Keep Your Car Worth Keeping

If you’re not looking for flash or speed, there’s a good chance that the most important thing about a car is how long it can last you and how far it can go before problems start eating into your wallet and the value of the vehicle. Here, we’re going to look at how you get a lot more long-term minded with your car, making the choices that help you keep it in better condition for longer.

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Choose for reliability

It’s not the most exciting factor in picking a car, but there are those with good reputations for reliability. Brands like Skoda and Toyota win praise for their reliability and it’s not all empty words, either. There are online Car Reliability Indexes that can give you all the details. Not only do they have an easy-to-read score for most models of cars you can think about. They give you details on the weaknesses of those cars and the parts you can expect to need repairs of replacements for, first.

Be more thorough when buying

More and more people buy used rather than new. It’s simply a lot easier to get more bang for your buck that way. But you want to make sure you’re not getting something that actually goes ‘bang’. Be more thorough when choosing a second-hand car. For one, make sure that the previous owner has a full log of all the past maintenance and scheduled checkups on them. When you take them for a test drive, put them through their paces in different conditions, not just a leisurely drive, too.

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Get rid of those bad habits

Once you have the car, of course, it’s all down to what kind of habits you’ve picked up as a car owner. If you want it to retain driveability and value, for instance, by wearing down the clutch through the habit of keeping it partially pressed. Click here for more info on ways that you can keep the car living and in better value for longer. That includes the need to focus on the aesthetic detail of the car. Failing to wax and pressure wash the car does more than make it dirty, for instance. It can permanently decrease the quality of the finish.

Get more hands-on

Simply put, there are DIY repairs and replacements that we could learn that would not only help us improve the longevity of the car but help us avoid some hefty garage bills. After all, one of the reasons that minor problems turn into major ones is because the owner isn’t ready to commit to getting billed for an issue that isn’t serious yet. If you learn to identify and make easy fixes such as replacing your brake pads, then you could be saving the car from those much bigger problems down the line.

Some cars simply have a shorter lifespan by virtue of their manufacture or past owners. Choosing reliable cars from the start is important, but there’s plenty you can do to give it a little longer on the road. If you want a car that goes the distance, you have to be prepared to put the work in yourself.