Hands-Free Car Care

If you keep vehicles a long time—two of my daily drivers each have more than 100,000 on their odometers and I'm planning on seeing 200,000 or more on both—you should change these fluids frequently and ask the mechanic who did the work if there were indications of problems or excessive wear. If you've just acquired a used vehicle, it's a great idea to change all the fluids, filters, and hoses. A special note about automatic transmissions: Far from all of the old fluid will flow out simply by removing the drain plug. Make sure your mechanic fully flushes out all the old fluid and changes the filter.


Follow these tips and your car will run better, longer, and cost less to do it. This article might even give you a couple of tips to help you live longer and feel better.