Spring Car Care Your Car Needs Now

Say goodbye to the dreary cold winter months and hello to the beautiful blooms of spring. It’s time to start cleaning up! Spring cleaning as we all call it, windows, woodwork, carpets...well, you get the picture. Open everything up and breathe in that fresh spring air.

Spring is also a perfect time to freshen up our vehicles. Let’s once again start with the basics. Check those tires again. As the temperature rises, so does the pressure. Check on the driver door frame and adjust tire pressure to the manufacturer’s specifications.

Check for sidewall damage. Those pesky winter potholes can do a number on a tire. Check for bubbles (impact breaks), and consider investing in an alignment.

Check the fluids. This should be done often. The change of season is a great reminder.

Consult your manual or service advisor for maintenance due, especially engine and cabin air filters. Cabin filters will help collect pollen in the air and keep it out of the vehicle. Folks with allergies will thank you.

A clean vehicle is a happy vehicle. If possible, a professional detail job is a great idea, because it really gets into those nooks and crannies to remove salt and road grime. Professionals can also detail the interior. Salt residue should be removed from your car’s floor carpets so that water from April showers doesn’t mix with the salt and cause brine to accumulate on the metal floor pans under the carpets.

If a professional detail is not in the budget, use the convenient local car wash. Washing your vehicle once or twice a month in the spring can help remove that salt residue without breaking the bank. Spring showers will wash away that salt, but unfortunately it gets redeposited on your vehicle as you drive through standing roadside water.

Cheaper still and just as effective is your good old-fashioned garden hose. Rinse everything, paint, wheels, tires, wheel wells and underneath the vehicle. Soap is not needed for the underside of the vehicle; we are just rinsing off the salt. Do this a couple times just to be thorough.

Having a clean, well-maintained vehicle will not only save you money on fuel and repair costs, it will enable you to keep your vehicle looking good and performing efficiently. Following these few simple steps can help your vehicle provide you with years of reliable service.

by Jeffrey Stein ELPS Private Detective Agency