How to make your car last many years to save you money
A car is one of the most expensive things people will buy in their lifetime and according to the data, the average person will buy a car 8 times. Cars tend to depreciate in value over time so spending lots of money on cars does not make great financial sense. Many people in the United States and Canada need a car to go about daily life, so they are more of a need than a luxury. Culture in North America is strong on vehicle ownership as public transportation options are not as prevalent and reliable when compared to the rest of the world. The average household owns 2 vehicles.
Taking proper care of your car will allow it to serve you a long time so that less money is spent on replacing it or repairing it. Those who neglect their vehicles end up replacing their car every 5 years or less. From a financial perspective, the return on investment is much lower. Here are some tips for how you can increase the life of your car so that the financial burden of auto ownership is much less over the years.
Keep up on maintenance
The most crucial factor in determining how long your car will last is how you maintain it. Cars are machines and machines that are taken care of are more reliable, safer, and last longer. A well maintained car will also be worth more when it comes time to sell it. The owner will spend less in repair bills as a well maintained car is less likely to break more expensive components such as transmissions, engines, and pumps. Here are a few things I make sure to stay up on when maintaining my cars to keep them running nicely for many years.
The first area of maintenance are fluid changes. Fresh fluids are important to keeping your car healthy and are one of the easier items to address. The oil in your car does many things including lubricating, cooling, cleaning, and maintaining gaskets and seals inside of your engine. Oil breaks down from friction and heat while it also gets dirty from lubricating all moving parts inside the engine. Always follow your car’s recommended service intervals but the standard mileage between oil changes is around 5,000 miles. This range will allow for proper care of the engine without being too frequent to where it’s an added expense. If you are a strong DIY person and have access to basic tools, you can change your own oil for under $30. Bringing the car to an independent shop will usually cost $40 to $80 and can take less than an hour to do.
Other fluids that should be changed over longer intervals include the transmission fluid, differential fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, and brake fluid. For example, brake fluid should be changed every 2 years. Transmission fluid is said to be a lifetime fluid by some auto manufacturers but 60-100k mile service intervals can really extend the life of the transmission and keep it shifting smoother.
Tire rotations are another simple maintenance item to help your tires last an extra 10-20k miles. When tires are not rotated regularly, there is uneven wear on the front vs. rear tires and they will typically need to be replaced sooner. A nice set of tires will run around $1,000 dollars so extending their life a couple years can keep more money in your pocket.
Replacing filters are another maintenance item that can have an impact on fuel economy. Air filters should be replaced every 5k-10k miles to help your car breathe better for optimal performance. A clogged up and dirty air filter can rob you of miles per gallon. The same can be said for fuel filters which can become clogged from sediment in the gas tank. Filters are very inexpensive so keeping filters fresh will provide you with the best performance long term.
I have an OBD-II scanner that I purchased online that plugs into any car to read error codes. If a check engine light comes on, I can plug it into the car and read out the fault codes and descriptions to determine the issue. This can save you a trip to the mechanic if the codes read something that points to a loose gas cap or broken sensor. Never ignore warning lights on the dashboard since these indicate issues that could lead to costly repairs if not addressed in a timely manner.
Keeping the inside and outside of your car clean is another maintenance item that shouldn’t be overlooked. Dirty paint on the outside will make it more prone to scratches, fading, clear coat damage, and corrosion of the metal on the body of the vehicle. A car should be washed once every 2-3 weeks to keep the exterior in good shape. A cost effective spray wax will also keep the paint protected so that water and dirt run off easier. I like to hand wash my cars myself but in the winter when it is cold, I will go to a self-service wash booth to give the cars a proper cleaning.
The interior should get a deep cleaning at least once a year to make the carpets and upholstery fresh and clean. Clean cars that smell good, don’t have stains, and are blemish and scratch free hold their value better.
Have good driving habits
There are certain habits that can alter the lifespan of a vehicle based on how it is operated day to day. In cold climates, it’s a good idea to warm up the car enough so that the oil is flowing prior to driving. Being heavy on the gas and brakes excessively creates more stress on the vehicle mechanics and can wear out components faster. This is why after an hour on a racetrack, most cars will need new tires and brakes.
Park your car in the right place
The best place to keep your car is in a garage but not everyone has the luxury to park in a garage. The UV rays from the sun is what dries out the window seals, fades the interior, makes the dashboard crack, and weakens exterior paint. A quonset hut or car port can help keep rain, snow, ice, and UV rays off of the car.
Parking on the street should be avoided if possible as the car is more likely to have contact with other cars, bicycles, and road debris. Snow plows can spray and push salty snow and water onto vehicles which can exacerbate rust.
Parking on dirt and grass can trap moisture under a vehicle which will promote rust if left there regularly. Solid flat surfaces that don’t hold water are the best places to park a car.
Protect your vehicle from the elements
Using a sunshade while parked can help protect the interior. Tinted windows also reduce the amount of sunlight that can penetrate the inside of a vehicle.
It snows where I live, and that means the roads are covered with salt and sand in the winter. Salt is horrible for cars and will eventually rust them all the way down to the frame. Few people have their vehicle undercoated but it is something I will always do to my cars. It’s a simple process and you can even do it yourself. The lanolin based oil coating is non-toxic and environmentally friendly. It comes in gallon cans and is the consistency of warm peanut butter. The oil is sprayed onto the underside of the car on all metal parts. It thickens up as the weather turns cold and lasts for months even when splashed with water. After many winters of oil undercoatings applied, the cars that get it done are much better off than those that do not. This is a gamechanger if you live in cold climates but many people are unaware of the process.
I have owned three cars in my lifetime and have cared for each one the same. The age and mileage is not as important if proper maintenance and care has been taken. Driving a car to the end of its life is not the goal as cars that are older can increase risks to safety and expenses. The main idea is that you can get a few more years and reduce costly repairs by making small changes to how you treat your car.