Ok, so I'm a delivery driver for the local pizza place (don't laugh, it pays better than most jobs around here). Anyway, obviously this puts a LOT of miles on my car, so I was wondering if there were any tips you guys could give me on maintaining my vehicle, and keeping it in tip-top shape for as long as possible (it's already showing problems from it's previous owner, so I suppose death is inevitable.)

For those who need to know it's a Chevy Cavalier '98 with approx 108,500 miles on it.

Currently it has the following problems:

Starts VERY hard when 'cold'. Oddly enough it will start better at night, but it usually takes quite a few seconds before it will actually start.

A/C doesn't work (no biggy)

Transmission SEEMS to have some kind of an issue (Sometimes, particularly when on a hill, shifting from Park to Reverse or Drive will be met with a fairly loud clanking sound)

Gas Mileage seems to be sub-par for the model of car it is.

I know next to NOTHING about vehicles, so, all of the diagnostics above are just me blowing smoke and making best guesses. Any tips would be really great.

So far I'm doing some of the following things to try to keep it running smooth:

Fuel System Cleaners every 5-10 tank refills (wherever I get the chance to add the cleaner in between those two numbers.

Oil changes monthly (or every 4,000 miles)

just changed all of the spark-plugs, too.


So, again, any tips would be helpful.

Frankly, in this modern age, 108,000 miles isn't much.

Suggestions...

Find your manual, and do a tuneup for your next interval. It'll probably be the 120,000 one, but do it now, since you haven't had a tuneup recently.

Have the transmission serviced. They'll probably want to change the gasket too.

Have your coolant system serviced. They'll flush it, refill it with fresh antifreeze, and check it for leaks.

Replace your drive belts and timing belt, if it doesn't have a chain that doesn't need to be replaced. Since the belts are off, change the water pump too.

Have your air conditioning system checked, serviced if need be, and recharged.

Changing your oil at 4,000 miles is fine.

Forget the gasoline additives, they're a scam.

If you do these things, as long as you tune it to the manual, and change the oil regularly, the car could easily be with you another 100,000 miles if you'd like.

Taking care of an older car, is a hell of a lot cheaper than buying a new car, and making payments on it. Total cost of everything I talked about above, should be under $1,000.

Will it still be that cheap with the cost of labor and everything?

I think so. Ask around and find a good independent shop, and avoid a GM dealer for these types of services. Your car is long out of warranty anyway.

Priorities on this list would be the tuneup, transmission service, and cooling system service. The guts of what makes it work and run properly.

Have them inspect the drive belts, and now, come to think about it, I think the 4 cylinder engine you probably have in there has a timing chain, and not a belt. Not sure on that one, but if true, it would save you a bit of money.

Fuel additives are on the whole rubbish but the oil additives aren't.

They can reduce engine ware and improve fuel efficiency. The type of thing you see advertised on these half hour infomercials on late night TV.

One of the best things to do is make sure that your tyres are in good shape and at the correct pressure. You can have the best car in the world but the bit that dose all of the "work" is the tyres they are the only thing in contact with the road...
(check out the tracking, it's a good idea that those tyres are facing the right way)