Car Maintenance Tips - 5 Ways To Save Your Car

It be great if you could buy a car, drive it until you wanted a different one, and never have to do anything in between. Too bad cars are machines. Machines need a little tender loving care if you want them to keep running well. Here are five car maintenance tips that will keep your car running well, and as cheaply as possible.

Tip 1: Change your oil regularly

This is an easy one. It's also one of the simplest things you can do to make your car last.

Oil breaks down. It stops doing its job of lubricating your engine so the parts don't wear out. That's a fact of life. You have to stay ahead of the breakdown by checking your oil regularly and doing one of two things:

Top off the oil if your dipstick says it's low
Changing your oil when your car manufacturer recommends

Most relatively new cars can go 3,000-5,000 miles before an oil change without any problem at all, and many can go longer than that. But going years without an oil change is a recipe for major expense down the line.

Tip 2: Take care of your tires

When most people think of a car, their mind thinks "engine." But your tires are an important part of your vehicle, and keeping them in good shape helps your engine work better.

Have your mechanic check your tire pressure every time you get an oil change, and check it yourself when you fill up at the pump. If the pressure is too low, add some air. Many gas stations have a public use air pump, and it usually costs less than a buck to add some air to your tires.

And get your tires rotated regularly. Every second or third oil change is a good idea. That's every 9,000 to 15,000 miles for most cars. Rotation keeps tire wear uniform, and uneven wear can tell you if you have wheel alignment problems.

Tip 3: Stick to your maintenance schedule

Your auto manufacturer recommends regularly scheduled maintenance. It pays to listen.

There are some maintenance items that simply can't ignore. Timing belt replacement is a good example. You'll end up replacing the best roughly every 50,000 to 80,000 miles, and it's not cheap. You can try to cheat and go longer, but sooner or later, the belt will wear out. If that happens at full speed on the highway, it could do major damage to your engine.

Tip 4: Change your filters

This means your oil, air, transmission and fuel filters. Your car's owner's manual will give you the recommended schedule for changing them, but here are few guidelines that should hold true for most cars:

Change your oil filter at every oil change
Change your air filter at every tune-up, or at least every couple of months
Change your transmission fluid every two years
Change your fuel filter once a year

Tip 5: Clean your engine

A dirty engine runs hotter, and makes it tougher for your mechanic (or you) to spot leaks and other problems.

You can clean your engine yourself, but be sure to cover sensitive parts with plastic to avoid water damage. A better option is probably to have your engine professionally detailed or steam cleaned once every couple of years. That's not free, of course, but a clean engine is likely to save you money in the long run.