Are You Guilty Of Neglecting Your Car? It's Easy To Forget About Routine Car Maintenance When You Have About A Billion Other Things Going On In Your Life. The Truth Is, If Keep Up With A Maintenance Schedule, You Avoid Unexpected Breakdowns Early On Its Life. We've All Heard Of Cars That Have Lasted 200,000 Or Even Up To 500,000 (Gasp!). You Could Join That Club Too! Here Are A Few Easy Tips You Should Adhere To In Order To Extend The Life Of Your Car.
1. Check The Oil
Hey, you knew this was going to be the first one, but you still need to be told! Keeping up with the proper amount of oil in your machine will keep your car running smoothly. Oil's job is to lubricate your engine and carry heat away. Oil changes are necessary because as it moves through the engine it picks up dirt and debris; once it become too dirty, it's no longer effective.
If you neglect to change your oil, you can bet your engine is going to start having some problems. Parts of your engine will start running too hot which will eventually cause components to wear out. This will be due in part because of the lack of lubrication. This can cost you thousands of dollars down the line. It's not uncommon for lack of oil changes to be the reason people have to sell to scrap yard and get an entirely new vehicle.
To avoid these problems, learn how to check and replace your oil! There are plenty resources online to utilize. Just be sure to check your owner's manual to determine how frequently your car needs a change and what grade of oil to use. A few minutes every 5,000 miles will greatly extend the life of your car!
2. Check The Tires
Once again, you knew I was going to say this! It's easy to take them for granted, but tire issues cause thousands of accidents every year. Keep your tires at the proper pressure. It only takes a couple of extra minutes at the gas station to do this (you don't like pumping gas anyway, might as well get this out of the way too). Under-inflated tires are three times more likely to cause a serious accident than those that are filled correctly. Try to check the pressure at least once a month. The correct amount of pressure will be listed on the tire sidewall and in your owner's manual.
In addition, you can increase your tire's life by rotating your tires every 6,000 miles and making sure the alignment is correct. Poor alignment leads to uneven tread wear.
3. Be Aware Of Your Timing Belt
If your car has a timing belt, you must be aware of when it has to be replaced. This information will be readily available in the owner's manual. Rubber belts can break, and when they do, you can say "bye bye" to your engine. This component usually has to be replaced between 50,000 to 110,000 miles.
This is not a cheap fix! However, it'll save you thousands down the line and is definitely worth it.
So there you have it! A few things you should be aware of regarding vehicle maintenance that can extend the life of your car! Of course, there lots of other things you can do (I'd can go on all day), but we'll leave that for part two of this article!