You might be surprised to know that the average person in the US sticks with their vehicle for seven years. And when we buy a car, we do hope that it will last us that long. However, there are still a lot of people who make mistakes and end up having to sell their car sooner rather than later! Therefore, here is what you need to do if you want to own your vehicle for years!

Buy a reliable make

A lot of us don’t do enough research when we choose a new car for our household. After all, it’s easy to be led astray when you are looking at the beauties at the garage! But you need to come away and do some research so that you know you are choosing a reliable make and model of car. You can find a lot of information online about the most reliable vehicles. For example, http://www.bankrate.com/finance/auto/dependable-cars-that-rarely-need-a-mechanic-10.aspx has a list of reliable motors. They say cars such as the Lexus GS and Honda Fit run into the least trouble. Therefore, research the make and check how efficient and reliable it is. With a good reliable car, you will get years of transport without any trouble!

Take care of it between services

Although our car will get some TLC when it goes for its service, if you want it to last for years, you need to look after it in the meantime. It means checking the oil and tire pressure every single month. That way, you will spot errors early before they turn into big problems. As we said previously, just by checking things for a few minutes, the rewards will be huge. Therefore, you need to look around the vehicle and make sure it’s in good order.

Don’t drive carelessly

A lot of people end up selling their car earlier rather than later by driving carelessly. After all, if you are going too fast, you could end up damaging the engine and tires before long. And not only this, but you could end up getting in trouble with the law. For example, if you head out after drinking, you could cause an accident which might see you facing a DUI charge. And you will have to get legal support from companies such as http://www.huntsvilledefenselawyer.com/dui-drunk-driving/. And as well as this, if you get into an accident, you could end up having to write off your car. Therefore, drive your car safely to ensure you have your vehicle for longer!

Keep it safe at home

If you want to keep your beloved vehicle for years, you should make sure you park it safely at home. Keep it on your drive so that it’s not at risk of other drivers. After all, so many people get their cars stolen every year as they parked it out of sight. And you also need to park your car somewhere which keeps it protected in bad weather. After all, you don’t want it to rust after a severe bout of snow. You can get a cover online for a few dollars which will help to keep your car safe in bad weather.

And as it says on http://cars.about.com/od/adviceforowners/a/ag_livepast100k.htm, clean it regularly. That way, it will protect the materials underneath!