5 Tips to Keep your Car Looking New Inside and Out
A new car is always accompanied by a high financial investment. So it is only understandable that the new proud owner of the vehicle has an extremely great interest in ensuring that his vehicle also looks like new for as long as possible – both on the outside and on the inside.
In the context of correct car care, however, there are then a few tips to keep in mind. The following article explains what these are.
Regular washing
It is essential to wash the car regularly. Otherwise, the edges of the sheet metal or the sensitive components of the vehicle in particular will be extremely susceptible to rust. However, there is also a great risk of corrosion from broken paint spots and scratches if they are covered with dirt over a long period of time.
Regular washing is therefore an absolute prerequisite for ensuring that the vehicle looks like a new car for as long as possible. If the vehicle is frequently driven on unpaved roads, parked exclusively outdoors or driven on salty roads in winter, washing should also be carried out even more frequently. The same applies if tree sap or bird droppings are visible on the paint.
The polishing of the vehicle
Regardless of whether the vehicle was washed in a car wash, in a wash box or completely on your own – a subsequent polish promises special care for the car.
Nevertheless, the vehicle must never be polished after each wash. In the course of polishing, there is always a certain amount of removal of the clear coat. However, polishing is recommended once a year, especially when the first scratches appear in the paintwork or it appears very dull.
Cleaning the interior
A regular car wash and polish can ensure that the vehicle always looks as good as new on the outside.
However, the interior of the car should of course also resemble a new vehicle. This can be a challenge, especially in winter, as a lot of dirt and grime from outside is carried into the interior during this time. But also in the other months of the year, dust settles in the vehicle interior or the plastic fades due to sunlight. Thus, a thorough and regular cleaning of the interior of the vehicle is also indispensable. The more frequently this is carried out, the less effort is required.
Within the scope of interior cleaning, some fixed work steps should be followed, which are considered to be tried and tested. The first step is to remove the floor mats from the interior and shake them out vigorously. If a little trash has accumulated in the vehicle, it should be tracked down and disposed of accordingly. The vacuum cleaner is then used. If the seats are found to be dirty, the use of upholstery foam or other suitable cleaner is recommended. The interior fittings should also be treated with plastic care.
Interior cleaning in detail
If there is coarse dirt on the floor mats, it can first be shaken off outside. Many car washes have special grids for beating out the mats. There are also trash cans in which waste from the vehicle interior can be disposed of.
Some of the vacuum cleaners at the service stations are free of charge, but in some cases you have to pay for them with small change. Of course, in principle, it is also possible to vacuum the vehicle at home – but then a powerful vacuum cleaner with a long cord or a cordless battery vacuum cleaner is absolutely necessary.
If the vehicle has seats made of fabric, upholstery foam is the right way to remove dirt from them. For leather seats, on the other hand, retailers offer special leather cleaning agents. However, if the stains on the seats are quite extensive, it is usually better to have them cleaned by a specialist.
Special interior spray is ideally used for plastic surfaces. This is then to be wiped off with a cloth made of microfiber.
Do not neglect: The inspection
A new car or a vehicle that can convince all along the line with its new car appearance is not only dependent on a flawless appearance, but also on a flawless function. For this reason, a conscientious vehicle care also includes the inspection.
When the inspection of the vehicle is due, is quite different between the various vehicle manufacturers. However, the relevant information can be found both in the vehicle’s operating instructions and in the service booklet.
It is very important to keep to the prescribed inspection intervals, especially with regard to maintaining the vehicle’s warranty. If a proper inspection is missed, the manufacturer may refuse to reimburse a claim even during the actual warranty period. However, modern vehicles usually show the next inspection date automatically on the display, so that the risk of forgetting is extremely low.
In principle, it does not matter which workshop is visited to carry out the inspection. However, it is important that the workshop is able to carry out exactly the work prescribed by the respective manufacturer. In addition, the workshop must be able to make a corresponding entry in the service booklet.
Preventing depreciation
But even if all these tips are strictly observed: The disadvantage of a new car is always that it suffers a very high loss in value, especially in its first four years.
Nevertheless, the described handling of the vehicle leads to the residual value being kept as high as possible in the long term – after all, comprehensive and correct care is the absolute basic prerequisite for this.
In addition to the care and maintenance of the vehicle, however, other factors can be identified that have a significant influence on the loss or retention of value of a vehicle. These include, for example, whether the vehicle is smoked in, whether it is parked in the garage or outdoors, or whether it has already suffered accident damage.
Of course, every vehicle owner has a vested interest in keeping the depreciation of his car as low as possible. A particularly crucial point in this context is the location of the vehicle. If the vehicle is parked exclusively outdoors, it is exposed to many different risks, such as marten bites, damage caused by intense sunlight or salt thrown up in winter. Not to be neglected is also the fact that removing tree sap or bird droppings are extremely unpopular tasks. If these are not carried out, however, these substances inflict extremely serious damage on the vehicle’s paintwork.
In terms of maintaining the value of the vehicle, it is therefore a recommended measure to invest in a carport or garage.
