Cars are expensive, new or used. Next to the purchase of a home, your car or truck is likely the next highest priced thing you own. That kind of investment needs to be protected. Luckily, there are some simple things you can do to extend the life of your car. The difference between a vehicle that makes it to 100,000 miles and one that gets to 200,000 miles or more can mean a significant amount of money you can keep in your pocket, So here are a few easy things you can do to make your car last longer.
(1) Washing It
Here in Ohio, we live right in the middle of the rust belt. With our midwest climate comes hot, humid, muggy summers and harsh winters. Washing and cleaning your car can be the difference between it showing significant signs of rust and corrosion in as little as 4 or 5 years or staying rust free for many many years.Our streets are pretreated with a corrosive brine prior to large snowfalls and salt afterwards. Going thru a good quality car wash that offers an underbody wash will remove all that corrosive brine and salt from the underneath, preventing the formation of rust. In addition parking your vehicle on asphalt or concrete is far better than parking on gravel to prevent corrosion and rust.
(2) Change Your Oil
This is the best way to ensure that your engine lives a long and healthy life. Cars and Trucks that use conventional motor oils need to be changed every 3000 miles. Vehicles that require the use of fully synthetic motor oils can go quite a bit longer between services, usually somewhere between 5000 to 8000 mile intervals. Motor oil becomes dirty and degrades over time, this can spell disaster for an engine if left unchanged for too long. If the oil level is not checked regularly and gets to low, this also can lead to catastrophic damage in a hurry. Check your vehicles owners manual for the recommended type of oil and the proper service intervals.
(3) Drive Your Car Easy
If you treat your car like a race car, accelerating rapidly, braking suddenly and taking turns at very high speeds. You may have a bit of fun, but it wil come with an expensive price. Strong acceleration isn't the worst thing, but if your doing it all the time, especially when the engine is cold, your harming the internal parts of the engine. Not to mention that you'll be way more lilely to be involved in an accident. Which would be the quickest way to keep your vehicle from lasting a long time. Braking hard or suddenly all the time will cause your brakes to wear out prematurely and will put added stress and wear on the suspension and steering systems. Causing there life to be shortend significantly. Those sharp fast turns can do a real number on your tires and front end alignment. This can lead to the tires getting bald on the edges before the center of the tread wears out. More frequent tire rotations might help a little bit, but a new set of tires are expensve enough without causing excessive wear by ones driving habits. Last, always make sure you are at a complete stop before shifting from drive to reverse or vice versa to keep your vhicles transmission nice and happy. Transmission repairs and or replacement can cost many thousands of dollars. Being gentle on them will significantly improve their lifespan.