Take care of your fucking car. That's pretty much it. If you are going to be racing your car at the drag strips consistently, don't expect it to last 200,000 miles with mostly original parts. My '07 Chevy Tahoe is around 170,000 miles, and while I speed a lot in the car and use it for hauling and delivery as well as the occasional off road (I'm from the Bronx so its not that often). It will hit 200,000 in the next year or so because I drive that much. I also maintain everything very well. For the most part, the car is original. I've had to rebuild/replace the tranny three times, it has new brakes, and I need to rewire part of the stereo system soon and do some body work on worn down plastic. But other than that, the car runs like brand new. Most of the car is original.

I'm actually an aspiring mechanical engineer. My cousins, my grandpa, and my uncles are all either mechanics, highway patrolmen, or racers. One of my cousins owns a '69 Charger that has been passed down, and for the most part it is numbers matching. It is still his daily driver. He is great with transmissions, his brother is great with engines, and they never pushed the car too hard. We had a Plymouth Fury in our family for thirty years. We had a Plymouth Reliant for 25 years. Hell, the Grand Caravan we had growing up made it to 150,000 with us before we sold it to our neighbors, and I actually saw it recently. 350,000 fucking miles. Insane. Almost all original parts. Yeah, the engine has been rebuilt, but it still is pretty much original.

So for my tips, just take care of your damn car. When a light comes on, check out what it is telling you to check out. When you see rust appearing, figure out what is causing it and what you can do about it. Don't push your car harder than it can handle. And most of all, don't be an idiot while driving.