The car enthusiast knows how important good car maintenance is, especially if you’ve invested in a luxury or sports car.
Once car owners near that dreaded 150,000-mile mark, we start to worry about how much longer our beloved vehicle will last.
There’s no need to worry! We compiled a list of the top car maintenance tips and tricks from the mechanic industry to extend you car’s life all the way over 200,000 miles.
Ready to learn some awesome tips? Check out what we found!
The Best Car Maintenance Tips For Vehicle Longevity
Some of these car maintenance tips are pretty common knowledge, while some of these might surprise you.
Actually Read The Owner’s Manual
Every vehicle comes with an owner’s manual that tends to collect dust in the glove box. Instead of ignoring this manual, every car owner should take the time to read it over – and actually follow what it says.
Owner’s manuals are written by the manufacturer of your vehicle and often contain vital information on make or model-specific recommended maintenance instructions. Following these instructions will avoid premature aging of your car.
Your owner’s manual will also contain information on recommended tire inflation, oil types, and fluid types that can take the guess work out of maintaining your car.
Change Your Oil
This car maintenance tip is a really common one, but few car owners stick to a strict oil change routine.
As a rule of thumb, there’s a general range of miles in which you should schedule a regular oil change:
- Very old or vintage cars – Every 3,000 miles
- Brand new cars with innovative engines – 20,000 miles
- Everything in-between – Every 9,000 miles or every twelve months, whichever happens first.
Using a high-quality synthetic lubricant to change your oil is very important, too.
If you’re not sure if your vehicle’s engine qualifies as a modern innovative engine, check with your vehicle manufacturer for suggested oil change scheduling.
Get Educated
If you’re not an actual mechanic, chances are you may not know how to repair certain parts of your car. There’s nothing wrong with this.
But car owners should know the basics of how to perform minor repairs on their own or at least familiarize themselves with how to feel when something’s wrong.
Don’t ignore your monitoring systems like your “check engine” light. If your car feels like it is running fine, it’s easy to just brush off the light as a fluke. More often than not, it’s no fluke.
Once those warning signs come up, take your baby in to get checked out.
Keep Your Car Clean
This isn’t just an aesthetic instruction– keeping your vehicle clean can absolutely increase its running life and keep it running smoother.
Elemental factors and chemical factors like acid rain in big cities can damage your paint and the materials underneath.
Regularly wash your car and opt for a clean coat of wax to act as a protective barrier between your vehicle and these elements. Waxing regularly also helps prevent premature rusting.
Keeping your interior clean is also a must. Dirt or sand left on your seats can lead to scrubbing and frictions that can rip and tear at your interior materials.
Avoid Revving
If you own a sports car, it can be hard to not rev that engine. There’s nothing quite like the sound of horsepower in a car you love!
Revving excessively, however, can be pretty damaging to your car. Revving and/or redlining too often can add to deterioration and extra stress on your engine.
Keep up with changing the transmission oil as well if you tend to rev or redline often.
Don’t Be A Penny Pincher
If you’ve invested in a quality vehicle, you can’t just spend the money to buy the vehicle and then check out. Regular maintenance isn’t cheap, and being cheap could lead to the premature end of your car.
Buy high-quality parts, lubricants, oils, and waxes for your vehicle is important. Don’t opt for the super cheap stuff, and choose the most reputable brands.
Change Your Cam Belt– No Matter What Condition It May Be In
A cam belt, also known as a timing belt or timing chain, is part of your vehicle’s internal combustion engine that controls how your crankshaft and camshafts turn in order to open and close your engine’s valves at the correct time between intakes and exhaust strokes.
The cam belt is a vital but often overlooked part of vehicles. Should you neglect to change your timing belt frequently, it will deteriorate over time and eventually snap. This will cause serious damage to your engine.
It’s recommended that cam belts be changing everything 40,000 miles, even if it looks to be in functioning condition. This isn’t something one should overlook.
Invest In A Decent Mechanic
Mechanics are expensive to hire– that’s just a fact. It may be appealing to seek out the cheapest mechanic you can find, but this could negatively impact your vehicle.
Good mechanics with the experience and expertise to repair your car the first time should be an investment on your part. Honest mechanics that are trustworthy should also be a priority.
Building rapport with a good mechanic may seem costly, but investing in the best of the best could save you money in the long run and extend the life of your car.
You can also ask your mechanic if they have any good car maintenance tips for your specific car.
Don’t Ignore Your Coolant System
A head gasket failure from overheating is a completely avoidable incident, one that could cost you a significant amount of miles.
Replacing your vehicle’s water pump, thermostat, and coolant the moment an issue is detected is vital in maintaining your car’s longevity.
Make A List
It’s important to make a list of things that will require regular maintenance and when they need to be done. Writing this down or logging these things digitally via reminder apps can help prevent forgetting about them.
You can get very detailed as well and include regular waxing and washing schedules as well as things like fluid replacement and parts replacement.
Get Your Car Ready For A Long Life!
Was our list of the best car maintenance tips helpful? Do you have a tip or trick you’d like to share about car maintenance?
We’d love to hear from you– leave us a comment below!
