# New car- real deal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 21, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-car-real-deal/115189 "2002-06-21T02:54:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-car-real-deal/115189/1 "2002-06-21T02:54:04Z")
A friend of mine (hmm, isn’t that how I start all my posts? But it’s true, I swear, it’s not about me) recently got a new car, right off the truck. Her mother cautioned her not to take it above 100 km/hr for the first thousand miles. While certainly not an expert, I told her that sounds like bull. Sure, don’t go crazy, but there’s only so much “easing in” (as she put it) a car can do. Well, any truth to the new car speed limit? I’m talkin’ hard evidence or recommendations from learned folks. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-car-real-deal/115189/2 "2002-06-21T03:27:25Z")
It does take around 500 miles for everything in the engine to seat. So keeping the speed down for awhile is good advice. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-car-real-deal/115189/3 "2002-06-21T05:31:23Z")
Read your owners manual. All the cars I’ve owned have talked about varying the speed and not driving (or braking hard) during the first 500 or 1000 miles. This is to help seat the rings and wear in the brakes, I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Khadro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Khadro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadro)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-car-real-deal/115189/4 "2002-06-21T05:49:32Z")
When we got a new engine put in one of our cars, we were told the same thing. Don’t go over 80km/h for 1000km or so, then we were supposed to take it back to them for a “retightening” of everything, once it had all settled. This last one was inclusive in the price of the engine, so it might even be necessary, not just another way to get your money from your wallet to theirs. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2002, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-car-real-deal/115189/5 "2002-06-21T13:24:05Z")
It’s a standard warning on a new car. There are different variations, and in the past you did have to take the car in at 1000 miles for a check and oil change (that was usually covered under warranty). Now the check isn’t always required. Some cars only tell you not to drive at one speed for a long time; if you’re on a highway, drive at 80 km/hr for about ten minutes, then slow down to 70 for ten.