What You Need to Know about Car Care

May 10, 2008 – 9:50 pm

by Ricardo Daryans

Let’s face it, some folks derive immense pleasure from getting down on their knees and scrubbing away at their wheels with a toothbrush. What’s more, there are people who actually get into changing their own oil, swapping out air filters and even think it’s cool to add fluids to those enigmatic holes positioned all over their engines.

On the other side, there are others who don’t give a rodent’s posterior about car care and can’t even manage to spray a hose on their vehicle once a month. If you’re part of the former crowd, stop reading, this article isn’t for you. Go on and get back to your pristine machine and have at it with your dental instruments and filter wrenches.

If your are in the group of owner that don’t know the first thing about car care, this article is meant to scare you and tune you up a little. This is going to hurt where it hurts the most: Your wallet. What where you thinking?

Do you realize that your lack of car care is going to cost cash money? Those Blue Book values that you drool over at trade-in or selling time are based on vehicles that have not been neglected. Not giving your car a bath on a regular basis is neglect. Not changing your oil according to a schedule is neglect. And, “neglect” translates to less money when it time to move on to a new ride. The good news is, with a few minor tweaks to your regular car care routine, you can whip your vehicle into re-sale shape in no time.

Be advised: this is not necessarily the best solution, it’s what works for thos that can’t find the time or joy for car caring. Ok, to get started, let’s do some cleaning. Find a touchless car wash. If you car is really filthy, any gas station wash will do. This is just to clean it up a bit.

Ok, now find a parking lot detailer. He can get your car looking pretty good for some $10-$40. You can also get some extra services like clay bars, rubbing compunds and touch-up paint if your car shows oxidation, fading or swirling. It would cost a little more, but can make the difference.

Now, don’t skip the interior, you will thank me for this. By the time your car is ready, you will be surprised how your car will look like. Up until now, you haven’t really worked at all, other than driving to the car wash and spending a few dollars.

Next, the big step in the car care conundrum - going under the hood. Of course, you’re not going there, and here’s why, it’s cheaper and easier to pay the guy at the quick change oil place to do your dirty work. If you find a reputable place, they’ll get you fixed up in a jiffy (no pun intended). They can perform many services at a reasonable cost.

You can be sure they’ve seen worse, so don’t be embarrased whey they show your battery terminals reduced to some flaky, white gunk. They may offer to change your air filter (good for improving gas mileage), or they may offer to “flush the cooling system” or “replace the transmission oil”, etc. Your car may need it, but be careful you don’t spend a lot here because they see you as a sucker. Just my experience.

Now, with a little car car your ride is looking and running like you never thought it could. You will no longer be embarrased to be seeing in it. Your next date will be surprised and you will be proud.

How do you like that? Maybe you would like to keep it that way? It’s really not that hard. Just keep doing the steps we mentioned, wash it and change the oil every once in a while. Once you start, you will see that car care habit is not so bad. You might even give car covers, seat covers or exhaust system a try.

Remember that if you take care of your car, it will go much farther.

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Tags: Cars