I seem to have a problem that to my knowlege has not been addressed:     Due to gasolene increases I have been taking the advise of the experts on how to save money at the gas pump.  Consequently, I use my car as little as possible, by walking everywhere that I possibly can, using my car only when necessary, about twice per week.     Apparently this has been causing me several auto repairs which my auto mechanics attribute to my car not being used enough.  The most recent being a $90.00 car battery, which did not last me near as long as the batteries when I was driving more frequently.     This situation has me baffled as it appears there is far less cost for me to fill up the tank more often, then to be paying high repair bills.    

I would appreciate your imput.

Sincerely,

Joan

I'm not a trained automotive expert, but I am an old car nut and have a '65 Impala in my garage that goes out once or twice a month. So I spend a lot of time with cars and people who love cars.

There's no reason that you should have to use your car more than once or twice a week. A modern battery and charging system should work fine under these circumstances. Most replacement batteries specify an expected life (i.e. 60 month, 72 month, etc). If you get much less than that there's probably something wrong with the charging system (alternator, voltage regulator) or a slow drain on the system. If all of your trips are very, very short you can buy a 'trickle charger' that will keep your battery charged. They run about $50 and are very easy to use. But, even that shouldn't be necessary if the car is being driven a couple of times a week.

As to the rest of the car, a twice a week drive shouldn't cause any problems. Generally a car needs to sit for months before gaskets and seals will give you trouble. Gasoline should be good in your tank for 6 months or more.

Perhaps your mechanic knows something that I don't, but I hang around people who use their collector cars infrequently. And, how to store cars that aren't used is a common topic for discussion. My guess is that he's just using that as an excuse for things that were going to go bad anyway due to age.

I'd go back to walking and see what happens.  

 Keep on Stretching those Dollars!

Gary