10 Tips And Tricks To Get Your Car To 200,000 Miles On A Budget

9. Change your oil regularly with the right oil.

This is literally the bread and butter of getting your car up to 200,000 miles and beyond. Oil is the lifeblood of your car and provides lubrication to all important components of your car’s engine and cooling system. Technically, your car can run without any oil, but not for long. Change your oil (and filter) regularly, and you’ll ensure there will be a thin (but important) barrier between surfaces. No friction means little to no wear and tear as long as everything is running smoothly.

First, you’ll have to break out your owner’s manual and look up the recommended oil change interval if this is the first time you’ve changed your oil. If you don’t drive your car often, it will also give you a specific time interval. Whichever you hit first. For example, for newer Honda’s right now the regular oil change interval is 7,500 miles or 12 months. That means if at the end of the year you haven’t quite hit 7500 miles you’d better change it anyways.

Also, your engine may use a certain grade of oil. For what grade to use, again refer to your manual. The same goes for the filter.

The added benefit of changing your oil is not only do you get to add fresh lubrication and discard of the old stuff, you’re actively forced to go underneath your vehicle and poke around, making sure that visually everything looks copacetic.

After every oil and filter change, please discard of your oil at a local recycling center or auto parts store.

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