Keep and Maintain for Your Vehicle From Damage

Remember your earliest car? Of course you do. Everybody does. Despite of how old and beat up it was, the odds are you treated your very first vehicle like a baby. You washed it; dried it and waxed it faithfully. Every scratch was treated immediately and dents were, shall I say, handled? If you were like most teens, you treated that car or truck with the love, tenderness and value it deserved.

Then you grew up and got a job -a real job. That old car didn’t put a chance. The first thing you did was head to the nearest vehicle dealership to get yourself some real wheels. Then a few years later you traded that one in for an even newer type. When the next one started to look a little worn, you headed back to the vehicle lot for a shiner, better looking version of what you were driving. The days of painstakingly caring for your car were over… or were they?

Through the last decade or two consumers fell for advertisers claims that we were what we drove, and that sent most of back to the dealers more than a few times to upgrade out look. It was not uncommon for car owners to purchase or lease a vehicle for 1-3 years before trading it in for a newer model until the economic downturn of 2008 made many vehicle owners sit up and take notice of just how much money they were wasting on new cars every few years. Today, more and more people have begun to keep their vehicles longer. What does that mean? We have to learn how to take care of them over again.

No one likes driving about a scratched up, dented and bug smeared vehicle or truck. Yet, keeping it clean and new looking can take a lot of work - and a lot of scrubbing. What if you don’t have the time or cash to wash and detail your vehicle every Saturday afternoon? Is there another way to keep it looking its best? There sure is! Here are just a few tips on how to keep your car’s outside looking newer longer:

• Keep it in the garage. Nothing can beat up a vehicle more than letting it sit out in all kinds of weather. Sure, cars and trucks are meant to handle the rain, the sleet and even the snow, but if you want to protect that paint job and keep your vehicle looking its best longer, you had better find some room in your garage park it to get it out of the elements from time to time.
• Avoid off-roading (or even those rough back roads). The commercials showing a group of friends running their new truck through the mud; up a mountain or across a desert may look like fun, but all of those flying rocks, springing twigs and other obstacles sure can ding up a vehicle in a hurry. Avoid unnecessary scratches, dents and dings by keeping to the main roads.
• Keep it clean. Yes, if you want to keep your vehicle or truck looking great you will have to wash and wax it once in awhile!
• Wrap it up. Now, I’m not talking about wrapping your vehicle in a layer of bubble wrap or even cellophane to keep birds from pooping on it, rocks from scratching it, or shopping carts form ramming into it, but specially made road wrap can and will keep those unexpected scratches to a minimum. Road wrap is especially useful when making long trips and travelling in areas which can cause your car some harm like back roads; dirt roads; forests; parks; beach areas and the like. Easy to install and virtually invisible, no one will even know that you have protected your car’s paint and exterior with this clear bandage wrap. Plus, you can very easily rinse off your vehicle at the local vehicle wash, drive through the rain and even keep it out in all types of weather conditions and temperatures while it is wearing its protective seal without damage.

Although it isn’t always easy to prevent minor scratches and dings to a car’s outside, those who plan on driving the same vehicle for awhile may want to try adopting some of the suggestions above to help keep their vehicle’s exterior looking brand new long after the last payment has been made on it. Just because you have owned your car awhile doesn’t mean that it has to look worse for the wear. Treat her with the love and respect she deserves and she will treat you well for years to come.