10 DIY Tips to Add Years to a Vehicle’s Life & Minimize Expensive Repairs

By Auto Parts Warehouse on May 19, 2014

As consumers extend length of vehicle ownership (10+ years is new normal), AutoPartsWarehouse.com offers (mostly) easy and affordable tips to help consumers make vehicles last as long as they should\

Carson, CA – May 14, 2014– AutoPartsWarehouse.com, one of the nation’s top online auto parts and accessories retailers, knows that consumers are more anxious than ever to keep their cars running strong for longer. Statistics show that more and more car owners plan to drive their vehicle “until it dies” and, in today’s economy, the longer that is, the better. And, with the average price of a new car coming in at over $30,000, maximizing this investment is a no brainer.

“Recent studies have shown that a huge amount of consumers plan to drive their vehicles for over 100,000 miles and are no longer looking to change models after 2 or 3 years,” said Shane Evangelist, CEO of AutoPartsWarheouse.com. “This makes it more prudent than ever that consumers safeguard their investment and ensure that it performs as well as it should over the course of its longer life-span.”

Most of the tips AutoPartsWarehouse.com suggests are easy to moderate DIY jobs, with half costing nothing, or less than $80, and easy enough for almost any car owner to do. In addition to sticking to the manufacturer’s recommended maintenance schedule, keeping these straightforward and affordable tips in mind can help extend the life of any vehicle.

DIY Tips to Extend the Life of Your Vehicle

Repair/Service/Driving Habit	Shop Cost	DIY Cost & Time	Degree of Difficulty	Results
Avoid aggressive driving, such as jack rabbit starts, and hard braking	N/A	$0	Very Easy	Extends the life of the engine, transmission, suspension/tires, and brakes
Avoid driving short distances and stop-and-go city traffic	N/A	$0	Very Easy	Extends the life of the engine, transmission, and brakes.
Keep exterior paint clean with regular washing and waxing	$20 – $50	$5 – $10< 1 hour	Very Easy	Prevents rust and corrosion of metal parts by removing road salt, sludge and pollution.
Keep interior clean and protect it by conditioning leather seats, adding seat covers and floor mats	$20 – $300	$5 – $10< 1 hour	Very Easy	Extends life of interior by preventing wear and tear
Rotate and keep tires properly inflated	$0 – $60	$0< 1 hour	Easy to moderate	Proven to add thousands of miles to the life of your tires
Change engine oil & filter at recommended service intervals (usually every 5,000 miles)	$30 – $80	$20 – $40< 1 hour	Easy to moderate	Proven to add years and tens of thousands of miles to the life of the engine. (Possibly the single most important service a car owner can perform.)
Change engine coolant and replace thermostat	$80 – $200	$25 – $50< 2 hours	Moderate	Prevents overheating, extends life of engine and cooling system, improves performance
Change transmission fluid & filter at recommended service intervals (usually between 30,000 – 60,000 miles)	$80 – $200	$40 – $70< 2 hours	Moderate	Extends life of transmission.
Replace spark plugs, drive belts, and air filter (engine tune-up)	$100 – $400	$50 – $150< 3 hours	Moderate	Improves performance and mpg, extends the life of engine and exhaust components
Replace timing belt and water pump (every 60,000-100,000 miles or every 10 years)	$400 – $800	$100 – $3003 – 5 hours	Advanced	Improves performance, prevents overheating and potential damage to internal engine components.

Always consult your vehicle service manual before attempting any repair.

About AutoPartsWarehouse.com

Established in 1995, AutoPartsWarehouse.com is one of the nation’s top online auto parts and accessories retailers and is dedicated to making it easy for consumers to save money by accessing auto parts online. AutoPartsWarehouse.com offers a comprehensive catalogue of over 2 million auto parts and accessories, to fit all domestic and foreign makes from top aftermarket manufacturers. AutoPartsWarehouse.com offers consumers free shipping on orders over $50 as well as flexible payment and extended warranty plans and options. The company has parts warehouses in markets throughout the U.S. enabling rapid shipping of parts. AutoPartsWarehouse is operated by U.S. Auto Parts Network, Inc., (Nasdaq: PRTS).

Contact:
Melanie Webber, mWEBB Communications, (424) 603-4340, melanie@mwebbcom.com

About Auto Parts Warehouse

Auto Parts Warehouse is one of the top online retailers of auto parts and accessories in the United States today, with over 550,000 products in our comprehensive catalog, with a lot of them available at exclusive warehouse prices.