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See a sample reprint in PDF format. Order a reprint of this article nowIt's no surprise that a growing number of readers are asking about the best ways to keep their vehicles running reliably and efficiently on the smallest possible budget.
As consumers cinch their household purse strings ever more tightly, many have abandoned the idea of buying a new car – as evidenced by plummeting U.S. sales numbers. Instead they are increasingly looking at their aging vehicles as opportunities to save money. Mechanics and others in the auto industry are quick to point out vehicles last longer and require less maintenance and fewer repairs than they used to. So getting your money's worth from a car can mean logging 100,000 miles or more.
Thinking of keeping your car longer? What are you doing to extend its life? Join the All Things Autos group in Journal Community.
Make that, ""much more,"" according to Tony Molla, a spokesman for the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence, an auto service trade group. He says a properly maintained car should be able to cover 250,000 miles of service with few unpleasant surprises. The trouble is, few vehicles are properly maintained. Here are a few steps drivers can take to keep their cars on the road longer without draining their bank accounts.
Speaking of bank accounts, why not keep one for your car? By squirreling away about $400 a year after buying a new vehicle you will almost certainly be able to cover maintenance and repair costs up to that 250,000-mile mark. The idea is that the money builds up for the first two or three years because most cars will need little more than inexpensive fluid and filter changes.
The most important thing you can do to keep your car running well is to change the engine oil on schedule. Mr. Molla recommends changing conventional (nonsynthetic) oil every 3,000 miles or three months, which ever comes second. This way, the traveling sales representative who racks up 500 highway miles a week gets to go farther because steady long-distance driving takes less of a toll than the typical stop-and-go that most of us experience. Believe it or not, everyday urban and suburban driving conditions are considered extreme. Meanwhile, synthetic oil blends often last 10,000 to 15,000 miles.
Read and heed your vehicle owner's manual. As cars get more complex, their owner's manuals get thicker and in many cases have multiplied, with one book covering maintenance and another detailing other features. Many come with separate quick-reference guides to help new owners adjust the seats and set their radios stations. The thick manuals wind up dumped in the glove box forever. ""Nobody reads them, but the manuals contain everything you need to know about your car, including the maintenance intervals,"" Mr. Molla says.
Dale Anderson opens the door of Peter Gilbert's 1989 Saab 900 SPG at the Wisconsin Automotive Museum. The car has been driven over a million miles over seventeen years with the same engine.
Change other fluids periodically. Some manufacturers do not specify an interval for changing brake, transmission and other fluids, but they do need to be changed. Most fluids other than engine oil will last between three and five years after a car leaves the factory. After that they should be flushed and changed every two years or so. Trustworthy mechanics will analyze the fluids to see if the need replacing. Others will tell you your six-month-old car needs a flushing service.
Take the stress off your transmission by using the parking brake. When you park, keep your foot on the service brake while setting the parking brake. Then allow the car to settle or ""rest"" on the parking brake before shifting into the automatic transmission to park or releasing the clutch of a manual transmission (you should leave it in gear). This saves your transmission from wear, especially on steep inclines.
Be your own tire-pressure monitor. Even though new cars have systems that warn the driver about underinflated tires, you should still check it yourself. Losing just a few pounds of pressure can hurt fuel economy and shorten tire life significantly. Tires should also be rotated as specified in the owner's manual. A periodic front-end alignment will also help tires last longer.
Keep your car clean. Cleaning helps prevent corrosion, but hand-washing also keeps the driver on intimate terms with the vehicle. It also forces the driver to inspect the car and spot small dents and scratches where rust could form. Filling them in with touch-up paint protects the underlying metal.
Q: I was told that all the gas stations in my area get the same gas from the refinery. Do the different gas brands, i.e. Gulf, Sunoco, Exxon, add unique chemicals to their gas to make their gas better than their competitors? What is the best gas to buy?
-- Jo Pecorelli,
Haddonfield, N.J.
A: In general the raw gasoline is the same, but it's the additives that make the fuel special. At least that's what the fuel companies would have you believe. The companies blend their fuels with proprietary additives that affect everything from combustion performance to cleanliness.
About 15 or 20 years ago I read a study that concluded certain brands of gasoline performed better than others. Some carmakers even recommended a particular brand of fuel for their cars. Now I think fuels are more similar and I recommend that people buy the least-expensive fuel they can find.
Q: I have a 1996 Mercedes C280 with 66,000 miles that I purchased from a widower one year ago. So far I have purchased new tires and keep up with oil changes. The car is a cream puff. What systems can I suggest my mechanic check on that may need replacement? The car runs perfectly and I plan to keep it a long time.
-- Joel S. Engel, M.D.,
Atlanta
A: Changing the oil and replacing the tires are probably the best initial steps. Even though the mileage is low for a 12-year-old car, its fluids, belts, hoses and other components prone to degradation could need replacement. If the car came with service records that indicate the previous owner completed these services recently, you should be able simply drive until the next maintenance check is due. If you don't have detailed records you might schedule a visit with your mechanic to see if the coolant, transmission and steering fluid need replacement.
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Jonathan Welsh is a reporter with Personal Journal. He joined the Journal's spot news department in 1994. Before that he was reporter and photographer at a weekly newspaper in Montclair, N.J. He lives in Montclair with his wife, Alexa, and sons, Samuel and Benjamin.
Jonathan Welsh is a reporter with Personal Journal. He joined the Journal's spot news department in 1994. Before that he was reporter and photographer at a weekly newspaper in Montclair, N.J. He lives in Montclair with his wife, Alexa, and sons, Samuel and Benjamin.
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