How to Get Back to Loving Your Daily Driver
There’s nothing quite like a new car. It smells fresh. The seats are plush. The paint looks amazing. When you step into the vehicle in the morning, it just feels clean! And that’s before you ever turn on the vehicle and remember that the suspension is still tight, engine and transmission are clean and everything works the way it’s supposed to.
While new car prices have cooled slightly since their peak in December 2022, they’re still much higher than they were at the start of the pandemic, according to Kelly Blue Book. If you’re itching for a new vehicle but sitting on a paid-off or almost-paid-off ride, it may be difficult to justify buying something new. If you’ve recently purchased a newer vehicle, you might be wondering how best to maintain your investment so that it keeps feeling great to drive and lasts for years.
Across the board, industry experts agree that how you care for your vehicle directly impacts how long it lasts. Whether you’ve recently purchased or you’re hanging on to a reliable car for as long as you can, prolong the life of your vehicle and make it feel more like the day you bought it with our consistent approach to car care.
Be a Stickler About the Interior. It’s not always possible to avoid eating or drinking or generally messy activities in the car, especially if you have children, use your car for a longer commute or travel often. However, taking steps to protect your interior from spills – and being a little bit eccentric about it – will pay off in the long run. Be a Type A stickler for a clean car. Remove trash every time you leave the car. Wipe down the dash and hard surfaces every time you wash the car, minimum once a week. Place protective seat covers under car seats. Avoid eating and drinking in your car. Limit drinks to water.
Improve the Smell. Using car air fresheners or room freshening sprays is a great idea, but these products sometimes just mask odors. You may need to get more aggressive to tackle lingering odors. Air out your car regularly with a short drive with the windows open before you head for the car wash for your weekly wash. If the upholstery has any offensive smells like pet odor or cigarette smoke, consider having the car detailed and the upholstery cleaned. A cleaning spray like Nok-Out will neutralize strong smells so you can get back to square one. From there, adding a car freshener won’t combine with offensive odors but will instead just make stepping into your car a more pleasing experience, much like entering a high-end retail store.
Stay Ahead of Maintenance Issues. It’s much easier to maintain health than to get it back when you’ve lost it. The same is true for your vehicle. Preventing and addressing vehicle maintenance issues as they arise is the simplest and most cost-effective way to keep your car in good working order for years. Are you a person who changes your engine oil every 5,000 miles on the dot, or do you drive it with zero regard for maintenance unless there’s a problem? Paying attention to your engine oil, fluid levels and exterior maintenance will help you maintain your vehicle’s value until it’s time to sell it or trade it in for something new.
Wash Your Car Weekly or Twice-Weekly. Snap Clean’s monthly wash passes make it easy to wash your car regularly for one low price. A vehicle that is washed regularly will maintain its like-new paint job for longer. A vehicle that is washed and washed regularly will feel softer to the touch because the paint job has been protected and maintained. Our Platinum Wash Package offers our best value for long-term protection from the environment and contaminants that hit your vehicle on a daily basis. This wash package includes Total Body Protectant, Sealer Wax and Ceramic Wax to ensure a soft touch to your paint job, year after year. No matter which wash package you choose, maintaining your vehicle starts with keeping it clean. We’d love to help you choose the right wash pass for your vehicle!
