- inspect wiper blades (I've got to admit, looking for torn blades - tell your service provider if they streak or chatter)

- lubricate door locks, check straps, hood latch & safety catch, fuel door hinges (this is really important but sounds so trivial, especially in our climate it's common to see door locks that don't work with a key and hinges that won't)

- check/adjust parking brake (I can't even count the number of cars I have climbed in that don't have functioning parking brakes, automatic transmission equipped cars = bad enough, how can you own a manual transmission car without a parking brake, do you have ANY idea how dangerous this is?)

- check seatbelts (this hasn't been such a big thing in recent years, most people seem to want their seatbelts to work properly and will let us know if something's wrong)

- inspect coolant hoses (I hate these, one of our customers has owned his Range Rover long enough that he carries an extra set of hoses with him, there isn't much worse than having that big spew of steam when boogying back from Chicago on a hot summer afternoon)

- inspect radiator & air conditioning condensor (bugs, dirt, leaves all make your cooling system work much harder than it has too, leaks tend to start small but can frequently be spotted visually before creating the need for and emergency repair)

- check fluid levels: power steering, brake fluid, coolant (these checks help warn you in advance of issues that will leave you stranded or result in ultra-expensive repairs)

- replace spark plugs (these things don't last forever, my personal favorite reason for changing them on time is to hopefully prevent the things from seizing in an aluminum cylinder head; I hate $2500 tune-ups)

- replace engine air filter (sooooo cheap, and neglected can cause sooooo many problems, your engine needs air to make fire, no fire=no go, not enough fire=check engine light on)

- inspect serpentine drive belt (probably one of the best ideas ever, but it does wear and inspections can prevent failure of the belt or identify adjuster bearing or accessory equipement impending doom)

- inspect exhaust system & heat shields (let's just forget about the obvious safety issues with a leaking exhaust, there are things under your car that don't like having hot exhaust blown on them - wires and fuel or brake lines, for example)

- inspect tires (do you ever LOOK at your tires? tires today seem to last forever and are remarkably cheap, find an old newpaper from the 1950s and check the prices - remember that 12,000 miles was great life for a tire)

- inspect brake lines (in Minnesota, steel brake lines rust right through, hoses crack and leak - just try to get that 4500 pound Land Rover with 1000 pounds of family and luggage to stop with a leaking brake line)

- inspect brake pads, calipers & discs (they wear out, I don't know how fast - it depends on your driving habits and style, does the car sit out on the street in Minneapolis, or in a nice dry garage, do you off-road at all? For example: depending on what I've been doing and how neglectful I've been of service, I can expect anywhere from 500 miles to 30,000 miles on a set of pads.....)

- change engine oil & replace filter (LET ME REPEAT THAT - CHANGE YOUR OIL AND FILTER)

- lubricate driveshafts & u-joints (this is really important, trust me)

- inspect steering rods, joints, dust covers (torn dust covers permit dirt to contaminate rod ends and joints, fix these soon enough and perhaps keep that set of tires longer, the car steers and tracks much better when everything is tight)

- inspect shock absorbers (they wear out, they break, when they're working, they keep the tires in contact with the road)

- inspect suspension links & mountings (another series of suspension bits that conspire to make driving your Land Rover more like hearding ducks, check them and replace them as necessary)

- inspect wheel speed sensor wiring (ok, here's and interesting one, if it's dangling - secure it, if it's torn your ABS warning light should already be on)

- inspect fuel lines (ever been in a burning car? wonder why your gas mileage is so poor?)

- change transfer box oil (these boxes are really expensive, keep the fluids clean and fresh)

- change front & rear axle oil (especially those off-roader types, water gets in here and water is not a good high pressure lubricant)

- change transmission fluid (this Passport to Service recommends the filter be changed at 30,000 miles never to done again, simply drain and fill the fluid; we might recommend it at different mileage if no history is available - it's a big job on Range Rovers and Discoverys, requiring the exhaust system and crossmember be removed from the car)

- replace fuel filter (y'know, they make all that fuss about clean gas, I wonder why....)