Get your car to 200000 miles - Elko Daily Free Press
When Laura White of Oxford, Massachusetts, bought a Toyota Corolla in 1997, her son was just 3 years old. “We changed the oil every 3,000 miles and the timing belts regularly,” Laura says. “I never dreamed I would give the kids the car to drive when I bought it years ago. You might not end up sending your toddler to college in a car you buy today, notes Consumer Reports, but improvements in rust prevention, engine technology, safety features and electronics mean that 200K cars are pretty common now. When new, the 1997 Corolla was a Consumer Reports Recommended model in part because of excellent reliability, good crash-test results and impressive performance in its battery of more than 50 tests. Today, the Corolla is on Consumer Reports’ list of the top 10 models that are still on the road after 200,000 miles, according to its most recent Annual Auto Survey, which gathered data on 1. 1 million vehicles owned by its subscribers. To improve your odds, start by choosing not just a safe and reliable model, but also one with all of the features you want. If you’ll be driving it for the long haul, it might as well be a car that you enjoy as the miles and years roll by. — Read the owner’s manual. The manual spells out how often your car needs basic services like oil changes and tire rotations, as well as bigger jobs like timing belt replacements. Source: elkodaily.com
