Keeping Your Car Running Great

1. Drive your car very gently. It will last much longer. Note 3 main points--first, accelerate gently. Second, brake gently. Both of these will help joints and attachment points to avoid extra wear and tear. The third point is to not rev the motor unnecessarily right after you start the car, and also to drive extra-gently for the first few minutes. Cold days are the most important times for this.


2. Find a Way Around Short Trips--Shorter trips of 5-10 minutes or less are unusually hard on a car, which can shorten the life of your car. Your engine stays cold on short trips. This hurts you because the water that is produced during the burning of gas stays in your engine on shorter trips. On longer trips the engine gets hot enough to evaporate this water. The water sitting in your engine from taking short trips will cause rust and will also dilute your oil. This diluted oil does not lubricate as well, and the rust is something you really don'y want.

The best thing you can do if you have to take lots of short trips is to change your oil at least every 2,000-3,000 miles.



3. If you're looking to buy a car — and want it to last a long time — make sure you choose a company that's going to be in business for a long time, and also is known to supply parts for its older makes and models.

Lots of people give up on their older car because it's too hard to find parts. I recommend talking to your local independent mechanic and find out which companies are known to supply parts for their older makes and models. Things can change, so you should probably ask at least 3 or 4 different mechanics.



4. Pay attention to your warning lights. if they come on, pull over as soon as it's safe to pull over, and shut off the engine. There's a chance that you are saving yourself the cost of rebuilding your engine.

5. Get rid of extra weight. Not only does it cost you extra gas money, it's harder on your engine and your shocks.

6. Remove those roof racks from the top of your car, unless you are using them. Not only does the extra air resistance cost you more gas money, it's harder on your motor and your shocks.

7. Get your oil and filters changed regularly. Make sure your fuel and air filters are changed too. It's cheaper to replace an oil filter than rebuild an engine.

8. Even if you don't drive your car, the fluids your car needs require replacing.

Keeping the fluids topped off isn't enough because over time they lose their zing— the ability to remove heat, lubricate, prevent rust and control freezing.

We're talking about transmission, differential fluid, brake fluid, power-steering fluid, oil, and your antifreeze.

Regular transmission and differential fluid changes are very important. They should be changed every 60,000 miles no matter what. Fresh transmission fluid assures that the drivetrain stays cool and uncontaminated. Some cars have two separate differentials. Make sure that the fluid in both differentials gets changed. A differential costs thousands to fix. Routine maintenance is much cheaper; it might cost about $150-$200 to get your transmission fluid flushed/replaced, and maybe $100 for both differentials.  You can find out more about this, and tons of other articles about cars at http://www.wholesalecarsdirect.com