How to Maintain Your High-Mileage Vehicle

You want to your car to be well-maintained and run well across its lifespan, but how
do you ensure that it’s still going strong when it has over 100,000 miles on it? High-mileage vehicles require
their own type of maintenance, but this maintenance isn’t radically different from the kind that lower-mileage
vehicles receive.

Let’s look at the major steps in high-mileage vehicle maintenance so you can understand how to
care for your vehicle and maximize its lifespan.

Maintenance Tasks for High-Mileage Cars and Trucks

Prioritize Oil Changes

Your engine oil is one of the main components that helps your car run. Think of it as
your car’s lifeblood. You probably already know that you need to have your car’s oil changed every 5,000 miles
or every three months. But that becomes more important as your car becomes older or higher mileage. Once your
car is over 100,000 miles, you may even consider using high mileage oil to help it run well.

However, not all vehicles will need high mileage oil when they start racking up a lot of
miles. Talk to your dealership’s service center about the best course of action.

Keep Your Vehicle Clean

While washing, waxing, and vacuuming your car or truck makes it look nice, it can also
help preserve your car in the long run.

For example, washing and waxing your car periodically prevents rust from developing on your
vehicle’s exterior. Similarly, vacuuming your car prevents debris tracked into your car or truck from causing
tears or holes in the vehicle’s interior. Overall, if you wash, wax, and clean the interior of your high-mileage
vehicle, you’ll keep it in good condition by preventing it from deteriorating. As a bonus, this will also help
preserve the trade-in value whenever you decide it’s time for a new ride.

Maintain Your Tires

Your tires are one of the main reasons your car or truck can move at all. If your tires wear
down as your vehicle hits higher mileages, it will eventually become a safety hazard, which will lead to bigger,
more expensive problems. The best steps to take with tires on a high-mileage car or truck are checking the tire
pressure regularly and having the tires rotated every 6,000 to 8,000 miles. The first step lets you know that
your tires still hold the right amount of air and don’t have any punctures or holes. The second step, tire
rotation, moves your tires around your vehicle so they get equal wear and tear all around their treads. If you
use these two steps often, you’ll keep your tires in great shape for a long time, no matter how many miles your
car has.

Check on Your Vehicle’s Battery

Your battery can wear out over time due to problems like corrosion and loose connections. Have
your high-mileage car or truck’s battery tested every two months after you hit 100,000 miles to make sure it
runs for as long as possible, and have it replaced when necessary. Failing to keep an eye on the battery can
result in damage to other charging system components like the alternator.

Spring for a Tune-Up

In this instance, a “tune-up” simply means letting a certified technician give everything a
good once-over to check for low fluids, suspension damage, and other common high mileage maladies. This should
be done roughly every 5,000 to 10,000 miles.

Get Body Work Repairs After an Accident

Sometimes, accidents happen. That’s just part of life. How you deal with the aftermath
of an accident is up to you. If your car takes major body damage in a collision, it’s best to get it taken care
of at an auto body repair shop near you like McCarthy Collision Centers.

If you leave body damage like a smashed-in door unattended, that part of your car becomes
unusable, and other problems like body rust can pop up around that damaged area. If you have that kind of
damage, have it repaired as soon as possible so it doesn’t develop major problems further down the line.

Repair Your Car in the Kansas City Area

If you want to get body repair work to maintain your high mileage car or truck, McCarthy
Collision Centers are here for you. We have multiple locations across
the greater KC area, so whether you’re in Lee’s Summit, Olathe, Blue Springs, or Overland Park, we have the
resources to repair your vehicle and get it on the road again.