When to Know It's Time to Buy Again By Brenda Williams At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

My mother's car is a 1998 Honda Accord. Back when my father surprised her with it as a birthday/Christmas gift, it was one of the premier vehicles around. However, more than 10 years later, little problems have crept up, indicating that perhaps it's time to start looking for another vehicle.

Beyond the usual wear and tear that you put on a car such as having to change the tires out or replace the oil and air filters, often you can begin to tell when you need to start looking for another car when other things start going wrong. For instance, in my mom's case, it started when her “check engine” light came on. When she took it to the dealership, they said it simply a glitch in the electrical system (most cars have neat electrical features nowadays), and they fixed it. However, when they fixed the 'check engine light' problem, the car began to have other problems. For instance, my mother's car has a remote starter which allows you to press a button on the keyring to start the car's engine remotely. This is especially handy if you're from New York where the winters can be cold. Well, the remote starter suddenly didn't work.

Then other issues with the electrical system crept up where the keyring wouldn't unlock the doors at all. As a result, the service people at the dealership wound up having to disarm the alarm system so that they could address the problem because every time my mother would manually unlock the door to her car, the alarm would go off. Then she noticed that the paint was wearing away on the roof of her car as well as the hood. The final straw was when she was parked in a mall parking lot and someone ran into her car. When she brought her car in to have it fixed, she also inquired about how much it would cost her to have the paint redone on the roof and hood to which the gentleman at the dealership told her that because of how many miles she had on her car as well as how old it was, it wouldn't be worth it. He told her that it would be more cost efficient if she just purchased a newer car.

When a service representative at a body shop tells you that you need to get a new car, it's probably time to at least start thinking about it! There are other tell-tale signs. It's not a huge deal to have the paint chipping on your car. What is a problem is if you start having engine troubles such as your car not starting at all or if you notice strange noises emanating from your car despite having taken it to the dealership days before. It is possible to own a car that has some years on it as well as some general wear and tear. The key is to know how to take care of your vehicle so that it can last as long as my mother's has. This means taking your car in to be serviced at regularly scheduled intervals. Get oil changes every 3,000 to 7,000 miles (depending on the type of car you have as well as how you drive your vehicle. Make sure that you rotate and balance your tires so that you evenly distribute the wear. Even the little things such as making sure that your tires are properly filled with air can save you huge headaches down the line.

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