Proper spring cleaning of your car can pay dividends
With the end of a very long and hard winter in sight, more than a few cabin- fevered motor heads are aching for warm Saturday mornings to tackle the task of scraping the Canadian winter grime off the daily driver.
And while many see this chore as a necessary evil, it can actually pay off in reduced maintenance and repair costs and improved trade- in or resale value.
To prove the point, UK auto- care product masters Autoglym sent their Canadian brand manager, Dave Lambert, to Canadian Black Book ( the leaders in auto market valuation) to complete a rejuvenation of a tired 10- year- old Honda Civic. Before and after appraisals were completed by an authorized Honda dealership. With only a few hours of care and a little elbow grease, the Civic’s value increased by almost 20 per cent, to $ 6,500.
Lambert shared some of his company’s secrets.
Everyone knows the importance of washing a vehicle’s exterior, but don’t forget pressure- washing the wheel wells, where dirt and grime accumulate.
Cleaning and treating tires and rims — especially to remove brake dust — can make a world of difference in appearance. Brake dust is corrosive and a top cause of alloy-wheel surface pitting and clearcoat peeling and is easily removed.
On the top side, Lambert said, polishing — to remove stains and rejuvenate paint — is the step after washing and waxing that’s often missed altogether, and this causes less- than- stellar finishes.
Inside, vacuuming carpets and seats is the most time- consuming part of the job, but one of the most important to get odours out, along with the grit and sand.
Under the hood, Lambert recommends staying away from pressure washers, sticking instead with an effective machine and engine parts degreaser and cleaner. Using wipes instead of water keeps oils out of our water sources. Plastic food wrap film covers exposed electrical parts when more moisture is required to get the job done.
Apply vinyl or rubber treatment while the under- hood plastics are still wet so they dry to a gleaming finish.