advertisement
The interior door handles are held together with Krazy Glue. The gas gauge hasn't worked in at least 20,000 miles. It's got dings and dents. But the old beast still runs -- and reliably so.
Not everyone wants to drive a car that just clicked over the 250,000-mile mark, as our 1993 Ford Explorer has. But most of us can, since today's vehicles are better built than ever and can easily surpass 200,000 miles with regular maintenance (for more details, see "Cars that last a million miles").
Keeping an older car can save a ton of money. In my book "Deal With Your Debt," I figured that owning cars for 10 years instead of five could save the typical person a quarter-million dollars over a lifetime. Hanging on to your cars longer means:
- Fewer car payments. Unless you take out a ridiculously long loan, you can be payment-free after four or five years. If you take care of the car, any repairs you'll need are likely to cost far less than you'd shell out in payments for another vehicle. (Our repair costs for this car for the past eight years, including a transmission rebuild and valve replacement, average out to about $83 a month.)
- Lower insurance costs. Premiums tend to drop pretty steadily as your car ages. You can save even more by dropping collision and comprehensive coverage when your total premium exceeds 10% of the car's fair market value (see "Dump the insurance on your clunker"). Our annual premium for this car is just $373 -- about $31 a month -- and that's in Los Angeles, known for having pretty high insurance costs.
- Time to save for the next car. Every month you can put off replacing a vehicle is another month in which you can build up your down payment for the next car. Put off the replacement long enough, and you could even pay cash.
More from MSN
So making your vehicle last as long as possible is clearly a smart move. That's particularly true now as the economy slows. It's not a great time to be adding a big expense like a car payment, as much as automakers would love you to do so.
You snooze, you lose
How do you get the most out of your car? Here's what we did, based on advice from car experts:Follow the maintenance schedule. Duh, right? Except many people don't, and this is where a few hundred bucks' worth of prevention each year can stave off thousands in repairs. Your owners manual details what you should do when, but you can also keep track online -- plus get reminders of upcoming services, safety recalls and even a running trade-in value -- with MSN Autos' My Car feature. You should budget $500 to $1,000 a year or more for these expenses, depending on the age and type of car; Edmunds.com's True Cost to Own calculator can give you an estimate of typical annual maintenance costs for most cars.
Also, keep a file of everything you've done to and for your car. Not only does that help you track when maintenance is due, but having the records can help with resale value.
Be alert for recalls. My Car allows you to print out recall notices for your car. You typically can take these notices to your local dealership and get the defects fixed for free.
Video on MSN Money
Buy or lease?If you're in the market for a new car, one of your first decisions will be whether to buy or lease. Which is the better option? Here's a look at the math.
Take it easy on the engine, Part I. I advocate buying used cars to save money, but one nice thing about owning a car from the start is that you get to be in charge of the break-in period, the first 1,000 miles or so a car runs. Keeping your speed below 55 mph and avoiding idling for long periods in these critical first miles can help prolong the engine's life. Even afterward, it helps to avoid jackrabbit starts and racing the engine while it's idling. You can reduce wear and tear even more by bunching your errands into fewer trips, since most of the damage done to an engine happens its first few minutes of operation.
Take it easy on the engine, Part II. Avoid towing or carrying heavy loads. The Explorer has a tow package, but we've used it only a handful of times to pull a trailer with light loads. If something bigger needs moving, we rent a truck. If you do tow heavy stuff, you can try to offset the strain by changing the oil and transmission fluid more often (your owners manual will offer suggestions), but we'd rather put that kind of stress on someone else's engine.
Be diligent about oil changes. I've been known to go a couple years without a physical, and I occasionally forget to floss, but I'm pretty conscientious about getting the oil changed. The owners manual says to do it every 7,500 miles or six months under normal conditions, or 3,000 miles or three months under "unique driving conditions," such as towing, frequent short trips in freezing weather, stop-and-go driving in hot weather or driving through dust storms.
As the car has aged and I drive less, I've adopted a "3,000 miles or six months, whichever comes first" schedule. Usually, it's the six months that comes first. I also use synthetic oil, which is probably overkill, but it gives me peace of mind.
Continued: More simple maintenance tasks
Rate this Article
High
