Maximizing Your Vehicle Investment Through Maintenance
Your vehicle gradually becomes dirtier. Debris, dirt, dust, and other particles slowly build up, finding their ways into every nook and cranny of your vehicle. Birds expurgate upon your vehicle, when you’re stuck behind trucks little rocks will chip the paint and dent the windows, rain sometimes has chemicals in it, and salt can collect on the undercarriage.
Especially if you’re in a place like California, where there’s a lot of salt in the air from the sea, you can expect deposits of this alkaline material all over your undercarriage. Mineral deposits like this can expedite vehicular dissolution over time.
Many car owners try to avoid this sort of thing by driving their vehicle only occasionally, and keeping it in a garage. Unless you’ve got it plastic wrapped, and protective coverings on all surfaces, this will only do so much good. Even if you have tires, top, and bottom covered, that won’t keep insects or rodents from setting up shop inside your vehicle.
Over the short term, this isn’t a big deal. Over a few months or years, just sitting, a vehicle will gradually fall a part. A new car fresh off the assembly line that stays on an exterior lot for four or five years will have plastic and rubber cables slowly begin to degrade. Seals will break and fluids will leak out. The tires will flatten, and continued vehicular weight will very slowly stress the undercarriage.
Avoiding Gradual Vehicular Degradation
Leave a car unattended long enough, and it may begin to sag; but there’s another side to this equation. If you properly maintain your vehicle, it can last for a million miles or more. Read the manual, and make note of the suggested maintenance intervals. Replacing fluids, tires, and components regularly will keep your vehicle in good repair.
It’s also important to have regular “checkups” whenever you do periodic maintenance, like an oil change at your local lube shop. Sometimes issues develop that you could not have anticipated, and which are not your fault. Freak component failure, factory issues involved in assembly, wildlife, and fender-benders can result in varying damages requiring your attention.
Give The Car A Bath Regularly
Something else you should do is wash your vehicle on a weekly basis. If you’re not doing it every week, do it at least every two weeks. This will help get rid of dust, reduce corrosion, and suspend mineral deposits. However, sometimes you’ve got to take specific action.
There are quite a variety of substances which can be used for the purpose of maintaining vehicular functionality. Automobiles have been a central part of modern society over a century now, and increasingly reliable options are now available. Salt remover, sealants, paint rejuvenation solutions, and more can be found at carpro.global.
Some Issues Are Model-Specific
Do a little research to determine what sort of issues are known to affect your particular make and model. Because of the assembly line—something whose invention is tied to the automobile—vehicular issues tend to be generational. Certain engines, components, and parts will have predictable issues at predictable mileage thresholds.
For example, on the 1999 camper van by Volkswagen, the Winnebago Rialta, transmissions aren’t great. They tend to go out at around 100k miles for that particular model. However, if you drove one and it didn’t have transmission issues at the 100k mile mark, then you would probably be fine to run it till 200k miles—but at that point, expect the transmission to be on its last legs.
Maximizing Vehicular Longevity
Google-search forums related to your specific vehicle, regularly wash it, acquire proper substances to treat and maintain it, and be regular in the sort of maintenance you apply. Fix things when necessary, and drive carefully. Such tactics should help your car retain functionality and value much longer than could be achieved otherwise. In a word, it will retain vehicular “glow”.
Jim Pullman has extensive knowledge and experience in Home Building, Construction, and Design. He writes articles in his free time and partners with content creators to share his expertise with the online community.