Save Money: How to Extend the Life of Your Car

I've written that maintaining your stuff is a great way to save money. Think of it this way, if you maintain your car and only need to buy eight cars in your lifetime instead of ten of them (because you took such good care of the eight), imagine how much money you could save in your lifetime. Now think of what you could save over a lifetime if the same also happened with your refrigerators, washing machines, dryers, and so on throughout your life. It all adds up to some major, major savings.

So when I saw this article on how to extend the life of your car, I had to share it with you. The key steps:

• Change the oil regularly.
• Flush the fluids every two years: power steering fluid, brake fluid, and transmission fluid.
• Flush the cooling system every two years.
• Keep the brake pads clean.
• Rotate the tires.
• Keep the tires inflated.
• Use branded fuel. Keep the front end aligned.
• Get your car off to a good start every time you drive it. 
• Use your parking brake.
• Wash your car.

And the bottom line:

The best thing that you can do to extend the life of my car and potentially save yourself a bundle of money is to have your car serviced on a routine basis.

We maintain our cars (and the rest of our major purchases) religiously. And you know what? They last YEARS longer than they should. Our dishwasher lasted 20 years. Our washing machine lasted 17 years. Our refrigerator is still going at 15 years as is our furnace at 20 years. Why? We maintain them, check them as needed, clean them, and so on.

If you do the same, your stuff will last much longer as well. And you'll save yourself a ton of money.

Comments

[D]

I just have to disagree with one point.

The flushing of the transmission fluid. I have heard that unlike the other items on a car, that you do not want to flush the trans, unless there is a problem. I have been told if it isn't broke don't fix it. Evidently this procedure could cause more issues then it is worth.

I'm not a mechanic - just my 2cents

[Stephen]

I was with you through "use branded fuel," and was surprised to then find that that recommendation wasn't anywhere to be found in the article you linked to.

[FMF]

Stephen --

Looks like they replaced it with "keep the front end aligned" (which I like better BTW -- I think I'll change it) since I originally read it (a few days ago).

[Stephen]

What? Changes in online articles that aren't detailed? I am shocked, shocked.

As a side note, that's why I like what you did in striking through the old information rather than silently replacing it.

[Curtis]

My strategy has been to buy a used car that appears to be well maintained, drive it for about a year, then sell before I have any problems with it. I enjoy getting a different vehicle each year. Maintenance just doesn't feel like maintenance anymore, to me it is like putting the car on life support just long enough for me to put a good 20-30k miles on it and get it sold to someone else.