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Top 7 tips to extend the life of your car

Published on December 8th, 2020
  Written by 
Bill Tsouvalas
Bill Tsouvalas is the managing director and a key company spokesperson at Savvy. As a personal finance expert, he often shares his insights on a range of topics, being featured on leading news outlets including News Corp publications such as the Daily Telegraph and Herald Sun, Fairfax Media publications such as the Australian Financial Review, the Seven Network and more. Bill has over 15 years of experience working in the finance industry and founded Savvy in 2010 with a vision to provide affordable and accessible finance options to all Australians. He has built Savvy from a small asset finance brokerage into a financial comparison website which now attracts close to 2 million Aussies per year and was included in the BRW’s Fast 100 in 2015 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the country. He’s passionate about helping Australians make financially savvy decisions and reviews content across the brand to ensure its accuracy. You can follow Bill on LinkedIn.
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Get your scheduled services

This is the most important part of car maintenance – getting your scheduled services, also known as “logbook” services. A scheduled service not only changes your fluids, oil and filters at appropriate times, but helps identify and avoid costly problems with your engine and related components. Getting your logbook service also shows prospective buyers a car kept in good condition.

Check your oil, coolant and fluids

To help keep your engine well lubricated, open up the hood and check that you have enough oil, coolant and other fluids like transmission or brake fluid in your system. Low levels may cause problems. It’s best to check these every time you buy petrol or at the very least, before starting a long journey.

Check your tyre pressure

Low tyre pressure reduces the lifespan of your tyre by as much as 15% and can increase the amount of fuel used by 10%. It’s also a good idea to get your tyres rotated and your wheels aligned regularly. This increases stability and safety.

Clean your car inside and out

Cleaning your car doesn’t only make it appear like new, it keeps the body from rusting and accumulating pollutants. Keeping your chassis clean helps prevent corrosion. Corrosion can easily spread throughout a car and damage internal components.

Change your oil every 6 months

Although scheduled or logbook services will change the oil, you should aim to change your oil every 6 months. This can greatly extend the life of your car. It also makes sense to change over your oil filter, too.

Avoid short trips

Short trips put extra wear and tear on your muffler, as it doesn’t warm up enough after a “cold start.” Condensation does not have time to evaporate and can cause rust damage. Think of combining several short trips into one long trip, or avoid using the car altogether if you’ll only be driving for a few minutes.

Check your brake pads

Brake pads should be checked not only for the obvious safety reasons but for your calipers and discs. Thin brake pads damage these and it costs a lot of money to replace. This goes a long way to maintain a healthy braking system.

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This guide provides general information and does not consider your individual needs, finances or objectives. We do not make any recommendation or suggestion about which product is best for you based on your specific situation and we do not compare all companies in the market, or all products offered by all companies. It’s always important to consider whether professional financial, legal or taxation advice is appropriate for you before choosing or purchasing a financial product.

The content on our website is produced by experts in the field of finance and reviewed as part of our editorial guidelines. We endeavour to keep all information across our site updated with accurate information.

Approval for car loans is always subject to our lender’s terms, conditions and qualification criteria. Lenders will undertake a credit check in line with responsible lending obligations to help determine whether you’re in a position to take on the loan you’re applying for.

The interest rate, comparison rate, fees and monthly repayments will depend on factors specific to your profile, such as your financial situation, as well others, such as the loan’s size and your chosen repayment term. Costs such as broker fees, redraw fees or early repayment fees, and cost savings such as fee waivers, aren’t included in the comparison rate but may influence the cost of the loan. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts may result in a different comparison rate.

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