No matter how old your car is, taking care of it can make the difference between buying new parts now or later. At Panama City Toyota, you can purchase cleaning and maintenance supplies for your vehicle, no matter what you drive. Whether you’re planning a long trip with your car or just don’t want to run into any interruptions on your daily route, here below we’ll list a few ways you can keep your car moving strong so it can get you to your final destination with ease.
Image via Unsplash by Mason Jones
Driving Tips
There are lots of ways you can maintain your car without needing to visit a repair shop. Just driving your car a certain way, or keeping up with some daily practices, can help your car drive and handle better no matter your current road conditions. If you experience cold winters where you live, consider giving your car a chance to warm up before you go on a drive for the first time that day. Warming up a cold car can help the engine maintain the right operating temperature as you drive, instead of fighting the cold as soon as you leave.
This can help almost everything involved in the engine thaw out and be ready to go: from the gas and pistons themselves to the oil in your tank and the antifreeze that you might use throughout the season. If you live in a warmer climate, consider where you park when you get to your final destination. Parking in shady areas rather than in the sun not only can help keep your engine cool, but it can also help keep the paint, seats, and leather inside your car from wearing down or losing color.
For driving on your daily commute, another rule you can establish for yourself to help keep your car healthy is to not accelerate too fast unless absolutely necessary. Lessening the number of sudden starts and stops in your commute can help keep not only your brakes well padded, but can make things easier overall on your transmission and accelerator over time.
When not driving, try not to leave your car idle for too long. Ensuring that your car drives even a little for every hour you idle can help get oil to every area of your engine. This can help lubricate the engine and prevent any piston failures during your drive. In the event in which you’re carrying something in your car, or towing something, consider researching how much your car can safely tow or carry. Staying within these guidelines can help maintain your tires and car frame.
Cleaning Tips
Cleaning your car can help maintain both the interior and exterior of your vehicle. If you live in an area where your tires and undercarriage experience excessive salt, dirt, or sand during some seasons, consider washing your car somewhat frequently. Washing salt from your undercarriage can help prevent rust issues on your paint. Ensuring your car doesn’t have prolonged dirt or sand in the tires can help your wheels last longer without needing replacements or a spare.
If you plan on storing your car for any reason, filling your gas tank before you store your car can help prevent condensation from building in the tank. To preserve your brakes best while storing your car, consider loosening them before you lock the vehicle. If you want to make sure your gas stays ready to use when you get your car out of storage again, consider adding a fuel stabilizer to help the engine disperse gas as you start the car. Waxing your car before you store it can help maintain the finish on your paint, especially the top coating.
When cleaning your car’s interior, consider taking the floor pads of the vehicle inside for a thorough wash every so often. This can help not only maintain the floor pads themselves but can also make them last longer to help prevent any damage to the carpet underneath. If you don’t have floor pads in your new car, consider purchasing some before any winter months. They can help protect the flooring of your car from salt and snow that passengers may track in during the winter.
Finally, consider cleaning the interior cabin of your car every time you wash the outside. Vacuuming, dusting, and gently washing the surfaces of the cabin in your car can prevent dust, dirt, and liquid spills from leaving lasting damage to your interior. When vacuuming your car seats, use a powerful vacuum that can pull as much dirt from the surfaces as possible, especially if you have cloth seats. For interior surfaces, gently scrub with warm, damp rags and soapy water to loosen and clean stains.
Exterior Tips
If you’re planning on taking a long drive somewhere, consider changing your oil before the trip, so that your car has a fresh restock for the transmission to run reliably no matter where you go. Another detail to check before you go is the tires. Auto-repair centers can check your tires to ensure they’re ready for the trip you describe, and if you don’t have a spare tire, getting one can be helpful in case of an emergency.
Outside and inside of storage, consider also evaluating the weatherstripping of your vehicle periodically. If you notice that some stripping on doors or hatches allows rain into the interior of your car, try to fix faulty weatherstripping immediately. You can fix small leaks by using brush seam sealers from an auto-repair shop. However, if the seal needs to be replaced, consider contacting your car’s retailer to find a replacement seal for your model’s specific door or hatch.
You can prolong the life of your weather seals by inserting foam rods in the hollow areas of the weatherstripping. Both your paint and any exterior elements like weatherstripping, headlights, and tires can have some extra protection by using a car tarp when storing your vehicle. Even if you choose to store your car in an indoor facility, using a car tarp can prevent damages from sunlight that may harm your car’s paint or wear on headlights.
Whether you’ve just bought your new car or are looking to maintain an old one, practicing some basic cleaning, driving, and storing habits can bring your car a long way, both on the outside and inside. If you’re in the market for a car, or extra parts for your old one, contact us today to learn how Panama City Toyota can help.
