|
|
| Tips
to make your vehicle
go the distance
|
|
|
Adapted from "Drive
the Best..."
©
2001 by Kyle Busch
If you are on a tight budget, or even on an unlimited budget, you
know how important it is to make the
most of what you have.
Getting More Miles Out of Your Car
The following are some tips that will
help you to get more miles
out of your vehicle.
1. First,
consider, does your vehicle actually have
the ability to run
many miles without incurring costly
repairs? Find out by
visiting a public library to consult
the frequency-of-repair information
in the April magazine
issue of Consumer Reports.
If your vehicle has a poor
repair
history, consider buying a vehicle that has better
ratings and
fuel efficiency.
If you want to
extend the life of your vehicle, at the
beginning of each
month, have the engine oil level
checked to make
certain that it is at the full-level
mark on the
dipstick. Buying two quarts of oil that
are on sale and keeping it
in the trunk, will enable
you to avoid
getting stuck paying three times what
the oil should cost.
Be certain to only use the type
of oil and
other fluids as specified in the vehicle owner's
manual.
2. Every three
months (more often, however, if specified
by your vehicle
owner's manual) and prior to leaving for
and upon
returning from a trip, check (or have a service
station
attendant check) the tire pressure and the other
fluids that
include:
Why is it
important to keep the fluids at their full-level
marks? The
fluids lubricate moving parts to reduce fiction,
heat, and wear. Therefore,
they are the single most important
factor for extending the
life of a vehicle.
3. If you
drive 6,000 miles or less per year, have the
engine oil
and oil filter changed at the beginning of spring
and near
the end of fall. If you drive 10,000 or more miles
per year, have the
engine oil and oil filter changed every
3,000 to 3,500
miles or about every four months. An easy
way to remember oil
changes is to mark a new calendar at
the beginning of a year with
"oil change" reminders (i.e., May
and November or
April, July, and October).
Service stations
usually run specials on oil changes
(i.e., $10.99 - $13.99). However,
make certain that the
station is
reputable. Some stations have been known to
skip changing
the oil or to do part of the job by changing
the oil but
not the oil filter. To help make certain that the
oil filter was
in fact replaced, use a black marker to put
an X on the
new oil filter after an oil change. When the
next oil change
has been completed, the newly installed
filter should
not include an X.
4. Prior to
winter, have a service station attendant check
the antifreeze
in the clear plastic coolant bottle with
a
hydrometer (a
device that takes a sample of antifreeze and
specifies how
cold the temperature can become before the
antifreeze
freezes). The antifreeze should be able to
withstand
(i.e., not
freeze) temperatures of at least 30 degrees "below
the
coldest" winter temperature.
If the
antifreeze is too weak, have additional antifreeze
added to the
coolant bottle. Purchase the type of antifreeze
as specified
in the vehicle owner's manual (i.e.,
usually a
type that
is suitable for "aluminum and all types of
metals"
that are used today's
engines). It important to avoid frozen
antifreeze because it
can crack an engine's block which
could result in
possibly thousands of dollars for the repair.
5. If you
drive about 6,000 miles or less per year, have
the engine air
filter changed once every two years. If you
drive over 10,000
miles per year, have the engine air filter
changed once a
year in the spring. Many discount stores
regularly have
sales on air filters.
6.
In the spring and in the fall give the vehicle a
thorough
wash, tar
removal, and wax. When washing the vehicle
in-between the
seasonal waxes, use a car wash product
that is
safe for clear coat and waxed finishes.
7. Basic
vehicle maintenance is an ongoing process. The
secret to making
it "easy" and keeping a vehicle
"looking
great"
involves two components. First, maintaining regular
vehicle
involvement and second, only doing a little at a time.
Each week
throughout the year (in addition to the
maintenance suggested
above) take about 10-15 minutes
to focus
on a small aspect of the vehicle (i.e., wash the
windows-week
one, vacuum the carpet-week two, Armor
All the dash
and the door panels-week three, etc.). After
about three
months, one of the "small jobs" will need
to be
repeated.
However, the vehicle will never be in rough shape.
Doing a
"small but thorough" job on one specific
aspect of
the vehicle
each week, requires very little time or energy.
Having a
vehicle that continually "looks great" makes
it
worthwhile.
The tips provided above are the most
basic maintenance
requirements that will help your
vehicle to run longer. Be
certain to reference the vehicle
owner's manual for any
additional maintenance required on
your vehicle.
Basic vehicle maintenance involves a
minimal investment
of time and money, but it will
provide major benefits in
vehicle performance and lower repair
costs. Additionally,
your vehicle will be in better condition
when it becomes
time to sell.
Buying a Used Vehicle
For information on buying a used
vehicle and saving money,
a new book is available: Drive
the Best for the Price: How to
Buy a Used Automobile,
Sport-Utility Vehicle, or Minivan
and Save Money. Information
about the book is available at:
1 800 839-8640 or at: www.drivethebestbook.com.
In 1991 the book's author, Kyle
Busch, purchased a used
vehicle for $2,600 that a private
owner had driven 82,000 miles.
He has driven the vehicle for over ten
years and the odometer
now reads over 292,000 miles. The
vehicle continues to provide
for his daily transportation
needs.
|
|
| If you are interested in
additional information, or would like to set up a
Families Worldwide Chapter in your community,
please feel free to contact us via
e-mail. Families
Worldwide Send comments and mail to Webmaster |
