The 6 Quickest Ways to Run Your Car into the Ground

A car is one of the most expensive investments many of us will ever make. Besides a mortgage, there are few things that most of us will buy that come with as large price tags as our vehicles that we are driving every day. 

Many of us don’t give our cars the care they deserve. We spend thousands (or tens of thousands) of dollars on our cars. And yet so many of us drive them carelessly and ignore needed maintenance or repairs. With such an expensive investment, you’d think that more of us would be much more attentive to the care our vehicles.

With many of us being so careless in working to extend the life of our cars, it’s no surprise that most of us aren’t getting the lifespan out of our cars that we should. To help you prevent a costly mistake, here are 6 of the most surefire ways to “run your car into the ground:”

1. Ignoring Needed Repairs

We’ve all done it. Our car is making a weird noise, or giving off a strange smell, so we take it into the repair shop. But we don’t like the price that we are quoted to repair the car. We either plan on taking care of this repair “later,” or we ignore the mechanic’s advice altogether. They’re just trying to make money, right? That repair can’t be all that urgent, right? Wrong.

The truth is, ignoring needed repairs is one of the absolute quickest ways to run your car into the ground. What started out as a small, manageable (and affordable) fix, when left unaddressed, can turn into a repair that could end up costing more than you can afford (or more than your car is worth!). 

So, if you notice problems with your car (squeaking noise, leaking fluids, odd smells, your air conditioner not blowing as strong/cold as it used to, etc), don’t ignore them. Bring them into a car repair shop immediately and see what the mechanic has to say. Don’t be afraid to get a second opinion on what needs to be done and how quickly it needs to be done, but don’t ignore or put off repairs on your car that need to be done.

2. Ignoring Regular Maintenance

Some of us aren’t quite so oblivious as to ignore obvious needed repairs. But that doesn’t mean that we aren’t ignoring other aspects of car maintenance that are also leading to our cars being run into the ground. Most of the most expensive car repairs can be avoided by keeping up on the regular maintenance that your car needs. Things like transmission replacements, timing belts going out, injection pumps needing to be replaced, etc (all of which could end up being repairs that could end up costing you more than it would to purchase a different car), can all be completely avoided just by having the regular maintenance done on those parts. 

So, make sure to follow your car’s recommended maintenance schedule. Have your oil and transmission fluid changed regularly. Have your timing belt changed (before it completely breaks). Change filters as soon as they show signs of clogging. Have your tires rotated, and keep them at the appropriate tire pressure. Doing these things can keep your car running smoothly longer, and can prevent some of the most costly repairs that you could ever need to have done on your vehicle.

3. Not Filling the Tank

Oil and transmission fluid aren’t the only fluids you want to pay attention to with your car. Keeping our car filled with gas is also extremely important to the lifespan of our car. Sometimes we just have to wait until payday to fill up on gas. But if you are continually “running on fumes,” you could be causing potentially very costly damage to your car’s engine.

4. Using Cheap Gas

Speaking of gas, despite popular belief, the type of gas you use actually matters. Using low quality gas can clog your fuel injectors. This can affect how smoothly your car will run, which can end up creating very big issues with your car if this continues for a while. 

5. Harsh Driving

When it comes to “running your car into the ground,” it’s not only costly repairs that can do this. Sometimes we are literally running our vehicles into the ground by the way we drive them. Braking or accelerating too quickly, revving your car’s engine during start-up, or the all too common practice of not coming to a complete stop before we switch our car from reverse to drive, all wreak havoc on our brakes, tires, and transmissions, adding years of wear to our engines and other car parts, causing them to wear down or completely break down before their time. 

6. Getting in a Wreck

This might sound like a joke, but I couldn’t be more serious. If I didn’t see so many reckless drivers on the road each day I wouldn’t feel the need to bring this one up. Totaling your car in a wreck is a surefire way to “run your car into the ground.” So if this is something that you want to avoid, then start driving more carefully for goodness sake! If you do get in a wreck, make sure you take your car into an auto repair shop like autospark auto electrics or another one in your area immediately to make sure you don’t risk further damage to your vehicle.