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Ok, so now that you bought the car here are some things to do for sure…head on down to your local parts store and purchase a set of WINTER wiper blades, have them installed for free while you are there, next have them do a free battery/ charging and coolant test. I’m not sure what places you have by you but most are happy to do those in hopes of more sales. After addressing the above I would do an oil and filter change, plugs, air filter and PVC valve. Normal oil should suffice but add some type of friction reducer, preferably with boron in it (due to mileage). Next I would suggest removing the lug nuts and giving them a light coat of oil, the time to find out the last owner cranked them with a nuclear powered impact gun is not on the side of an icy road with a flat. Next proceed to check the jack and give the “screw” part a light coat of oil, now is also a good time for checking the brakes and paying special attention to the slides, making sure they are free and the pads are wearing evenly. Eric has some great videos on this. Because the car is new to you, I would park it in a clean area and check for any drips that appear over the course of a week, better to address problems now then in a blizzard. I would consider changing the brake fluid too (Eric has a good video) As others have mentioned, winter tires are a good idea and affordable premounted packages are a good idea. Finally I would do a complete glass cleaning, inside and out, clean windows help with winter glare and ice will not stick as well to a properly treated window. We get a ton of snow and ice here and I do the following to all our windows (including the plow trucks) First I wash the vehicle as normal and when still wet I use a single edge razor to shave the windows, you will be amazed at the microscopic gunk you will feel being removed. Next I wipe down the window using a quality glass cleaner and dry microfiber towel and follow this up with glass polish and RainEx, sometimes I skip the RainEx and just use car wax. The razor will not scratch if you wash the car first and do it wet.
I wish I could be of help, I will say I love my 2009 Holden packaged in Pontiac plastic, nothing sweeter than teaching a backward ball cap wearing Subaru WRX driver a physics lesson at a stoplight with an unassuming debaged v8 4 door.
I wish I could be of help, I will say I love my 2009 Holden packaged in Pontiac plastic, nothing sweeter than teaching a backward ball cap wearing Subaru WRX driver a physics lesson at a stoplight with an unassuming debaged v8 4 door.
You nailed it, I was I involved with a huge dealer group from 97 to 04 and those were good times for both sales and service, the thing about dealers are they mostly come from a sales background and as soon as things slow down they try to reinvent their largest source of revenue (service and parts) and this usually involves less coin for their most valuable asset (techs) …resulting in making the situation worse for everyone.
You nailed it, I was I involved with a huge dealer group from 97 to 04 and those were good times for both sales and service, the thing about dealers are they mostly come from a sales background and as soon as things slow down they try to reinvent their largest source of revenue (service and parts) and this usually involves less coin for their most valuable asset (techs) …resulting in making the situation worse for everyone.
I do a bunch of details to supplement my tool acquisition disorder (TAD) one of the first things I like to do with white cars is get the paint stripped of old wax etc, as mentioned Dawn works good for this. After getting the car clean I usually clay it using the soap as a lubricant, then blow dry it with a leaf blower (don’t laugh it is fast) next, I like to pull it in a dark garage and use a flashlight to look at the paint so I can see the literally thousands of tiny scratches that are in most cars, next I like to use 3000 grit paper on any bad scratches(be very careful) I follow up by working one panel at a time with very light compound and the buffer on low, next I wash the car with car soap and dry it using paint sealer and a new micro fiber cloth, I follow this up with a coat of paste wax. Once a car has been polished in this fashion it will have a great shine that will last for some time. Most new scratches are the result of washing and drying wrong, I wash with a mitt in one hand and the hose in the other, lots of water before during and after gets the small particles off the car and keeps the tiny swirl marks from coming back, I also only dry with air or a micro fiber cloth soaked in spray wax, lubrication of the surface is very important, especially on dark colors. I cringe when I see what new car dealers and car wash places do to the paint on people’s vehicles…but then again it is good for business.
I do a bunch of details to supplement my tool acquisition disorder (TAD) one of the first things I like to do with white cars is get the paint stripped of old wax etc, as mentioned Dawn works good for this. After getting the car clean I usually clay it using the soap as a lubricant, then blow dry it with a leaf blower (don’t laugh it is fast) next, I like to pull it in a dark garage and use a flashlight to look at the paint so I can see the literally thousands of tiny scratches that are in most cars, next I like to use 3000 grit paper on any bad scratches(be very careful) I follow up by working one panel at a time with very light compound and the buffer on low, next I wash the car with car soap and dry it using paint sealer and a new micro fiber cloth, I follow this up with a coat of paste wax. Once a car has been polished in this fashion it will have a great shine that will last for some time. Most new scratches are the result of washing and drying wrong, I wash with a mitt in one hand and the hose in the other, lots of water before during and after gets the small particles off the car and keeps the tiny swirl marks from coming back, I also only dry with air or a micro fiber cloth soaked in spray wax, lubrication of the surface is very important, especially on dark colors. I cringe when I see what new car dealers and car wash places do to the paint on people’s vehicles…but then again it is good for business.