. This app works well for the average driver, as well as professionals. It categorizes vehicle expense information into handy graphs to manage spending.

Reviews have reported excellent customer service and it’s great for tracking fuel mileage and expenses. However, one user complained that it forces you to sign up for an account before you can view the "where to refuel" map to see if prices are correct, recent, or even available in your area.

Another downfall reported was that it does not have a back button. Be careful; if you don’t hit “Register” after entering data, you could lose valuable information.

AUTOsist

If you hate hanging onto paper receipts, this may be the app for you! You’ll love the mobile scanning feature of the free AUTOsist app. It takes your car maintenance receipts and converts them into digital expense and service logs, which you can access anytime - even when you’re offline! If you’re someone who does like a backup paper copy, you can print your digital service records at any time. Then if you decide to sell your car, AUTOsist can send your service records to anyone with one click.

Some downfalls are that there is a bit of a learning curve to get used to the app, it can sometimes be slow to load on your phone, and it’s not compatible with MS Word. One user reported having to convert from a Word document to an XL document to upload to the database.

My Car

My Car is a free app that offers cost tracking, service reminders, and a clean user interface. Its sleek and simple interface supports multiple vehicles and lets you easily integrate information from other apps. The app is easy to use and offers a good amount of features.

One drawback would be that you’re not able to edit custom-created and default expenses and services. Many also reported the yearly premium subscription is a bit pricey.

Fuelly

With the free Fuelly app, you can store your car’s information in multiple places. Each time you enter info through the app, it automatically adds it to your account on Fuelly.com. The app also offers individual vehicle customizations and an Excel-compatible email report.

But this app has excessive advertising. According to one user, the “ads are so bad that it froze my iPhone X.”

Simply Auto

Simply Auto offers built-in GPS tracking to easily record all tax-deductible and reimbursable mileage. Like the other apps, it’s available for free. It's also the only app that allows users to track fuel economy based on octane, brand, and filling station. People with electric cars have the option to track in kilowatt-hours (kWh).

Openbay

Openbay is a free app that offers competitive service estimates from auto body shops in your area, helping you save money. After you’ve reviewed these quotes, you have the option to schedule an appointment right from the app. Openbay is designed to keep detailed logs on completed work and remind you of the routine maintenance needed.

Auto Care 1

The Auto Care 1 app registers distance (in either miles or kilometers) and fuel (in gallons or liters), making this app extremely useful to those who drive outside the U.S.

Users can set maintenance reminders for a certain day of the month or based on mileage. This app automatically backs up all your data on iCloud, giving you peace of mind.

Unlike the others, Auto Care 1 charges a small fee ($4.99), but most users were happy to pay this for the additional features.

What Sites Do You Use to Maintain Your Car?

DriverSide.com - This is a great website to not only help you find a car but also to maintain it once it's yours. The site provides useful information about recalls, and advice on when to get your car serviced. It helps you find out how much the parts will cost, and can also help you sell your car. This website will basically cover the entire life of your automobile from purchasing it to maintaining it and repairing it, and eventually selling it.

Ownersite.com - Ownersite is a subscription plan service that helps you keep track of your car's maintenance, repair costs, and reminds you of your next service. This site has features like Fuel Management Tools, Maintenance & Expense Tracking, Preventive Maintenance Schedules, Vehicle Information Repository, Comprehensive Reporting Tools, and Window Sticker.

RepairPal.com - RepairPal helps you find qualified auto body shops and assists with getting estimates for repairs. It will also keep track of your car's maintenance. You can also troubleshoot your car issues by typing in your car’s make and model. This way you can be more informed about your repair appointments.

What Are the Best Websites to Track Gas Mileage?

Fuelly.com - Enter information about your vehicle before you start tracking it. This allows you to compare how you are doing against other owners of the same model. You can also enter data from their iPhone site, participate in forums, and track how much money you have spent in gas over time.

MPGTune.com - Track your MPG, your annual fuel cost, view the top mileage of other users with the same vehicle, and much more.

Why is it Important to Track Vehicle Maintenance?

This is an important question for someone in charge of their company's fleet, or even an individual who might own one or two vehicles. Having an overview of your vehicle’s expenses ensures that you properly budget for routine maintenance, unexpected repairs, and roadside emergencies.

Understanding your auto expenses will determine whether a vehicle should be repaired based on what it costs to fix it. What is it worth and how long do you think you will have this vehicle in the future? The only way to know how any particular vehicle in your fleet is performing is to chart the expenses.

Different businesses use their fleet of vehicles for different purposes specific to their industry. There should be a basic understanding of what it costs to keep those vehicles on the road.

If you need help with Fleet Management and Maintenance, contact Manchester Fleet Services. They can evaluate your entire fleet and look at ratios of expenses from different vehicle types, the age of vehicles, and the approximate cost of auto repairs relative to revenue and miles driven. They can tell you exactly the best vehicle to eliminate from your fleet should you need to do so and make suggestions on the best ones to keep. You can get input about future investments to help extend your company's business and profitability.

If a problem arises with your vehicle, having good records can make pinpointing the cause much easier for your mechanic team. For example, if you recently added more oil into a vehicle that just had an oil change, then maybe there is an oil leak. If you find you are repeatedly having the same problems, like needing to have the same tire repaired, there is likely an underlying issue.

How Can You Save on Your Fleet Vehicles?

By keeping track of your fleet, you will know which vehicles are still under warranty, which are scheduled for routine maintenance, when that maintenance should occur, the cost of the maintenance, and how to best budget for it.

With the help of Manchester Fleet Services, you can track vehicle maintenance and repairs, giving you an idea of what repairs are coming in the future and their cost, so your company can be prepared. Manchester always keeps track of the work performed, but if you have to get service done somewhere else, make sure you always save and file your receipts. Being organized with your vehicle fleet expenses will save you time and money in the long run.

Some people are unsure of how to keep track of vehicle maintenance, but it’s really only about good record-keeping, saving and organizing your receipts, and keeping one trusted garage as your main auto repair shop. They will keep records for you, so you don’t have to worry. You can also try some of the apps and websites listed above. Remember, keeping good track of vehicle maintenance will save you hassles in the future, so take the time to track your car’s maintenance today.