Tips for Extending the Life of a Used Car

Tips for Extending the Life of a Used Car
  • Opening Intro -

    When you’re a broke college student who needs a car, you’ll likely take whatever you can get your hands on.

    Typically, this means you’ll end up with a junker.

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While this isn’t ideal, you need to make sure it lasts until you can afford something better. That’s why we’ve compiled a list of tips on extending the life of your used car.

That way, you can make it last until you get your first real job out of college.

Look for Any Potential Issues

When buying a used car, you’ll always want to have a professional take a look at it before completing your purchase to ensure you’re not buying a piece of junk. While buying something without any issues is ideal, this isn’t always possible, so taking something with only a few fixable problems might be your best course of action.

Once the vehicle is in your name, you should fix these problems as soon as possible. If you want your new car to last, delaying these fixes will only make them worse and more expensive.

Some of them could even total your car prematurely, making that initial investment worthless. Fixing these issues will lengthen the lifetime of your used car significantly.

Clean Your Car Regularly

Even though this used vehicle might look old and dingy, you should still keep up with regular cleanings. With enough work, you could even make that old car look new again.

Even if that’s not possible, washing your car will help delay the inevitability of rust or slow it down if it’s already there. Either way, you need to keep your car in one piece for as long as possible, so cleaning it is a must.

Keep Up With General Maintenance

Something even more important than cleaning, though, is general car maintenance. Oil changes, tire rotations, and fluid replacements are all small things that will help your car last much longer than it should.

The importance of tire maintenance alone can’t be overstated. Knowing ways to make your tires last longer is essential. The last thing you want to do is buy brand-new ones for a vehicle with only a few years left in it.

As long as you’re proactive, this tip should help you significantly extend the life of your used car.

Don’t Drive Recklessly

Finally, don’t drive recklessly. Obviously, keeping yourself and others on the road safe is important all on its own, but a bad accident can take a used car that could have lasted you three to four more years and reduce it to zero.

The costs of buying a new vehicle and potential medical bills aren’t worth the benefit of reaching your destination two minutes sooner, so take it easy.

Plus, even if you don’t get in an accident, pushing a used car to its limit will degrade its parts much faster. Calm driving will help make your car last. Then, someday in the future, you’ll be able to afford a car that can take some additional wear and tear.

Image Credit: Adobe royalty-free stock image #376566563 Image By: Pixel-Shot

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Categories: Campus Cars