10 terrible things that will shorten the life of your car

It’s the little things that matter. The little light on the dash board. The little knocking sound coming from the engine. A thousand little things can go wrong on your car, but these ten are easy to fix, usually inexpensive and will extend the life of your car. In fact, these cause the most damage if left ignored.

1. Putting off regular maintenance. Just do it.
2. Ignoring the check engine light. Just because it’s not being specific doesn’t mean there isn’t something incredible awful happening under the hood.
3. Not changing the oil when it needs to be changed. Get this one done during the regular maintenance period and it’s a no-brainer. Every 3000 miles for sure.
4. Not checking tire pressure. This can be dangerous and when inflated properly helps with fuel efficiency. Take this opportunity to also look at the general health of your tires.
5. Neglecting fluids like coolant, brake, and transmission. These are kind of like the blood of your car. Make sure your car has enough blood.
6. Driving while the car is overheating. Do not try to make it home. Do not try to get to your favorite gas station or mechanic. Stop and pull over.
7. Not changing fuel and air filters. Filthy air can back up into the system and cause all kinds of problems with parts of your car you didn’t know you had.
8. Having unqualified shops service your vehicle. Just because your yard guy’s brother works on cars for cheap doesn’t mean he’s the guy to go to. Be selective.
9. Using generic aftermarket parts instead of original manufacturer-quality parts. Pay a few dollars more to extend the life of your quality or increase its resale value. It makes sense.
10. Trying to service your own high-tech vehicle. If you can’t afford maintenance on your Italian sportscar, maybe you should rethink owning the Italian sportscar.

Let’s look more closely at the air filter. They cost about $20. If you let it get filthy, it can break the oxygen sensors in the car which cost about $250 to replace. When the sensor fails, the gas mileage will drop drastically and you could end up having to replace the catalytic converter… that’s $1000.

Source: CarMD.com, Business Insider