talk to me like im 15 and getting my first car. How can I maintain my car and make it last forever?

Posted by Regular_Pace9558@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 44 comments

Bought my first car after I graduated in 2023, only did an oil change when the vehicle would prompt me to, never did a transmission fluid change, never rotated the tires, didnt read the manual, took it on 5 hour trips without properly performing checkups, ect. Only did the bare minimum. To no surprise, the transmission over heated one day and now shifts very weirdly and overheats constantly and im 99% sure it’s totaled as the car is only worth 2k atp... And my sorry excuse for that is that I didn’t have a good relationship with my parents so they didn’t bother to teach me anything about cars BUT I do hold myself 100% accountable for not trying to learn about car maintenance regardless!

Now, I’m planning on buying a 2011 subaru legacy as a beater car while I save up for an impreza rs or a wrx. To avoid my past stupidity, what are car maintenance things I should be on top of going forward?

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GiraffeFellator@reddit

follow maintenance schedules. Old fluids can degrade or destroy the complicated systems that make a car run. You'd be shocked how many Volkwagens are wrecked because the timing belt wasn't regularly checked.
Deal with anything unusual like noises, smells, smoke, shaking, weird behavior when accelerating, immediately. It will never get better on its own, but it will get worse and likely damage related or nearby components that wouldn't have been a problem otherwise
Drive gently - avoid hitting potholes and large bumps, and if you can't avoid one, slow down as much as possible and let off the brake before you hit it - the brakes cause the weight of the car to be concentrated on the front wheels and worsens the impact. Also take it easy on the gas pedal while the car is warming up.
Wash the care peridically, and if you live in a place where they salt roads in the Winter, get some sort of rust-deterrent coating applied. Where I live there are hundreds of places that will coat rust-prone areas of the car with parrafin, and people have it reapplied every year or two.
Leave lots of space to cars you're following. It doesn't matter how well you take care of your car if it's totalled in a pileup.

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Old_Chemical1328@reddit

This helped me too. Thank you bro

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Regular_Pace9558@reddit (OP)

I did not know that about letting go of the breaks when its unavoidable hitting a pothole or bump. Good to know, thank you!

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Talentless_Cooking@reddit

Look up the maintenance schedule, follow that to the T.

Next, look up common failures. Get those fixed with oem+ upgrades.

Last, don't pretend you're a race car driver and maje sure to do an Italian tune up once in a while.

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Substantial_Team6751@reddit

Open glove box

Find owner's manual

Follow service guide

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cashinyourface@reddit

Not necessarily, some of these modern cars tell you to push off fluid changes for an egregious amount of miles. The manufacturers want you to keep buying, so instead of being reliable for 200k/300k miles, many are designed to push you just past the 100k mile mark to get out of warranty before a more or less catastrophic failure.

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ImamTrump@reddit

Bro isn’t getting a modern car.

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Substantial_Team6751@reddit

Most people don't maintain their car by the book. It's a great place to start for the OP.

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July_is_cool@reddit

Also, don't drive like a maniac

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ImamTrump@reddit

Every car has a service manual. Follow it.

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InternationalBite690@reddit

Fluids are the life of the car and need to be changed Oil every 5k miles - rotate the tires too Brake fluid every 3 years Transmission fluid every 30k miles Coolant every 5 years Never ignore an odd new sound from your car, investigate or pay a mechanic to find the issue, then fix it. Other people will say you can go longer on most of that, it’s a blanket statement to cover all but I can say I drive my cars..a lot! Since 2010 ive bought 3 Toyota’s , 1 Honda, and 1 Chevy. All had around 110k when I bought them. I took 2 Toyotas to 350k and the third to 486k. The Honda is my wife’s current daily with 515k and I drive the Chevy with 310k. I follow what I recommended cause it works and there’s my proof.

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UnitedStatesofAlbion@reddit

You definitely don't live someplace with snow and salt on the roads of you're getting that kind of life out of a vehicle.

Upstate NY you're lucky to get over 150k

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quicky321@reddit

Accurate. Oil changes are the most underrated and easiest maintenance imo. The cost to reward ratio is unbeatable.

