Yahoo Autos A Car Dealer’s Secrets For Keeping Your Ride Forever
[photo: Troy A via Motoramic Group on Flickr]
“I’m going to keep this car forever!”
It’s often said, and rarely true. Love is often a spurious thing for most folks who own a car. It can be new, or just new to them. But as a long-time car dealer, I often see the most beautiful of vehicles slowly turn from splendor, to mediocrity, to a rolling piece of scrap.
Why does this happen? I hate to say it, but more than 90 percent of the time, it’s the owner’s fault.
Nearly everyone ignores the little cosmetic issues. The three D’s: Dings, dents, and dirtiness are almost always left on a vehicle as an unwelcome reminder of where the car has been, and likely heading over the ensuing years.
The paint fades. The high-quality parts that came from the factory get replaced with the cheapest replacements that can be found online, And those little issues, such as leaks and suspension wear, start to become big ones with corresponding large-dollar repair costs attached to them.
On average, most cars are kept a little less than six years before the car buying process starts anew, far before the machine itself wears out. Sometimes all it takes to keep your vehicle fresh is to take care of those little things so that they never have to become big things.
My current daily driver, a 21-year-old Jeep Cherokee, can still get the job done and even gets a nice compliment or two along with the all too flattering, “Are you planning on selling it anytime soon?”
The short answer is no. Even with a chassis that was first developed over 30 years ago, it rides too nice and I genuinely enjoy the ownership experience.
What do I do to keep it fun and interesting? Surprisingly, it doesn’t really take too much.
