How To Keep Your Car In Perfect Shape

Buying a car puts a hole in your pocket. If you don’t take good care of it, you are likely to end up with a lot of repair bills and a much bigger hole in your pocket. You don’t want that, do you? All you need to do is give your car a little attention and love, and it will surely love you back and stay by your side for a long long time. Here’s your to-do list.

• Give it a warm bath once a month

Seeing your neat and clean, shiny car in the morning just naturally lifts up your mood. Seeing your car dirty and stained does the complete opposite. You leave home in a frustrated mood. Besides, no one wants to sit in your ugly looking car. That is why, treating your car to a nice warm bath is absolutely necessary to maintain its beauty. 

How often you need to wash your car depends on the kind of neighborhood you drive in. If your car is exposed to a lot of dirt and mud, you need to wash it at least twice a month. But if it spends most of its time in dirt-free areas, one wash a month is good enough to keep it cute as a button.

• Clean the insides twice a month

Cleaning the insides of your car is just as important as the outside, may be more. You only see the car’s face, but it’s the cabin where you sit and enjoy your drive. Keeping it neat and tidy makes your travel times more fun and comfortable. Keeping a clean interior also helps maintain the resale value of your car. 

Taking the trash out, cleaning all the windows and glass shields, vacuuming the whole cabin, brushing the floor mats, washing the seat covers, and dusting off the mechanical parts, all are part of the cleaning process. It only takes half an hour to do all this, and you can definitely spare that time on the weekends. 

• Tuck it in nicely under the covers

Parking your car in a shade and dirt-free place is appreciated. But make sure you also cover it up at night times to save it from rain, snow, dirt, and bird shits. Keeping the car properly covered will also help you steer clear of thefts. A cover will keep the contents inside your car out of plain sight and make it look ordinary. Also, if a thief wants to steal your car, the extra time to remove your car cover can be the difference between them getting caught or not. 

• Refresh the paint every six months

Even if you clean your car every other month, the body paint is bound to fade with time. Then there are the inevitable scruffs and scratches that make a brand new car old and wrinkly. It’s not like you can keep your car in a bubble, right? So what can you do about the fading and chipping paint? Give it a little touch up every once in a while.

Using the right car paint, you can easily get rid of the small scratches at home and make your car brand-new. There are paint markers, pastes, sprays, and all kinds of products. You can choose the one that best suits your needs and feels like the easiest to handle. 

• Service your car regularly

Looks matter a lot, but they are not all. You also need to take care of the mechanical parts of your car to keep it in the best condition. That means changing all the fluids, replacing the air filter, inspecting the tyres, testing the lights, replacing the windshield wipers, checking the brakes, etc. If you are a car expert, you can easily do this at home. If not, you can go to your mechanic and get a proper car servicing. 

If your car is in good shape, you will stay in love with it for a longer time. You and your family will enjoy every ride and have more fun. You will also trust the car and feel safer during travels. If you haven’t taken good care of your car and done some damage, you can still turn things around. It’s never too late to show your car some love and heal everything.