Keeping your car alive past 150,000 miles

Technology is always a step ahead and the cars made today tend to live much longer, however the car will not run to even to its life expectancy without your loyalty and basic maintenance. If you wish to keep your car running as long as possible, you must follow a few guidelines in order to help this happen:

1. Purchase a good car. Even though Japanese models are known for their reliability, do not forget American models, which have improved tremendously over the years and will often cost you less to fix.

2. Maintenance schedule. Be sure to check your owner’s manual for any necessary scheduled maintenance that needs to be followed, but also keep in mind that sometimes parts need to be replaced based on a schedule rather than when they break. One of the common parts is timing belt, which needs to be replaced approximately every 90,000 miles. You also want to take care of it when it’s time vs. paying double when it breaks on its own and causes damage to other parts in your vehicle.

3. “Auto Repair Piggy bank.” In the real world cars do not run forever and have tendency to break, which can put many folks in financial restraints without having enough funds saved for such repairs. In order to avoid panic from a $2,000 repair bill, a savings for just such needs will do just the trick. Others will get scared their older car is costing them too much and run to purchase a new car. This as apposed to putting some “repair money” away, is not a good financial decision. You will be amazed what $100-$200 per month will do for you once the time comes to fix your car, and it would take about twice as much in repairs every year to equal the cost of buying a new car.

4. Do your research. There are many cars that are known for certain problems, so if you are an owner of one of those vehicles, there is no need to panic, instead you can always be prepared before the problem comes your way.

5. Do not wait on repairs. If you wish to drive your car for as long as you can, you must fix it as soon as it breaks. Try not to ignore things such as “check engine” light or a weird noise that you have not heard before.

6. Always choose quality. When it comes to choosing replacement parts for your car, do not settle for cheap as it will give you more trouble down the road.

7. Choose a great mechanic- Choosing a good Sacramento mechanic is like choosing your family dentist or Doctor, it can be no fun switching, and you may see them in times of trouble, but a good mechanic will save you money time and energy through the years as you keep your cars on the road.

8. Avoid aggressive driving. While you don’t need to completely baby the vehicle, your car will last longer when you treat it well. It is ok to push your accelerator from time to time, but please avoid race car driving behavior.

9. Gloat – If you have managed to get your car past that 150000 mile mark, be proud. Show off and have some fun with it. If people give you hard time about you older car. You can mention their car payments or the thousands you have saved keeping your car.