What car maintenance routines will make a new/good car last a long time?

Question

I would just like to learn from other peoples experience and maybe pick-up a few tips to make my vehicles last/save a few bucks.

Answer 1

Dear Routine-

The manufactuer has placed the maintence intervals in your owners manual(s). These are a simple guideline for the minimum abount of care needed.

When people ask me about the care of their vehicle, I normally suggest the following:

Annually change the coolant, transmission fluid, rear end oil, (if equipped), and the fluid in the transfer case, (4x4 equipped), air filter fuel filter and spark plugs.

Though many of the manufacturers state that the coolant and spark plugs do not need to be changed for 100,000 miles, I would not entirely trust that statement.

With today's driving requirements for most vehicles, in particular if you live in the city with stop and go traffic, it would be more prudent to follow my suggestion to change those parts out annually.

Keep that oil changed and at the proper level. This includes the filter too. The oil is the life-blood of your engine. More damage is caused by a failure to change the oil than you realize. the rule of thumb is every 3000 miles or 90 days, whichever occurs first.

Here is an easy way to keep track of it. Most folks have a calendar at home. Mark OIL CHANGE 90 days from your last one. That way when you flip to that month, you know its coming up and you need to get the appointment made, or get the parts.

Oil changes are something that are fairly simple, and most folks can do this on their own with minimal tools and training. Top quality filters like Fram, Wix, Purolator, will have a brief set of tightening instructions on their packaging.

Keeping your car serviced is very important, this includes washing, waxing rotating the tires, being sure the air pressure is correct in them, regularly inspecting your lights, and taking a peek in your engine compartment while the engine is running for any leaks or broken parts.

This includes having a look at the battery terminals for corrosion and cleaning that material off. If you have corrosion on those terminals, that means the electricity is having a hard time doing its job. This can be a cause for the car being hard to start, or not starting at all.

A small battery teminal brush will do the job here and keep things clean. There is a product by Permatex called Battery Terminal Protector. It is a red sticky material. After cleaning the terminals, replacing the battery cables, and properly tightening them this product is sprayed into the terminals. This product will coat the terminals and weather proof them to keep water and corrosion away. You will also find on the market these little felt rings that are sold. I reccommend against using those. They contain a penetrating oil that seeps up the terminals. I have encoutered many charging system related problems due to those little felt rings, including the oil actually insulating the terminals from a good connection with the cables.

Driving habits are a big factor in the longevity of your vehicle too. The harder you drive the car, the shorter the lifespan will be. The same is said for neglect of care.

Do not use dishwashing detergent to wash your car. Its designed for dishes, not cars. Your local Auto Parts Store will have a large selection of "Car Wash Soap" available for you. Personally, I choose the type that washes and waxes at the same time. Blue Coral , Kit, Turtle Wax, Meguires, Eagle One, and Rain-X are just a few that are available. These products help keep the paint in excellent condition, and help protect it from the Sun and Rain. Dishwashing Detergent is designed to strip oil and grease from the surface of dishes, and will actually harm the paint on your car over time.

Wax the car annually, or have a detail shop do this for you. That is what I do with my vehicles on a bi-annual regimine. I normally do not have the time to wax the cars that I own, so I located a reputable detail shop in my area and I schedule with them twice a year. Once in the spring and then again in the fall. This protects the car all summer, and in the winter.

Keep the paint chips repaired too. This may sound like a very trivial point, but over the life of your car, the chips can develop rust under them and cause more damage. Again, I normally have the detail shop do this twice a year, and that normally does the job.

Above all else, if you can keep the car covered, (Car Port, Garadge, or Car Cover), this will drastically reduce paint fade, scratches, and the "Wash Me" idiots from making a mess out of that expensive piece of hardware.

As for the interior, regular vacuum sessions, and dusting with an interior cleaner, such as: Armor All, or Finish 2000 will do the job nicely. I prefer to use the Low Gloss formula to keep the glare on the dash surface to a minimum.

Regular Windex for the windows, (interior and exterior), plastic polish for the light lenses, (tail-lights), Meguires Mirror Glaze works good for that. No-Touch Tire Black, to keep the tire sidewalls looking nice.

