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How to: Extend the Life of Your Car

19:07

Smooth Starts

Be gentle each time you start your car and it will make all the difference. By starting and driving slowly initially, you are allowing the machine to reach its optimal operating temperature and thereby putting much less strain on the engine during the period in which the oil is thick and not yet heated



Oil Fixes

Regular oil changes are key to improving your gas mileage and keeping you engine well protected. Make sure to change your oil filter reasonably regularly as well as it negates the purpose of the act if you’re going to put fresh oil through a dirty filter.

The recommended mileage between changes is anywhere between 5-8000 kilometres or 3-6 months

Changing the Air Filter

This is one of the easier steps to do since it can be done as easily at home (tool free) as it can be in the garage. It is easy to find, procure and fix and the recommended mileage for changes is approximately 20,000 km.

It will basically ensure much better mileage for a much longer period of time – what else can you ask for?

Drive Less

This may seem to defeat the entire purpose of the exercise on how to increase the life of your car, but if you want it to last longer, don’t make unnecessary and avoidable short trips. The reasoning behind this is that condensation is a natural occurrence of staring a cold engine.

If your trip is not going to be long enough for it to heat up and evaporate this, it accumulates excessive amounts of water in the muffler which usually leads to rust. Naturally this is a situation you’d much rather avoid so next time consider walking to your nearby errands or combine 2-3 of them together. If extending the life of your car isn’t reason enough, just think of it as doing your bit for the environment

The Wonders of Washing

It’s not uncommon knowledge that the combination of dust, pollution and sludge are nothing less than deathly for a car. If you neglect regular cleanings, expect to spot rust within just 3-4 years following which the corrosion is likely to spread to under body components as well

Tricky Treading

There are numerous little tips which can help significantly improve the durability of your tires. This includes keeping them inflated (probably the easiest thing to ensure) as under-inflation can reudce their life by as much as 15%.

You should also rotate them at least twice a year or every 10,000 km to prevent wear and tear; keeping the front end of your car well-aligned at all times will also keep the treads even and ensure maximum grip

Perfect Parking

Use your parking brake (handbrake) as regularly as possible especially if you are parked at an incline. It will help in the long-run durability of your brakes as this helps maintain an adjusted balance of the brakes in the rear end of your car

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