A car should be properly cared for if you want it to stay in good condition and prevent major issues. The only problem is that so few people actually understand what it means to take care of a car. They then make serious mistakes that end up accelerating the rate at which it deteriorates.

If you care about your investment, you should learn as much as you can about vehicles before you even buy one. The more you know about cars, the lesser the chances you’ll end up destroying them through your errors. Let’s take a look at some of the worst things you could do to your vehicle.

Not Washing It Often Enough

You must wash your car regularly if you want it to maintain its appearance. But there are other reasons for keeping the car clean. Not removing residue from the vehicle could cause widespread damage that could be irreversible, like rust or undercarriage rotting.

If you can’t clean your vehicle often enough because of time issues, we would suggest that you look for a carwash location that will allow you to handle multiple tasks at once. You could find your smart cleaning of your car and clothes through a car wash service like Sundance, for instance. They have some of the most sophisticated washing bays in the country and will allow you to do your laundry at the same time. This will let you kill two birds with one stone and ensure that your car is free of harmful residue at all times.

Accelerating too Much and Breaking too Hard

You need to learn how to drive a car properly if you want to maintain it. There is nothing worse you can do to an engine than to constantly go pedal to the floor for no reason. There is no point in accelerating at full speed in a residential area. If you have the habit of pushing your car to its limits everywhere you drive, change the way you’re driving right now.

Breaking too abruptly will also cause your brakes to overheat and deteriorate faster. In addition to that, aggressive driving will affect your suspension, your transmission, and tons of other components on the vehicle. Drive as gently as you can, your vehicle will thank you.

Ignoring the Check Engine Light

Most of us who drive have been guilty of this at some point. While it’s true that in most cases you’ll be able to drive your car for a good while with the check engine light on, you have no idea what kind of damage you may be causing by doing so.

Engine issues can show no signs at the beginning only to end up being disastrous. This is why you need to have the engine checked as soon as you’re prompted to. You should also do something that very few car owners do and read the owner’s manual. This way, you’ll know exactly what every alert means and know what needs to be done.

Not Performing Oil Changes

Another mistake that you should avoid at all costs would be to ignore oil changes. Oil changes should be performed every 10,000 miles at the latest, or else, you’re asking for trouble.

Tons of things can happen if you postpone oil changes. Since oil plays a very important role in engine function and permeates pretty much every part of an engine, you might be causing widespread damage to your engine.

Major engine issues are the worst type you ever want to deal with as a car owner. In some cases, you might be able to repair the parts that are affected, but there are also cases where you’ll be forced to replace the whole engine. Performing this kind of repair could be more expensive than the value of the vehicle itself. So, do yourself a favor and have your oil check as recommended in your owner’s manual.

Not Checking the Tires Often Enough

Strangely, some people only care about their tires when they wear out or before winter when they have to change them. But tires affect many things with your car and neglecting them could lead to all sorts of issues. Having underinflated tires, for instance, will make your car harder to maneuver, and more dangerous as a result. Tires with low air pressure will also lead to your suspension wearing out faster and will even cause you to spend more money on gas.

This is why you need to check your tire pressure often and have the tires rotated as well. It’s estimated that you should rotate your car’s tires every six to eight months. Rotating the tires will extend their lifespan.

If you want your car to last a long time and look great as well, avoid making these mistakes. A car is a very valuable asset, so don’t neglect this, or you might end up ruining your investment or spending much more than you should on repairs.