You know that life expectancy in this country has been gradually increasing during this century. But did you know that in the last decade, there's been a dramatic increase in the life expectancy of cars?
Ten years ago, a car might last 125,000 miles. Today's cars often last 200,000 miles. Trucks that used to need rebuilding after 500,000 miles stand a good chance of lasting a million miles before anyone needs to rebuild the engine.What has changed? Keith Dobson from VehiCare, a company that specializes in preventive maintenance, says the reason is that the new car and truck engines burn cleaner than ever before.
"The cleaner an engine burns," he states, "the longer the life of the engine."
He goes on to explain that when an engine doesn't burn clean, the resulting soot increases friction. It's friction that wears out the parts and shortens the engine's life.
Today, not only are engines better engineered, but lubricants work better and last longer. The new synthetic lubricants don't need to be changed as often.
"If you're driving a truck," Dobson points out, "and you used to have to drain about 42 quarts of oil every 15,000 miles, today, depending on size of the truck, you may be able to take your truck out to 30,000 miles. That means you only have half as much oil to get rid of."
With cars, the drain cycle is also getting longer. In Dobson's experience, this varies tremendously according to make of car. In some cars, you're expected to change the oil every 3,000 miles, while with others it's 15,000 miles.
"It's something to consider when buying a car," he says. "If you're like me, I don't like to have to get my oil changed every time I turn around. It's a convenience factor."
Dobson is interested in all these issues because the company he works for, VehiCare, provides preventive maintenance on commercial truck fleets. For him, good engineering helps prolong the life of a vehicle, but preventive maintenance is also critically important. He particularly likes to quote the Maintenance Council's figure, that every $1 spent on preventive maintenance saves an average of $7 in repairs.
His company's focus is on making that maintenance as convenient and affordable as possible.
For more information, write to Dobson at: 701 East Franklin Street, Richmond, VA 23219-2510 or call him at 804-225 0982. The fax is 804-225 0946.