I had an aged used car in middle school and school that only survived as long as it did because I was diligent about the maintenance and care.
That meant taking it in for oil changes and liquid top-offs.
Usually the mechanic would do a quick inspection as well to see if there was anything apparent that needed to be fixed. As long as I was smart about staying up-to-date on these details, our car would stay on the road with fewer issues overall. The car was given to myself and others by our step dad and I took that situation extremely seriously, especially whenever I had repairs done to the engine for any reason. My time with this aged car was instructive for myself and others as I progressed in life. You have a lot of responsibilities where you have the lives others are put in your hands if you’re a parent or a caregiver, so why would you be careless with your fancy component care about vehicle, appliances, and the rest? My gas gas furnace is a superb example of this concept playing out in real time each year. I can’t afford to let the service and maintenance of our Heating and A/C component falter or I will freeze to death in our near subarctic Wintertide weather. It’s the end of April and all of us just had what I hope is our last snowfall of the year until November rolls around again. Furnace care is even more important with fuel systems care about gas because a poorly working gas furnace could result in toxic gas exposure to you and your family.