Your Car Needs This (And This, And This) Every Once in a While

Your Car Needs This (And This, And This) Every Once in a While

What was your first car’s name?

What? You didn’t name your first taste of freedom? Baloney. Maybe you’ve pushed it down into the deepest recesses of your repressed memories in the years since, but don’t try to tell the world you let your original four-wheeled friend remain nameless.

To be sure, it’s downright strange that we name our cars. We all know cars don’t talk, or think, or have goals or aspirations or anything resembling feelings. Nevertheless, we see something of ourselves in them. Like born-again mystics, we map stories, personalities, even value systems onto them.

Our cars are our friends. And, like true friends, we want the very best for them. While we know they won’t last forever, we want them to putter on as long as possible. So we do whatever we can to keep them in good working order.

Or so we’d like to think. In truth, we’re often too busy or distracted to give our vehicles the TLC they deserve — no matter how hard they work for us.

The good news: you don’t have to quit your job and open a garage to keep your car in good working order. You just need to know what your car needs and when.

“Many of our buyers have no idea how easy it is to be a responsible car owner,” says Harry Kasparian, CMO of Miami-based dealership Hgreg. “We’re committed to stocking well cared-for cars that we’d be proud to drive ourselves, and to educating each of our buyers about effective, low-cost car care.”

Want to be a better car owner? Start here.

1. Change the Oil

Everyone knows this one. Because it’s such a critical part of maintenance, it’s worth outlining the four key benefits of regular oil changes: better gas mileage, longer engine life, moving part lubrication, and better emissions control system function. Modern cars don’t need oil changes quite as often as classic rides — once every 5,000 miles or so is probably enough these days. But that’s no excuse for forgetting altogether.

2. Keep the Interior Dark and Dry

Not too dark or too dry, of course, at least not while you’re in it. Still, chronic exposure to extreme heat and light can wear out your car’s upholstery, moldings, and instrumentation. You’re more likely to experience these problems in hot, sunny climates — so, when you tool around the Sun Belt, bring your reflective window shade and UV tint.

3. Flush Coolant Regularly

Want to keep your car’s plumbing in good working order? Flush and replace the coolant every year, ideally as the weather begins to turn cooler. The ideal mix is 50% coolant and 50% distilled water, but your mechanic may have a different opinion.

4. Keep Your Baby Clean

A clean car is a beautiful car — and one that’s more likely to hold its value for longer. Prevent external corrosion by regularly washing and buffing your car. If you drive on dirt roads often, or live in a cold climate where roads are treated part of the year, hose down your car’s underside regularly too. Dirt, salt and grime are potent enemies, after all.

What are you doing to keep your car in good shape?