Are upcoming long distance trips for the holidays going to wreak havoc on your car? Some Americans may mistakenly avoid long car trips because they fear the effects it will have on their cars. With proper maintenance, however, driving long distances to visit family and/or friends a few times a year (and particularly during the holidays) isn’t going to hurt. Here are a few things to think about, if you want to keep your car in its best working order.

Are Long Trips Bad For Your Car?

Actually — believe it or not — it’s the opposite. Really short trips (we’re talking 10 minutes or less) may do significant damage to your car. “During a short trip, your car’s engine never has a chance to reach its full operating temperature,” Cars.com explains. If you take a lot of short trips — say, if work is only seven minutes away — make sure to change your oil and auto transmission fluid relatively frequently. Failing to do so might ultimately leave you looking into transmission repair services or browsing used auto transmissions or truck transmissions for sale.

Wash Cars More During Snowy Winter Months

Statistics show that 77% of all cars already need some kind of repairs or maintenance. Don’t make the problem worse. Carefully take care of your car and keep up on preventative maintenance — and at all times of the year, too. Contribute a little less to the $58 billion car repair industry by washing your car as frequently as possible/necessary this winter. Remember, road salt can cause corrosion, among other problems. “During the winter, when there’s salt on the roads, wash your car’s undercarriage as often as possible. You’ll remove much of the salt that’s eating away your car, and that’s a good thing,” Cars.com continues.

With some common sense, taking a few long distance trips in your car is more than okay. Talk to one of the 87,032 U.S. auto mechanics about preventative maintenance, long distance travel, and winter car care, before it comes to searching for auto transmissions for sale.