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Location: When things get hot they expand. Im not fat. Im hot.
2,513 posts, read 6,323,285 times
Reputation: 5317
Thanks for all the info guys. Well. Sounds like me and my car need to get a life. I'm a typical introvert. I'm way too comfortable with my own company. Looks like a need to grocery shop further away from home.
I've been taking my car in every 6mo for an oil change and a checkup. I figure since I don't drive that much all the crud is probably settling in the bottom. I will ask them to pay special attention to the belts and gaskets.
I shouldn't have any rat problems. I have two Golden Retrievers next door who think my yard is their yard. My husband used to sit on the patio and visit with them. I also have a few woodpile cats.
And its going to be a minute before I can get the car in the garage. My husband was a hoarder. Ive been sorting and tossing and taking stuff to the Goodwill (a mile away). Im also gathering stuff up for auction.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,551 posts, read 81,085,957 times
Reputation: 57750
Quote:
Originally Posted by arr430
Then there is the "Italian Tune-up". If a car is driven rarely or only in town, should you take it out on the highway periodically and "open her up"?
I call that "Blowing out the cobwebs" and yes, I do that sometime when one of ours has only done local driving for a month or more. I only work in the office twice a week now but that's 20 minutes at 70 on the freeway each way. My wife is retired but also gets a run on the freeway once a week driving to Seattle to volunteer in our grandson's classroom.
I didn't drive my car pretty much at all for like 2 months or so at the start of the pandemic. After that I went on like weekly drives of a few miles to a local park that were like if anything more about getting out of the house. Regular use didn't start again until the late spring of 2021. The primary effect to be honest was on the tires. They deflated a ton in that 2 months span of not using the car.
If you are parking in a garage with power, you can put a Battery Tender or similar trickle charger on the battery and I do this with cars I don't necessarily drive often.
A good long drive that gets the oil up to temperature once a week to once a month is best, I agree that a short period of idling is about the worst thing you can do.
Thanks for all the info guys. Well. Sounds like me and my car need to get a life. I'm a typical introvert. I'm way too comfortable with my own company. Looks like a need to grocery shop further away from home.
I've been taking my car in every 6mo for an oil change and a checkup. I figure since I don't drive that much all the crud is probably settling in the bottom. I will ask them to pay special attention to the belts and gaskets.
I shouldn't have any rat problems. I have two Golden Retrievers next door who think my yard is their yard. My husband used to sit on the patio and visit with them. I also have a few woodpile cats.
And its going to be a minute before I can get the car in the garage. My husband was a hoarder. Ive been sorting and tossing and taking stuff to the Goodwill (a mile away). Im also gathering stuff up for auction.
Being an introvert shouldn't really affect how much you drive. You can get in the car and go somewhere without the need to deal with any other humans OP. There are more potential destinations than some grocery store. Discover them! Your time is probably yours to spend now more than almost any other time in your life.
You don't drive much and still take the car in for an oil change every 6 months? That's a waste of $, oil, and time.
Being able to extend your car's useful life should provide a good incentive to clear space in the garage. It will thank you!
Location: When things get hot they expand. Im not fat. Im hot.
2,513 posts, read 6,323,285 times
Reputation: 5317
Quote:
Originally Posted by Parnassia
Being an introvert shouldn't really affect how much you drive. You can get in the car and go somewhere without the need to deal with any other humans OP. There are more potential destinations than some grocery store. Discover them! Your time is probably yours to spend now more than almost any other time in your life.
You don't drive much and still take the car in for an oil change every 6 months? That's a waste of $, oil, and time.
Being able to extend your car's useful life should provide a good incentive to clear space in the garage. It will thank you!
I cant speak for all introverts but for me it does affect how much I drive. I dont have any one to visit. And I dont have any place I need or want to go. I hate grocery shopping so I put it off as long as I can. I do better if I schedule stuff so I figure I need to schedule some day trips to Costco (20 mi) once or twice a month. Usually I order online.
Im working on the garage/barn but its going to take a while. The cars going to have to chill for now.
I don't drive as much as I used to - used to be 50 miles a day but now it might be that much in a busy week. 2017 with 13K miles on it.
I try to give it a good run about every 10-14 days if it's only been driven shorter distances for a few outings. I'll go to the Walmart or Lowes in the next town, for example, or on the other side of my town rather than the ones closest to me. Or I'll take the scenic route to and from my destination. Miles can add up that way plus it's good for the mind to see new things. I make a point of including some freeway driving in those outings so it can clear its cobwebs and I can clear mine.
I'm an introvert too and not a social butterfly but I find I enjoy my time in the car just observing the world around me. I hadn't thought about a connection between being an introvert and driving. That's a new point of view for me.
I don't drive as much as I used to. I travel by plane a lot resulting in my vehicles often sitting parked for 2 or 3 weeks at a time. One vehicle is a truck which I need for towing and construction projects. I make a point of taking it on a 300 mile roundtrip once or twice per month. The other vehicle is a city vehicle which is used to run errands. Most of the trips are about 5 miles round trip. It is the one that sits the most and I have little need to drive it more than an occasional 20 mile roundtrip for a Costco run or to visit family in a nearby town. I am ready for an oil change on this vehicle after only about 1000 miles.
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