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July_is_cool@reddit

Actually, checking the oil (especially on an old car, weekly) is easier and has a much better cost to reward ratio.

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Fire1777@reddit

Fluids are the life of the vehicle but there are no lifetime fluids!

Your advice is solid

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Eric20255@reddit

This advice is spot on. This is how I treat all my vehicles and never run into issues.

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OGDirtDude117@reddit

Do you live in an area where you need AWD? While a WRX is a fun vehicle, they are objectively horrible. They are reliable but not dependable and maintenance pigs for what they are.

You would be better off with say a Civic SI and a set of dedicated wheels for snow tires but you can keep your Summer or Performance all seasons on the other wheels.

But back to your current Subaru.

Subaru appliance cars of that time are pretty stout. Name brand full synthetic. Oil changes every 6mo or 5000mi, whatever comes first.

I have had INCREDIBLE results with Valvoline Restore and Protect so I would recommend it as it's at Walmart for $27 for 5qts.

You can buy engine and cabin air filters on Amazon, they're a YouTube video and 15mins to install.

For that gen Subaru at 90k-100k intervals you have Spark plugs and Timing belts both due.

For Spark Plugs, NGK with the correct gap ($2 tool to measure) and Denzo (OE white labeled) Ignition Coils. These kind of suck to install and you do need a torque wrench to do it. Just do the ignition coils now to save yourself the time if one fails. Keep your old Ignition Coils as spares.

Timing belt and water pump at 100k, get the Subaru kit & Subaru Coolant for the car. Belt, pump, tensioner etc and do the Accessory belt too. This is the one to pay someone to do.

At around 50k mile intervals you do need to change your transmission fluid and filter. It's not just a flush, you need to change the filter too. Some places do drain and fill. Some do only flush. You need the filter changed too. This is also where the transfer case and diff fluids are changed on AWD vehicles.

Brake Pads, always get the low dust pads. Akebono is tough to beat for the stopping power(the bite), the thermal capacity (ability to make hard stops back to back), and the longevity. Rotors, dont go super cheap. Get solid discs with painted hats and hopefully painted vanes to avoid rust. Centric was my go to but they're gone now. Bleeding the brake fluid every 3 years or every pad change is good to do as the fluid is what makes the brakes stop the car!

Alignments & tire rotations are more important on a Subaru than you think. Tire rotations help spread out the wear and tear of the tires to give you more life from a set. The alignment helps make sure there isn't abnormal wear between rotations & the car should drive predicable.

Commonly people just get alignments when they get tired but really you should do it every other year for an AWD car or vehicle with staggered wheels.

The tire rotations I do every oil change, but every other would be fine too.

You can save yourself A LOT of money with some basic tools from Harbor Freight and some learning.

A good expanding ratchet, extensions, a socket kit (metric), some extensions, wrenches, and a Battery powered impact (wheels and brakes only) will do a lot. Get a "CDI" branded 3/8 torque wrench from Amazon that has to 100 ft-lbs and that will cover about everything you need.

An oil filter tool is preference but match it to your oil filter.

Being a Subaru, I would always carry at least 1qt of oil and a jug of coolant to be safe. You never know when you may need it but it's cheap assurance.

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revo442@reddit

You want a Toyota. An engine with a timing chain. Something under 150k miles. Manual transmission. Change the oil every 5k miles. you put full synthetic oil in it every time. Don't buy a Subaru. Buy a Toyota that has a timing chain.

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Subaru_life2024@reddit

Learn to change the oil and change/check all of the other fluids. DO NOT do what i used to do and over commit to a repair if you aren't fully comfortable doing it. I had to get a few of my older cars towed for that very reason when i was younger lol

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TealSapphire@reddit

Your relationship with your parents has absolutely zero to do with the relationship with your car.

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No_Educator_6376@reddit

Good luck

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pkupku@reddit

A lot of good advice in here.

I think the root cause for many young people with their first vehicles is they don’t have the money to do the maintenance. They can barely put gas in the tank.

