You get the most value out of your car when it lasts as long as possible. The quality of the vehicle you buy makes a difference in the average lifespan of a car, but how you drive it can matter even more. We all know there are things you can do like changing the oil regularly to make your car last longer—but there are also bad driving habits many drivers do that make their cars die sooner.

Reckless Driving

When you hear the term “reckless driving,” you might think of a crazy movie car chase, but there are many degrees of reckless driving. Sure, it includes dangerous driving, but it also means driving aggressively in general. By losing your cool on the road, your driving suffers. You put yourself and those around you in danger, and you risk serious damage to your car. The more recklessly you drive, in terms of both degree and how often you do it, the more likely your car will suffer damage that will need collision repair or significantly decrease the lifespan of your car.

Bad Driving Habits

On top of reckless driving, the wear and tear your car endures each day has a real impact on how long it will run. If you put unnecessary strain on your car, this will decrease its lifespan. This includes hard starts and late braking at stops. It also includes revving a cold engine, shifting from reverse to drive before completely stopping, and riding the brakes down long hills. In addition to these symptoms of overdriving, there are subtler bad driving habits that affect how long your car will last. Not completely filling up your gas tank on a regular basis can lead to damage or excessive wear to the fuel system. Driving with a lot of unnecessary weight packed in your vehicle makes it work that much harder each time you drive it. Doing any of these things once or twice won’t have much of an effect on your car. But doing them every day over the course of years will lead to unnecessary wear that will decrease the lifespan of your vehicle.

Turn to the Experts at Cascade Collision Repair

It’s never too late to trade in bad driving habits and start practicing good ones. You can go easy on your car, and you can practice the regular maintenance that it needs to last longer. Take your car to Cascade Collision Repair for quality maintenance that will help you get more out of your vehicle. Our convenient locations are there to help. Contact us today to get a free quote or to find out more about our expertise and services.