1. Check your Engines oil, transmission fluid, and coolant every 3000 miles to insure that they are still good.
2. Change your oil and your oil filter every 6 months.
3. Every 6,000 miles have your tires rotated.
4. Every 12,000 miles flush the radiator, replace the Anti-freeze, and check your A/C.
5. Every 30,000 miles change your spark plugs and your transmission fluid.
6. Don’t leave your car’s engine running, while the car is sitting– If an engine isn’t operating at its peak performance, incomplete fuel burns occur, which leave fuel deposits that build up on the cylinder walls and can damage and wear down your engine.
7. Drive as slow as you can– While on highways try to keep your car around 50 MPH instead of 70 MPH. This may not seem like fun, but it will help extend the life of your car.
8. Avoid Accelerating quickly– Try to avoid accelerating very quickly, though this may be fun it can add much wear to your car. Most of us like to accelerate as fast as we can out of stop lights, but this is not the best option if you want to extend the life of your car.
9. Avoid making short trips– If you make a trip that takes less than 10 minutes your cars’ engine doesn’t engage at its full temperature resulting in an incomplete fuel burn. This like leaving your car running results in fuel deposits in the cylinders which can damage your engine.
10. Reduce any extra weight on the car/ Remove any extra items in the trunk– Remove any extra items you leave in your trunk such as your bike, golf clubs, bowling balls, basketballs, etc. If you don’t need it for your current commute leave it at home to help reduce weight.
11. Protect your cars carpet with floor mats– Your car’s interior looks great, and the carpet is clean. Do you want to keep it that way? Place floor mats on top of the carpet so all of the dirt, dust, sand, snow and water gets on the mats instead of the carpet extending the life of your car’s interior. (Disclaimer, just because you use floor mats doesn’t mean you don’t have to clean the interior).
12. Clean your mats and your interior– Make sure you clean your mats frequently, dirt can build up on them which can lead to dirt getting on the carpet and other places inside the car. You can clean them by spraying them with a hose. Other ways to clean your interior include wiping off the dash board, vacuuming your carpets, cleaning your doors and removing all trash from your car.
13. Preserve your door and window seals– Clean your door and window seals with a rubber protectant to keep them in good condition. The rubber protectant preserves the seals which will help prevent leaks from things such as rain.
14. Protect Fabric Upholstery– Protecting your Fabric upholstery with something like Scotchgard or another fabric will protect it from dirt, sand, and stains which will help the upholstery last longer and stay looking like brand new.
15. Change your lights– When your headlights and taillights start to look dim it is time to have them replaced. Brighter lights help prevent accidents at night which make your car last longer.
16. Wax your car– Want to protect that beautiful clean paint job on your car? Well it is time to Wax and wax off! The only way to protect your paint job is to wax your car! Sure it is a lot of work to wax your car, but the reward of a clean paint job is well worth it.
17. Check your Brake Fluid– Check your brake fluid at least once a month. If it is low fill it up. If it is near half way top it off just to be safe.
18. Check your brakes– Besides just checking your brake fluid once a month, you should check the brakes themselves as well. Due this by seeing if they are still able to stop your car at the right distance for the right speed.
19. Put Less Strain on your Transmission– Even if your transmission is an automatic you can put less strain on it by shifting into neutral while at stop lights. While in drive, even if you are not moving and your foot is on the brake your car still wants to move forward which can cause more wear on your transmission.
20. Take pride in your ride– The last and most important thing you can do to help extend the life of your car is to take pride in your car! Be proud that you own your car, and take good care of it. If you take care of your car, your car will take care of you!
Most of these tips may seem like a lot of work, but in reality they really aren’t. Most of them only take a few minutes to do and some only take a few seconds out of your day! Just remember it is the little things that make a big difference!
Steven Weinberg is a blogger at CarInsuranceCalculator.info and passionate about cars. His specialties are classic cars.