If you put $50 in a maintenance account for every $50 you put in the tank you will probably be OK. That’s a starting point anyway. It’s also a reality check every time you fill. It makes it a little harder to blow the money on something else.

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LavishnessOk6635@reddit

You can’t make it last forever, it’s a mechanical device. You can make it last for a very long time. You do this by changing all of the fluids at the exact specified levels. Also, avoid quick oil, change places. Even when they do a good job, it’s not a mechanic doing your oil change. Get your oil changed by a mechanic, and by the same one every time he will learn your car, and will notice when things need attention along before anyone else will.

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MansomeHan@reddit

Follow the “severe driving conditions” maintenance guidelines in the owner’s manual. Use only Top Tier gasoline and run a bottle of Techron through the tank before each oil change.

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JustAnotherFNC@reddit

Start watching ChrisFix on YouTube. Kid does a great job of explaining the how and why to just about everything.

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biggunzcdb1@reddit

You're a masochist. Step away from the Subaru. Not a good brand unless you're doing on time service. They need more than average service, have high maintenance cost. On par with BMW and Audi without the speed nor luxury. You sound like a Honda or Toyota is your best bet. And still service it on time.

The 2019 F 150 I'm in has 98k I've serviced it myself since 44k. Computer oil service warning is 10k miles. I do it at 5k. Transmission gets a partial fluid change every 20k. Runs like new. Regularly pulls a 5-7k trailer.

My 2018 Hyundai Elantra has 168k. Had 24k when I bought it. Oil change every 5k , spark plugs @ 100k some new hose clamps , belt, tires , brakes and bushings are all I've ever done to it. Regular maintenance stuff, never a single check engine light.

Maintenance is cheap once you learn to do it yourself . Oil changes cost me 40 bucks. Brakes are usually 50-70. I buy 2 K&N air filters for every car I own ,so I always have a clean one ready to go.

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Special_Profit4509@reddit

With all out love for Subaru, don't buy a Subaru if you don't keep up with cars, and are equipped either financially or mechanical to replace the head gaskets.

If you want a beater car buy a Camry or if to broke a civic. Subaru have horrible issues with head gasket failure and while their quirky cars, pro lgbt marketing. It's a lot for someone to maintain Subaru cars properly. Emissions are one issue that oil has has a lot of additives removed and most race only oils like amsel ment for flat taped cams will do wonders for any engine, the catalytic converter on the other hand and oxygen sensors will fail with this.

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No_Educator_6376@reddit

It would be way cheaper to just fix the transmission and do proper maintenance until you learn how to keep your car running.

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Regular_Pace9558@reddit (OP)

well the legacy im getting is 3400 and fixing the transmission with costs and labor is about the same price. This car im looking at also has an excellent service history and only has one previous owner so in way better shape than my car rn.

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No-Handle-66@reddit

It's easy. Do all of the maintenance recommended in your owner's manual. Your car should require "major" and "minor" services at intervals like 20K or 40K miles. The mechanic will visually inspect your engine and drive train at these services, and will lube any grease points on the chasis.

Oil. I generally change my engine oil more often than recommended on older cars, every 5K miles or so. 8-10K, or a minimum of once a year, on newer cars with synthetic oil. On older cars, be sure to check and top off the oil every 2 weeks, or after every longer driving trip. Low oil can damage your engine.

Brake fluid. Flush the brake fluid every 2-3 years. More often if you don't drive much (as moisture can build up in the brake lines and cause corrosion), or if you drive/brake hard like on the track or in the mountains (as the fluid can break down).

Power steering fluid. Change the power steering fluid every 50K miles. Check the color of the fluid at oil changes. Dark brown power steering fluid should be changed.

Transmission and drive train fluids. Change the transmission, front/rear differential, and transfer case fluids at 30-50K miles, more often if towing a trailer or driving off-road, and less often if doing mosty highway driving. (Front-wheel drive cars won't have a rear differential or transfer case.)

Air Filter. Change the air filter annually, more often if you drive in dusty conditions.

Coolant. New cars have "lifetime" coolant, but this really means changing it every 5 years or 100K miles, whichever comes sooner. I like changing the coolant more often on older cars.

