Taking Care of Our High Mileage Vehicles

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When it comes to cars I wish my family had shiny new low mileage cars – but that is not our reality.  I drive a 2007 Elantra and my daughters share a 2003 Oldsmobile – both high mileage vehicles.  And with three drivers and two cars this summer my family’s schedule is so busy that I rarely see my car and we need a spread sheet to figure out who has which car when!

My 22 year old daughter who just graduated from college, has what for her is a dream job this summer – working at a zoo.  She loves doing the hands on animal care, even if it means lots of cleaning cages and shoveling manure. Unfortunately her dream job is an hour away from our house, so the miles are adding up quickly on our vehicles.

My 19 year old daughter is studying nursing, and she decided she should take Microbiology over the summer to lighten up her course load this fall.  This makes sense, but the class is 45 minutes away three days a week, and of course in a completely different direction than her sister’s job. And she is also volunteering at a local hospital two days a week, more driving that needs to be scheduled in.

Then a few weeks ago my 16 year old son got his learner’s permit, so now I have three kids driving – a scary thought! On the rare occasions that we have a car available he always wants to “practice” and of course he has activities like scouts, sailing school and fun with friends that he wants transportation for.

So one thing we definitely don’t have any time for this summer is car repairs! We need both of our high mileage cars working well and in service for the entire summer, or our schedule will fall apart. That means we have to be proactive and keep on top of regular maintenance. Experts agree agree that the most important thing to do with a high mileage vehicle is change the oil regularly, every 3000 miles or 3 months.

Due to all the commuting my girls are doing this summer we are putting about 600 miles a week on my car and 300 miles a week on their car. Luckily it is convenient and easy to have the cars’ oil changed at Walmart, because we are going to need quite a few oil changes this summer.

I love that I can take the car to Walmart and have the oil changed while I shop.  Especially right now, when I have to plan my shopping trips around my daughters’ schedules, it is extremely helpful to be able to get two things done at once!  And Walmart uses Pennzoil Motor oil, which is designed to help clean out sludge lesser oils leave behind.  With preventative maintenance like Pennzoil oil changes I can feel confident that our cars continue to will provide us with the reliable transportation we need.

We use Pennzoil High Mileage Vehicle Oil, which helps to reduce leaks and oil consumption in worn or higher mileage engines. This motor oil is specifically designed for new or late model vehicles with over 75,000 miles, to help keep the engines running clean and going strong for a long time.