Over the years, the price of a new car has skyrocketed. With new cars becoming more expensive, many people in the Pierce County area are driving their cars longer, making the knowledge of maintaining your older car vital. The average car household is now over nine years old. As cars age, their performance rates drops, they have difficulty idling for long periods, and they are more sensitive to weather extremes.
Some owner’s manuals don’t specify service requirements at higher mileage. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t have to be done. In fact, it’s more important than ever to stay on top of maintaining your older car, specific those cars with more than 75,000 miles.
Maintaining Your Older Car On the Inside
1. Follow Severe Service Maintenance schedules. Because of the additional stress older engines experience, the severe service maintenance schedule is more appropriate than the regular schedule. Severe service maintenance schedules have shorter intervals between auto shop visits, helping you stay on top of issues before they arise. Watch for leaks – seals and gaskets dry out over time and don’t hold the fluids as well as they used to.
2. Stay alert. There are some services and replacements that are scheduled after you put on some clicks, like timing belts, valve train adjustments, suspension, anti-lock brake service, air bags, etc. And unexpected repairs down the road are just par for the course. Check for unusual sounds, smells or the way your car feels. These could be hints that trouble’s brewing. Better to catch it early before it turns into a costly repair.
3. Switch to high mileage oil. One of the things you can do while maintaining your older car is to begin using high mileage formulation fluids. There are special engine oils, coolants, and transmission and power steering fluids that are formulated for cars that have a few clicks on the old odometer. High mileage oil is designed to condition seals and gaskets, reduce wear and avoid premature burn-off. Older engines are dirtier inside – and dirty engines contaminate their oil faster. High mileage oil has special additives that clean the engine, removing sludge deposits over time. The result is less stress on the engine, better fuel economy and excellent wear protection.
Studies have even shown that using high mileage fluids early will actually help with maintaining your older car by preventing further damage. So once you hit around 50,000 miles, consider upgrading to high mileage formulations. High mileage fluids cost a bit more than standard fluids because of the additional additives, but they can be worth their weight in gold in terms of preventing repair costs down the road. It does cost more to properly maintain a higher mileage vehicle – but it’s way cheaper than a new car payment!
For more information on the benefits of high mileage oil click here.
Click here for more information about Courtesy Auto Repair Shop’s Maintenance Services.