Keeping Your Car Is Cheaper

By William Jeanes, July & August 2009 Issue of AARP Magazine

With a little care, your car can last for decades—and save you thousands of dollars. The average car on the road in this country is nine years old and logs 15,000 miles a year.

The secret to automotive longevity turns out to be no secret at all: it's maintenance. "Do what needs to be done when it needs to be done," says Gordon, 68, a retired schoolteacher who lives in East Patchogue, New York. Sounds too simple to be true, doesn't it? Yet in talking to the uncrowned kings of the road for whom a quarter-million miles in a vehicle is just a beginning, the same advice keeps emerging: read the owner's manual and stick to its schedule.

Gordon monitors his Volvo's oil, transmission fluid, and coolant levels, as well as the tire pressure, at almost every fuel stop. He also checks all belts and hoses, replacing them when they show signs of wear. Start paying close attention at 50,000 miles and every 50,000 thereafter, he says. Read the entire article.