10 good habits to TRIPLE your car’s life

Most modern cars are engineered to last for a lifetime. There are many vehicles that can do that and have done that in the past. If you have always wondered how to reach that magical figure, read on! Here is what you can do to triple your car’s life.

Warm it up!

While modern cars do not require long warming-up sessions needed by the cars from the older era, they still do require a bit of warm-up. Since the engine still relies on the fluids to cool down, lubricate and protect the parts, it is important that you give time to the oil to start doing its job. It hardly takes a minute for the modern engines to lubricate themselves. However, it is always a good idea not to rev part the 2,000 rpm mark in the diesel engine and 3,000 rpm mark on the petrol engines before the engine temperature reaches the optimum mark.

Service schedule is important

Modern-day cars are made up of a bunch of parts moving in synonym with each other. With the thousands of parts moving together, needs arise to lubricate them from time to time and also keep them in place by tightening the bolts. This is why car manufacturers strictly ask to follow the service schedule and this is why missing a scheduled service can cause the manufacturer to void the warranty of the vehicle. Not maintaining the service schedules can shorten the life of the vehicle in the longer run.

Learn to coast!

Coasting is a way of increasing fuel efficiency and also increase the life of the car. How? There are many who bring their vehicles to halt by slamming the brakes. Coasting is a way to using the car’s momentum to move forward and this does not burn the fuel too. By using the clutch and moving forward just using the momentum significantly brings down the effort put up the brakes and also ensures that the engine and the fuel is being used efficiently.

Never miss alignment and balancing

With the kind of uneven roads in India, a vehicle’s alignment and wheel balancing is ought to go out of order every few thousand kilometres. One can keep the ride quality in the best condition and ensure that the vehicle is not wearing off the tyres too quickly but regularly getting the alignment and balancing of the car checked.

Never be hard on the suspension

The car suspension works even on the smoothest of the roads. Driving on the bad surfaces increases the tension on the suspension even more. Well, the best way of ensuring a long life of suspension is by being gentle on the bad surfaces. Always slow down on the bad roads and the speed breakers. No matter how aggressive the car behind you gets on such surfaces, going slow over the rough surfaces is the mantra to behold.

Walk for short trips

If you take out the car to check what’s happening in the neighbourhood and it is a round trip of 2 km, be careful because it will shorten the life of the vehicle. Short trips are bad because the vehicle does not reach the optimum operating temperature and causes a high amount of wear and tear. Slow-moving traffic is also not healthy for the life of a vehicle, however, in the cities, it cannot be avoided.

Find a good fuel station

Fuel is an extremely important factor in making sure that the vehicle lasts for a long time. Low fuel quality damages multiple parts of the engine and shortens its life. It is important that you identify a good fuel station near your home and stick to it most of the time. A tank full of low-quality fuel from some other place will not hurt the vehicle as much as the continuous usage of sub-standard fuel can.

Keep it smooth

Be smooth when driving the vehicle. It is easy to do so in the automatic vehicles but if you’re in a manual vehicle, make sure that you do smooth clutch changes. Also, take care that you’re not resting your feet on the clutch pedal and depressing it while the car is in motion. It can cause a high amount of wear and tear and brings down the life of a clutch by a great deal.

Get rid of unwanted things

Overloading a vehicle means putting more stress on the engine, tyres, suspension, brakes and many other critical parts in the vehicle. Always make sure that the vehicle is not overloaded with things and it does not exceed the capacity mentioned in the manual. Keep the car’s occupancy to a maximum of five if it is a five-seater car.

Never overlook the rust

Rust is like cancer that can damage the vehicle’s body permanently. Always check the car’s floor and underbody to carefully detect any signs of rust. While the areas away from the seashores are safe for vehicles when it comes to rust, the car owners living near the sea areas should be extra careful as saline water can damage the vehicle easily. Also, always remove the dirt from the car’s underbody and keep it free of mud.