The document provides tips for properly caring for a vehicle to maximize its lifespan. It recommends breaking in a new vehicle gently for the first 1,500 miles, establishing regular maintenance like oil changes every 5,000 miles, and checking fluid levels periodically. Additional advice includes avoiding rapid acceleration, allowing time for warm-up, taking occasional highway drives for exercise, monitoring coolant levels, and generally treating the vehicle with care and respect. Following these practices can help a vehicle last for many years of reliable service.

1. By
Emmanuel Akpeokhai

2. INTRODUCTION
Your car is likely to be the second biggest
item in your budget, after your home. You
probably need it to drive or even to do your
work. If it's not running, you have a real
problem. A car may contain 10,000
mechanical parts and 40 on-board computers,
all vulnerable to dirt, grease, salt, rust,
corrosion, friction, and shock. The good
news? You can make your car run reliably and
last for years and years—without spending a
lot of money. Good sense and forethought can
save you a lot of money.

3. BREAKING IN YOUR NEW
VEHICLE
Long years of good service depend on properly
breaking in your new vehicle. The key idea is “easy
does it.” For the first 1,500 mi (2,400 km),
moderate your speed. Keep engine speed under
4,500 revolutions per minute (rpm)—you can
check this if you’re lucky enough to have a
tachometer. Equally important, vary your speed.
Avoid driving at the same speed longer than five
minutes, especially on highways. Finally, make
sure that the first oil change happens exactly
when the manufacturer recommends it.

4. ESTABLISHING A CARE REGIMEN
Cars are like people. The more sensibly you feed them,
rest them, and exercise them, the longer they’re likely to
last. Just as you routinely visit your dentist to have your
teeth cared for, regular check-ups and adjustments are
vital to your car’s health. You need a trained technician to
perform the preventive maintenance that will keep your
car running smoothly. Ask your relatives, friends,
coworkers, and insurance agent ,etc. where they take their
cars for servicing. Your car dealer probably has a service
department. Keep looking until you find a technician or
shop that you like and trust, and then stick with your
choice.

5. Even the best technicians can’t protect your vehicle without
your informed help. Read your owner’s manual, and do what it
tells you. Follow closely the schedule of preventive
maintenance it recommends. No owner’s manual? Contact the
parts department of any dealership that sells your type of
vehicle, and ask them to order a manual for you.

6. CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD
Engine oil circulates like the blood in your body and is as
vital to your vehicle's health as blood is to yours. Just as
clogged arteries form a serious health problem, oil thickened
by unburned deposits from the engine coats your engine’s
inner parts with goo, causing them to work harder and wear
out faster.
The nicest thing you can do for your vehicle—and nothing, I
mean nothing, will help it last longer—is to have the engine oil
changed every 5,000 mi (8,000 km). If you live in a cold
climate, and your average trip is less than 5 mi (8 km), your
vehicle works even harder, and 3,000 mi (4,800 km) is the
right distance between oil changes.

7. Keep track of how much oil your car uses by checking under
the hood every second time you buy gasoline. If you notice a
sudden change in oil levels or rate of oil consumption, have
your vehicle inspected. The same rules apply to other fluids,
such as engine coolant. Whenever you add any fluid, use the
type recommended by your vehicle's manufacturer.

8. AVOIDING ENGINE STRESS
Approximately 80 percent of all engine wear takes place in
the first 10 seconds after you turn the key in the ignition.
That’s because the oil needs time to reach and protect all
parts of the engine. To lessen this heavy wear, let your vehicle
idle for 30 seconds before driving off in the morning—or
whenever you start it after it’s been sitting for a few hours.
Once you’re on the road, accelerate slowly for the first few
miles, until the engine and transmission have warmed up and
their fluids are flowing freely. It’s a good idea to avoid
prolonged idling, because it concentrates stress in the engine.
Buy the grade of gasoline recommended in your owner’s
manual. If your manufacturer suggests using higher-priced
gasoline, do that. This grade of gasoline will help avoid
knocking or pinging, a condition that causes excess vibrations
and premature engine wear.

9. ROADWORK FOR FITNESS
People, vehicles need regular exercise. Every week or two,
take your vehicle for a 20- to 30-minute highway cruise—
not in stop-and-go traffic, but as high as the speed limit
allows. Steady driving is the equivalent of an aerobic
workout, and your car will love you for it. A highway
workout burns off engine deposits and helps eliminate
water that can eventually rust internal parts.

10. KEEP IT COOL
Your vehicle’s engine produces enough heat to supply a three-
bedroom house on a freezing winter day. Engine overheating
can cause serious and expensive damage. Engines that run too
cold also suffer, because sludge accumulates quickly in an
engine that never reaches ideal operating temperatures, and
premature wear follows sludge. Watch your coolant
temperature light or your temperature gauge for any signs of
trouble. As with oil, be alert to changes in coolant
consumption.
Coolant can lose its protective qualities over time. When this
loss occurs, acids build up that attack your engine and your
expensive cooling components. Unless your car has “extended
wear” coolant, have the coolant changed every two years. (Not
sure which coolant you have? Ask your dealership.)

11. SHOWING YOU CARE
Finally, keep in mind that vehicles do not live by gasoline
alone. Follow the guidelines above, but also name your
vehicle, acknowledge it when it does well, encourage it during
difficult times, and listen to it. It has needs and preferences.
Maybe it likes to go 5 mph (8 km/h) below the speed limit on
long hauls; maybe it prefers one type of gasoline to another.
Notice what kind of tires it performs best on. Get to know
what it likes and dislikes, and accept its foibles as it ages.
None of us work as well today as we did when we were
teenagers. And finally, grieve when you eventually part with
it, after many years of worry-free service. The owner’s manual
won't tell you to think of your car as a family member, but it
helps.