No car lasts forever, but some do last longer than others. If you want to get the most value out of your car, looking at expected mileage is perhaps the most important thing.
The Chevy Equinox actually, may last longer than many of its competitors.
So how long will a Chevy Equinox last?
With regular maintenance and typical driving habits, you can expect to get around 150,000 to 200,000 miles out of your car. The average for newer models is a bit lower, in the 100,000 to 150,000 range.
Now, how exactly is a car’s life expectancy determined, and what can you do to get the most miles out of it? We’ll get into all of that below. With the right care, there’s no reason your Equinox can’t go well beyond 200,000 and join the high mileage club.
It’s the Transmission
Every part of your car is going to experience wear and tear over the years. Even the glovebox is eventually going to give out with frequent use. But when we talk about the life expectancy of a car in miles, we’re usually talking about the transmission.
The engine is important too, of course, but it’s not unusual for an engine to outlast the transmission.
Of course, if you really love your car, you can always rebuild it. In general, however, a car is considered to be more or less “dead” when the cost of fixing it is more than it’s worth.
To a restorer, a car can always be brought back to life. To the average driver, we need to think practically about the cost of keeping a car on the road.
Chevy Equinox: More Miles
If you look at the record holders for cars with the most miles, you’ll see vehicles topping one, two, even three million with the original engine and transmission.
Time will tell if the newer Equinoxes can handle that, but here are some tips that might just get you another hundred thousand miles.
- Give your car time to warm up on cold mornings. Nothing takes miles off your car like revving a cold engine.
- Ease into it when you shift. A lot of drivers treat their transmission like a video game controller. It’s more like a guitar string. Don’t jerk it in and out of drive and reverse.
- Keep your tires properly aired up. Deflated tires put more labor on your vehicle to keep it moving.
- Read your owner’s manual from front to back, and follow the maintenance schedule to the letter.
- Keep your motor oil and other fluids topped off. Check your levels once a month and whenever you have the hood open.
- Change your automatic transmission fluid every 40,000 miles. This can help you get a lot more road out of your transmission.
- Don’t rest your hand on the gear shift. It won’t do much damage to do it every now and then, but if you make a habit of it over five, ten years, it will take a toll on your transmission.
- Drive regularly, at least once a week, but don’t make a bunch of short trips. If it’s less than a mile, it might be better to walk, or wait to make that trip when you’re already heading in that direction.
- Use synthetic motor oil and transmission oil. These need less frequent changes and run a little cleaner.
You can always learn more driving and maintenance habits to prolong the life of your vehicle.
These are just a few that make a big difference. Five minutes spent reading up on how to care for your car could make the difference of keeping it on the road for several more years.
It’s an Investment
Don’t put off basic maintenance because you don’t feel like spending the money. It might cost you a bit right now, but it will save you the price of a whole car in a few years.
Read your Vehicle History, and learn how to get the most out of your car.
