Road Warriors: Defining Auto Longevity

Anthony Fontanelle
September 26, 2007

Every driver would do anything he could to preserve his car and its functions. This is why there is a constant struggle to find that ultimate secret to make vehicles going and going for years.

To take advantage of auto longevity, the owner should be adept in adapting new ways to bolster maintenance and efficiency. A number of old cars are seen on the roads. But they are not as cranky as you think. Mind you, they have the performance of modern cars.

The Associated Press wants you to meet some experts in transforming old cars into outrageous road machines… Meet Peter Gilbert who drove a Saab more than a million miles through 17 Wisconsin winters. And there is Clifton Lambreth, a zone manager for 600 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers around the South. He calls the cars "road warriors."

Michael Wright, a resident of Port Angeles, Wash., drove his Toyota SR5 pickup well past 300,000 miles before finally replacing it with a 1989 model of the same car. "If it's got 150,000 miles or less on it, it's just getting broken in. There's still a lot of miles on it," Wright said. "It was in good shape. I feel like I'm driving a new car!"

Another auto guru is Michael Dennison, whose Bavarian Professionals auto shop in Berkeley, Calif., routinely works on 20-year-old BMWs including a 1987 with 784,000 miles and a 1982 with 550,000 miles. "In our disposable culture, a car is one of the few products you own that rewards your attempts to keep it going," said Dennison. "There is a puritan satisfaction that comes with squeezing all the juice out of a car."

What does it take to yield car longevity? Experts say put emphasis on maintenance. Do not forget to change the filters and rotate the tires, added Lambreth. If you are using Bilstein shocks, check them regularly to ensure quality.

Dennison advised changing the automatic transmission fluid every 50,000 miles; changing the spark plugs every 60,000 miles; flushing the brake fluid every two years, and putting a new battery in preventively if the old one has lasted five years. "If your car has a low coolant indicator and it comes on, wait half an hour to let the car cool off," he said. "Check the level - if it's low, get your car towed."

Additionally, Dennison recommended getting the car towed if the temperature gauge goes beyond the two-thirds point, and draining and refilling the cooling system every two years to inhibit corrosion. The bottom line is to keep your car clean and efficient - inside, outside and underneath. Dennison said that rust due to rain, snow and salt on the roads "is not nearly the issue it once was" due to improvements in rustproofing. "The sun, however, is extremely hard on a car's paint and interior," he said.

"I would look at a Kelley Blue Book guide," Lambreth said. "If a repair exceeds 120 percent of the value of the car, it's probably not worth it - unless you really love the vehicle and you don't want to give it up."

According to an annual survey by R. L. Polk & Co., the median age of passenger cars on the road in the United States was 9.2 years in 2006, a record high. "This is more evidence that vehicle engineering and durability continues to improve with each new model year," said Dave Goebel, a consultant for Polk's Aftermarket Solutions.

"The quality of cars today is incredible," noted Lambreth. "If you follow the manufacturers' maintenance, most of those cars will surprise and delight you."

Source:  Amazines.com