Recommended Maintenance on a car not Driven Much

Maintenance/Repairs
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I have a 2005 Camry that I don’t plan on driving much. First time I have had to consider time recommendations over mileage. Should all time constrained maintenance, such as changing your oil once every 6 months (even if you don’t go 5000 miles in that time) be strictly followed? Opinions seem to vary from person to person. I can see how if you just let your car sit, that it could cause some problems. But I figured if I start it monthly and get up to operating temperature, I should be ok? Moisture can find it’s way into the engine and transmission, bringing it up to operating temperature might help remove some of the moisture, so don’t have to worry about oxidization?

Not entirely sure. Even if I take the stance that time doesn’t matter, I see the argument that it would likely matter, if we are talking years upon years. Perhaps 20 year old sitting in a car is likely not a good idea, even if it has only driven less than 100 miles on it in 20 years.

2

Tester

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If you drive ypur car only once a month it likely won’t start on month 2 unless you use a battery maintainer clipped to the battery and plugged in.

I suggest using synthetic oil and changing it once a year no matter the miles. Brake fluid flush every 3 years, coolant every 5 years and drive it twice a month for.30 minutes.

Or sell it and take a cab or Uber instead.

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When I’m not driving my car much, whether due to illness or on vacation, I have the oil changed every 6 months ( twice a year ) regardlessly. Lexus and the guys on CarTalk recommend changing the oil once a year but I choose to do twice a year for personal preference. Mustang is right on the brake liquid — every 3 years service. I don’t know about the transmission oil in your case but I’d change that too every 5 years.

Toyota charges $120 for an oil change using synthetic oil. $240 per year isn’t bad.