So, you’ve just bought a brand spanking new car and as you drive it off the forecourt, you start thinking about vehicle longevity. How long will this car be driveable? The answer is never going to be clear cut; if, for example, you never look under the hood and drive the car whenever you feel like it, it won’t be long before you have issues. On the other hand, if you throw loads of TLC at the car, there’s no reason it won’t be reliable for the next 20 years.
The Importance Of Proper Maintenance
Cars do not look after themselves and they have yet to develop a vehicle that requires no maintenance, which means you must follow the servicing schedule, which is set according to mileage. The average car is made up of around 30,000 separate components, which means things can, and do, go wrong. From the crankshaft to the wiper blades and everything in between, vehicle maintenance must follow the manufacturer’s guidelines if you want safety and reliability.
When To Draw The Line?
As a car ages, it depreciates and degrades and we keep putting our hand in our pocket, as components wear out, fail and malfunction. There will come a day when you should shake your head and say ‘no more’ and seek a used car buyer Wollongong wide who will pay you a fair price for towing away the vehicle, de-registering and recycling it. Of course, you might want to sell the car well before it reaches the end of its life and we all fancy a change from time to time.
Service History
When buying a used car, the most important thing is the service history, which tells you how the car has been treated since its birth; a vehicle with a full service history (FSH) is always preferred, as you are less likely to run into issues.
The 10-Year Mark
Most mechanics would agree that a new car can easily make it to a decade; scheduled servicing is a must for this to happen. A 10-year old car with average mileage would have eaten through 5-6 sets of tyres, a few batteries, air & oil filter changes, several brake pad replacements, a couple of dozen oil changes and a few lightbulbs, at the very least. A modern engine will run forever if looked after, such as the precision engineering, while major components can need replacing, such as:
- Shock absorbers
- Brake pads
- Steering rack
- Exhaust
- Spark plugs
- Radiator
- Water pump
- Alternator
When you need to replace a part on an old car, Google ‘car breakers yard near me’ and search their database for the component you need. You’ll save around 50% on the cost of a genuine new part, plus the supplier will issue you a warranty.
15-20 Years
People who keep a car for this long usually have an emotional attachment and money is no object when it comes to their beloved wheels. A first-time driver might buy an old car for a few hundred dollars and if lucky, might get a couple of years of relatively trouble-free motoring, yet will have difficulty selling it on. In most cases, the local used car buyer ends up towing the car away to be recycled.
So, there you have it; everything depends on the care and attention the car receives.