Nothing smells better than the smell of a brand new car. It lingers for the first week, or if you’re lucky enough, a month. But eventually, the smell fades away.
That is because of the way we use it and dust; could be a result of food that stays in the car or that is transported, and many other possibilities.
Fortunately, there is a way to keep the car fresher for longer but retaining some of that new car smell for a little longer. Perfect if you are planning to lend the car to your loved ones or even if you are planning to sell the car online.
Whatever the reason, we have got you covered this season. Let’s start with the exterior.
1. Fix the Exterior
Nothing gives away the age of a car like the exterior. If the shine, luster is gone – it can look older than it is.
To fix this, you can get a ceramic coating or a paint polish done every 3 months or so, depending on how much you wear it out. Remember, if you park in the sun, the color of the car deteriorates with the sun damage. Hence there is some amount of maintenance that goes into it.
Some other alternatives include washing your car with car shampoo, we know it sounds a little extreme, but yes, there is car shampoo. Others include using car wax. This one you could do yourself with a little bit of DIY Youtube tutorial as a good guide or the garage will do a spectacular job for you in around 60 mins. You could also go a step further and ask for paint protection to keep your car color intact for longer.
In case you have minor dents, worry not. Some garages can do paintless dent repair, which is much cheaper than doing the painting AND the body dent repairs.
If you have minor scratches, some garages will do a little bit of a touch up if they have the same shade of paint for free, if you take other services from them. So it would be wise to get it all done from the same place. This is also a really good way to upgrade the value when you decide that it is time to sell your old car.
2. Clean up the Interiors
Now that we are finished with the outside, it’s time to take a look inside. The inside has 3 aspects that we have to look at, the Dashboard and steering wheel, the floor, and the seats.
The Dashboard Section
This is where you can again do-it-yourself with soapy water and a washcloth or an interior wax cleaner. The aim is to get rid of any spots because of coffee or other liquids you or your passengers may have dropped. The steering wheel is generally the dirtiest since it is used the most, and you can also protect it by putting a steering wheel cover.
The Floors
If you have had any spills since you bought the car, your car mats have definitely been stained. If you want a super quick fix, you can put the car mats in the washing machine, and it will take the stains right off, or you could send it for dry cleaning. If you have a portable vacuum cleaner, getting dust or pet hair is easy, or you could do it the more traditional way, but the former is preferred.
The Seats
Depending on whether you have leather seats or cloth ones, you could get it deep cleaned by professionals. However, if you like to cut costs, we recommend you get seat covers that you can remove and toss for washing easily. That way, your seats will remain fresh till the time you decide to cash the car for a better one.
3. It’s in the Details
So now that you have the major parts covered, it’s time to look at the tiny details like the windows and the tires.
For the windows, you can get a household window cleaner to do the job just fine. And for the tires, you just need tire polish. This is also a good time to inspect them. If you find cracks in your tires, it may be time to get new ones, or you may have to inflate your tires.
Finally
Cleaning your car is a good time to check everything as well. Periodic cleaning allows you to inspect the car regularly (if you are not already doing it!). On top of that, you’ll have a fresh smelling car too.
The smell your car has, in the end, depends on the kind of products you use, so if you’re going with using car wax to polish your car, you might want to use products from the same range to not clash with different fragrances.
Another quick tip if you want to avoid the hassle of cleaning yourself. Opt for a monthly car detailing service. These days you can get a full car detailing service at a really good price if you are thrifty enough to find online coupon deals. Some of the deals are valid for a month and some for three months. If you buy them in advance you can reduce your spending and have an ‘almost’ brand new car all year round!
Now that you know everything you need to, what are you going to do? DIY? Or be Thrifty Central?