Change the spark plugs and ignition coils, and get a "tune-up", when the engine isn't running properly, a cylinder isn't firing correctly, or the vehicle hesitates when accelerating. High quality platinum or iridium plugs can last 100K miles wirh modern unleaded gas. Cheaper copper plugs can burn out at 30-50K miles.

Change the car battery every 3-5 years. Cheaper batteries will burn out faster. You will know the battery needs to be changed when the car is hard to start, or the battery goes dead in just a few munutes in the accessory mode.

The alternator needs to be changed when the electronics start to fail when driving, or the battery fails to charge while driving.

Change the timing belt at around 100K miles. I like changing the water pump and coolant at the same time. If you have a timing chain (instead of the more common belt), it doesn't have to be changed. Blowing either a timing belt or water pump on the highway can result in a catastrophic engine failure.

You should periodically visually inspect your coolant hoses and serpentine belt for cracks. Change the serpentine belt when it starts to first starts to develop cracks, usually after 50K miles or 5-7 years. Definitely change the serpentine belt at 100K miles when you change your water pump and flush your coolant

Good luck!

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Regular_Pace9558@reddit (OP)

yeah like 95% of this I didnt do with my last car… this is awesome advice and will save me in the future. Thank you!

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jrileyy229@reddit

It depends what the car you bought was, and what condition it was in. There's a chance you did nothing wrong at all, it was just an old econobox car with a ton of miles and the transmission was end of life

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Regular_Pace9558@reddit (OP)

i suppose thats a possibility but better maintainance wouldve kept it going atleast a year or two more. It was a 2014 ford focus i think it had 125k miles when i bought it and now it has 160k

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Captkarate42@reddit

That transmission is also a well known POS and has resulted in multiple recalls, as well as free replacements for tons of people. It's more of an issue of running into a flawed mechanical design in an expensive/important part of your car than a maintenance issue, though the lack of maintenance certainly helped nothing.

You will run into similarly expensive and inevitable problems with the subarus you are looking at, but they are in the engine rather than the transmission.

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Regular_Pace9558@reddit (OP)

i did read up on that but I also saw that for the specific trim I want (3.6R limited legacy) their engines are more reliable than the 2.5i trims with the cvt’s. Do yk much about those?

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GiraffeFellator@reddit

Those cars were not particularly well made, and many of them had trsnsmission failures

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jrileyy229@reddit

Better maintenance MIGHT have kept it going. I think that car was every 60k for trans fluid. If the prior owner did it at 60 and then at 120.... You bought it at 125, it just wasn't needed... And that transmission simply wore out.

The opposite could also be true.. the original owner never did it a single time and if you had done it when you bought it, the trans might be fine.

Like I said, it depends on the condition of the car and maintenance when you bought it

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ClapClapFlapSlap@reddit

substantially all of the wear and stress placed on your drivetrain happens during acceleration from a dead stop. Be gentle off the line and your car will live much longer.

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Old-guy64@reddit

When you buy a car…RTFM.
Cover to cover, learn to work all the features. Learn the maintenance schedule.
Once you’ve learned the maintenance schedule…follow it.
The purpose of the schedule it to keep stuff from breaking prematurely. It also functions as routine checks to see if stuff is wearing out.
And then replace prior to breakage.
Stuff that breaks is always going to be more expensive to repair/replace than stuff that wears out and is replaced before it fails.

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NecessaryEmployer488@reddit

You are not alone. A large majority of people only do oil changes, and dealerships don't do all maintenance they should. I take my car to an independent mechanic on occasion.

1) Keep up with oil changes.

2) Change all fluids every 4 years of 36,000 ( brake, transmission, power steering, coolant )

3) Every year take the car in for a full inspection and get things that are sufficiently worn replaced.

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white94rx@reddit

5k mile oil changes is probably the best thing you can do for an engine. The frequency of the oil change is more important than the brand or cost of the oil that you put in. I recommend using only OEM filters. Certainly not Fram or the $5 filter from AutoZone.

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