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Are You Making Your Car Suck?

Anyone whose ever listened to the National Public Radio show Car Talk, or, for that matter, many of the people visiting this page, has complained at some point about their car being sluggish, not responding correctly to gear changes, or just not sounding right. While owning an older car can reduce your liability insurance premium. It's easy to blame the guys at the local quick-lube place for doing something wrong during their fifteen-minute, twenty-five-dollar crack at your car, but the reality is that there are bad habits most drivers have that can actually lead to higher repair bills and performance that, well, sucks.

Here are five of those bad habits, and some information about how they could be making your car suck.

1. Driving Dirty Cars: It's no surprise that a car dusty or dirty enough that passers-by write WASH ME on the back window is kind of tacky, but all that gunk and grime can actually accelerate corrosion that eats the paint. Driving through an automatic car wash will help but your best bet is to have your car thoroughly cleaned and waxed once a month.

2. Having Improperly Inflated Tires: Over-inflation can cause additional heat to build up in your tires because the rubber has to flex more, and this will reduce your fuel economy. Under-inflation makes it difficult to handle your car and reduces your ability to brake safely. Invest in a tire pressure gauge, read your owner's manual and the sides of your tires, and make sure the pressure is right. You'll drive better AND save gas.

3. Riding Your Clutch: If your car is a stick-shift, please don't rest your foot on the clutch. Doing so can cause the clutch plate to slip, and wear prematurely, and even slight pressure is enough to keep it from fully engaging when you need it. It's also a bad idea to keep your clutch depressed when you're stopped at a traffic light. (Keeping your foot on the brake while driving is equally unwise.)

4. Over-Revving the Engine: That red line on your speedometer may indicate the maximum permissible engine speed of your car, but you shouldn't actually operate the vehicle at that speed. Why? Because speeding at high rpm (revolutions per minute) your engine is under enormous stress, and even the slightest imbalance will be exaggerated, especially if you are revving for a long time. The result? You could blow a connecting rod, causing a hefty repair bill. Most engines produce their peak power in the middle third of their rev band, and exceeding it is counterproductive, especially in normal traffic. Bear in mind, also, that the older a car is, the lower it's red line should be.

5. Skipping Oil Changes: The oil in your engine is as much the lifeblood of your car as the gas in the fuel tank, and, just as you should watch your cholesterol level to keep your heart healthy, you need to take care of the oil in your car. Just because the dipstick comes out wet does not mean the oil is okay. Grime, sludge and metal particles build up in the residue of old oil, so if you top off without cleaning everything, you're wasting money and hurting your car. Make sure you have the oil changed at regular intervals, and make sure the service station also changes the filter when necessary.

While some cars may still suck for other reasons, the reality is that many of us are making our cars suck because we don't perform regular maintenance, or because we're misusing our vehicles. Following these tips can't turn a lemon into lemonade, but it can keep you from spending huge amounts of cash for repairs that could have been prevented.