Getting Your Car Ready For Spring

Spring is almost upon us, and it’s time to start getting your car ready for the awesome weather! If your car made it through the harsh cold and nasty snowstorms that accompanied it, chances are those conditions did a number on your vehicle. There are a handful of vehicle upkeep aspects you should check your car for.

• The first and easiest to notice is your vehicle’s wheel alignment. If your wheels are misaligned, you’ll notice an increased amount of effort required to keep your car moving straight. Even with your steering wheel centered, it’ll frequently veer to one side or another. It’s vital to check for this before concluding it’s the tires causing the issue. Buying tires before you need them unnecessarily ties up hundreds of your hard-earned dollars.
• It’s important that you check your tire tread often. The gradual wear and tear should be spread evenly across the tire; if it’s concentrated in a certain area it may need to be replaced. Placing the edge of a penny into the tread of the tire is the best way to check the tire’s tread depth. The red flag to look out for is if the tire’s tread doesn’t cover roughly a fifth of the penny.
• It’s generally accepted that cold weather negatively impacts batteries. Harsh climate can cause your battery to deteriorate rapidly. The consequences of a weaker battery are obvious, with the most notable being a severely reduced margin of error. To be more specific, situations in which your battery are pushed to its limits would now likely result in failure instead.
• Look in to your coolant levels. If you’ve seen the coolant signal lighten up on your dashboard, and put it off due to the cold weather, make sure you remember to get it taken care of. Most vehicles have a line or indicator that denotes how much coolant goes into the compartment. Keep an eye out for that indicator; you don’t want to waste time having to add coolant to your vehicle more than once.
• Maintaining the brakes can be tricky. They can still require a great deal of maintenance despite the fact they function correctly. The car can jerk, or become rough and/or noisy when you brake yet the brake check light doesn’t come on. If you think your brakes may require a looking at, consult a mechanic. Unless you are one, don’t make those kinds of calls yourself!
• Enough about maintenance though! 🙂 Of equal importance to functionality is the cleanliness of your vehicle. Any car that’s been through rough weather looks like, well, a car that’s been through rough weather. All sorts of grime has probably built up, and it doesn’t take an expert to recommend that you clean it off! A detail is always recommended, but there are proper ways to clean your car that would greatly extend the time till your vehicle needs another one.
  • A few tips to remember when you wash your car; Don’t just use any old soap, use one that’s specifically made for car exteriors. Never wash your car in direct sunlight; the heat in conjunction with the pressure of the cleaning can thin the paint out.
  • The quick and novice method for washing your car yourself: After lathering your vehicle, use a mist nozzle to spray your car down. Get on the old hands and knees and have at your vehicle with a sponge and bucket.  Dry your vehicle with a natural-fiber drying cloth to ensure the smoothest dry possible.
  • If you’re really about taking care of your vehicle, you’ll leave no stone unturned. You’re likely aware of all the salt you’ve driven over during the wintertime. Some of the salt you drive over sticks, and if left there can corrode the bottom of your car. This leads to rust issues that can put you at risk and/or reduce the overall value of your car if you want to sell it.

Interested in giving your car a ‘Spring Cleaning’?  Contact us today for a professional auto detailing from bumper to bumper!

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www.MMAutoDetailing.com
(860) 430-1889