Make your car last 250,000 miles

With every oil change, check the fluids, belts, tire tread and hoses. If you're a do-it-yourselfer, these chores add just a few minutes to the job. If you're paying somebody else, these inspections may be included, or you can pay a few bucks extra to have them done (our mechanic charges $12 for a thorough check).

I have to say I'm not much of a fan of the chain oil-change places; the only time my Explorer ever stranded me was the year I tried to save money by using one of these outfits, and it failed to notice a belt that was about to break. Now I stick with a mechanic I know and trust (more on that later).

Have a fill-up routine. Pop the hood and check your oil. While you're there, wipe the battery clean with a damp towel and check for corrosion, cracks or bulges. Once you're done, check your tire pressure. (Use a digital gauge, which is more accurate; you can find them for $10 to $20. I found one that talks, which is completely unnecessary but kind of cool.) You don't have to do this every single fill-up, but shoot for every other time.

Find a good mechanic or become one. Our current mechanic won our hearts by scoffing when we suggested fixing the gas gauge. It was an expensive repair, he explained, and unnecessary if we just reset the trip odometer at every fill-up. When the trip odometer nears 200 miles, we head for a gas station. We trust him to let us know when a repair is necessary or smart, and his fees are reasonable (the My Car feature has a calculator to help you check these things).

Don't keep up with the Joneses

Do a walk-around. While studying for my pilot's license, I was taught to do a "walk-around" -- a careful inspection of plane's exterior to look for potential problems -- before climbing in the cockpit. Doing the same with the Explorer has helped me spot flat tires, fluid leaks and the SpongeBob SquarePants stickers my daughter likes to sneak onto every possible surface. A simple walk-around also can help you avoid running over anything that's been left behind your car, from someone's bike to (heaven forbid) someone's kid.

Drive defensively. Your car will never be the same after it's been in a major accident, and its useful life can be shortened significantly (assuming it's not already totaled). So slow down, expect other drivers to be idiots, and don't be one yourself. That means hang up and drive.

Keep it clean and waxed. I'm less meticulous about this than my husband was when this was his primary car, but regularly clearing off the grime helps protect the exterior, as does a regular paste wax (as soon as water stops beading on the paint, it's time to wax again). If you live in a cold-weather climate, it's important to regularly sluice off the road salt, sand and slush to prevent rust and other damage.

Know when to fold. Consumer Reports says you should ditch a car when the cost of a repair exceeds its fair market value. We haven't gotten there yet, but my bright line for retiring this car will be when I can no longer trust it to get me from Point A to Point B. If one repair follows another, maybe it is better to bail, but it takes a lot of repairs to outweigh the cost of car payments (or the interest we'd lose by using savings to pay cash for the next car).

Refuse to care what other people think. I'm convinced that many, if not most, cars are traded in before their time simply because people become embarrassed about driving them. I've chosen to turn that thinking on its head by taking perverse pride in showing up with the oldest car at any restaurant, preschool party or local event I attend. My motto: "Laugh all you want. It's paid for. Is yours?"

Any other high-mileage drivers out there with tips for keeping your ride running? Share them on the Your Money message board.

Liz Pulliam Weston's new book, "Easy Money: How to Simplify Your Finances and Get What You Want Out of Life," is now available. Columns by Weston, the Web's most-read personal-finance writer and winner of the 2007 Clarion Award for online journalism, appear every Monday and Thursday, exclusively on MSN Money. She also answers reader questions on the Your Money message board.

Updated Feb. 7, 2008

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