Most of my vehicles , even at 100,000 miles you would never guess that I had that type of milage on them when you look at them from the exterior or through the windows. The holes in the upholstry even get repaired when they occur. As for the carpets, well there are several cleaners that are out there, but if I spill something I normally try to re-saturate the area with clear water, and soak it up with a large beach towel, then use talcum powder to force the liquid out. Let it dry then, vacuum it up using a soft bristle brush. If you have black interior, powdered charcoal will do the same. Just keep brushing, and vacuuming that area until all of it is picked up. A white terry cloth rag will give you the "green light" when you have all of the powdered charcoal removed.

Keep the locks and hinges lubricated. Lock Ease is a product that is available, and the hinges can be lubricated with Tri-Flow. WD-40 can be used in a pinch, but this product is more for loosening rusted nuts and bolts, and will wash away after a few passes through the car wash.

Well I think that about covers it. I hope these suggestions help you out. Remember, not all of these things have to be done at the same time, this is merely a suggestion list.

Enjoy your new car!

Answer 2

The best maintenance you can give to your car would be to go by the book, (The Owner's Manual). If you can do the work youself and have a place where you can get under the car, then you will soon learn of ways to enhance your service. The big thing now under discussion is the use of long lasting, high cost, man made synthetic oils. Some of these oils are suggested to be used for 10,000 to 15,000 miles. Like Mobil One. Saving a buck will come from when you do the work yourself, even with the long inspection intervals of 30K, 60K, 90K miles.

Answer 3

First, it depends on where you live. I live in Québec, so I absolutely need to make an rust protection oil treatment every year so that the salt will not destroy the body and the frame during winter months. There are a few other rust protections you can get, not only oil, but I do not know them. To keep the body and the paint in good shape, wash it often, repair scratches and dents, clean bird droppings, etc.

For everything else, follow closely what's in your vehicle's owner book and your car will run fine for years, even if it's a Hyundai or a Kia. Make sure you change oil regularly, inspect the brakes, and that's most of what you have to do the first years.

Answer 4

Its really simple. Look in your owners manual and you'll see 2 schedules, regular and severe. Follow the severe and you'll be fine. If you don't have a manual...
Oil and filter every 3000 miles, 4000 if mostly highway miles.
Auto transmission flushed every 30K miles or 3 years.
Flush cooling system every other year.
Fuel, air, and cabin (if equipped) filters every year.
Brakes checked every other oil change. Fluid to be changed when brake work is done.
Alignment and suspension checked when tires are rotated-every 7500 miles or every other oil change.
If engine has a timing belt, change at 60K miles.
Some may think its too much maintanance, but I've run 3 cars over 200K miles each with almost no breakdowns.

Answer 5

follow exactly what the owners manual says

make sure you keep it clean , inside and out , wax it after winter and again during summer and the right before winter

keep underside clean

get a good reliable mechanic and always go to the same shop and try to get the same person to do the work that way they will know you and take better care of your car and you may be able to get a bit of a break on prices since you always go there

B.

Answer 6

Use synthetic oil and change it at regular intervals.
Conduct routine maintenance, spark plugs & wires, etc.
Regularly take long drives, +/- two hundred miles.
Wash and wax your vehicle regularly.

I am sure others will add to this list.
Good luck.

Answer 7

Frequent oil changes are possibly the best thing you can do. Also keeping the correct air pressure in the tires will help you with gas mileage and tire wear.

Follow the manufacturers recommendations and you should be fine.

Answer 8

make sure you tune-up your car.
change the oil when it time.
change air filter
change tires when it time
very important tip. DO NOT LET ANYONE WORK ON YOUR
CAR THAT DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TO DO!

Answer 9

most important--change your oil and filter as recom. by dealer

--have a tune up as recom. by dealer( plugs and wires, air filter, coolant change, trans fluid, belts and valve adj.)

--also dont abuse a car. most cars will be good to u if yur good to them

-good luck

Answer 10

all fluids should be replaced --- oil, trans fluid, power steering fluid, coolant, etc. and regular tune-ups...like plugs air filter belts...