Prolonging life of car, are there things I can/should do?

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My 10 yr old Kia has tipped 100000 miles today. I'm the second owner, it had about 80k when I bought it. It seems to have been looked after, I've never had any issues, good service history. I'm a sensible driver but I remember when people used to say that was the expected life span of a car! Should I do anything particular to prolong its life? How long do you think it could last? Money is really tight for us and I wouldn't be able to replace it, would just have to manage without so I'm a bit anxious.

my renault kangoo has just done 240, 000 it is possible
to keep a car going much longer than that but you need to look after it
the engine works best if it gets a longer run at least once a week
keep an eye on the oil levels, tyre pressures etc yourself
drive well use gears so if you see traffic lights ahead that you know will be red before you get there just slow down using gears rather than driving at 30 then braking
wash it regularly especially underneath as in winter the salt on roads can damage the underside, if you can keep it garaged or undercover even betterif you hear an odd noise investigate
read forums to see what problems your model is liable to
but start saving for a new car now put aside what you can I start saving for my next second hand car when I buy one
any car with valid MOT of several months and not a rust bucket is worth over £1000 however old

drive well use gears so if you see traffic lights ahead that you know will be red before you get there just slow down using gears rather than driving at 30 then braking

You shouldn’t be using the gears to slow down. “Gears to go, brakes to slow”

As for general care, a service every year or 10k miles is a good idea even if it’s just an oil/filter change. Check fluid levels and tyre tread/pressure weekly. Monitor fuel consumption using the brim-to-brim method, a sudden drop in economy can be a warning sign that something’s not right. Get it MOT’d 3-4 weeks before expiry, that way you’re not running around at the last minute.

Use it less. I'd expect there are journeys you could walk, others where you could consolidate several into a few, for example.

Get it serviced regularly , at a minimum change the oil every year or 10k miles. Change the oil more frequently if you can afford it. Many people believe that this protects the engine. You can buy 5L oil from Amazon for maybe 40 quid and get a mobile mechanic to change it for about 80 quid.
Make sure it's the right oil as per the manual or ask main dealer which one.
They will probably say something like 5w30 synthetic. Choose a good brand, Castrol, shell, total etc

The using gears to slow down advice is out of date - in the past, fixing most clutch problems was a simple replace a cable job : cheaper than break pads.
In modern cars clutch replacement is more like 500-1000+ and break pads cost less.

Regular servicing and good luck are what's needed - to answer the OP

Use high mileage synthetic oil. Change oil every 3000 miles.

How old is the battery?

How long since last thorough tune up and wheel balance?

Does it have a cam belt? has that been changed?

Thank you everyone. Lots of things I hadn't thought about. I don't even know the age of the battery or about the cam belt. I'd be surprised if the cam belt has been changed, I don't recall reading that in the history & think I'd have remembered that. Would very happy if I could get another 50000 out of it but it seems luck is a big factor!

Open the bonnet and have a look, most garages put a sticker when they do the cambelt.

have a Google to check it does have one not a chain though!

mines over 20 years old and going strong.

You shouldn’t be using the gears to slow down. “Gears to go, brakes to slow”

Nothing wrong with engine braking if done correctly

100k miles is really nothing these days. Most modern engines, petrol or diesel, can easily get to 200k miles or more if maintained properly.

Regular oil and filter changes are the main thing you can do to prolong the life of your car. Pretty easy to do yourself if you are so inclined and want to save a few pennies Look it up on YouTube and you’ll probably find a guide to changing oil on your particular car. Or ask a garage to do it if you’re not confident.

As for the suggestion of use it less. Seriously? As I said 100k miles is nothing for modern cars. In the good old days of the British car industry, it was a major cause for celebration if your car managed to reach 100k miles. Many cars only had 5 digit odometers because the manufacturer didn’t expect them to get to 100k miles. Things have massively moved on, but many people don’t appreciate that and still think a 100k mile car will imminently self destruct.