Ask A Technician: What Are The Most Important Things To Do To Maintain a New Car?

Q: What are the most important things to do to maintain a new car?

A: It’s often said that a car is the second most expensive thing you will ever own, apart from your house, so it makes plenty of sense to make sure you take care of it. This is especially true if and when it becomes time to sell the car. At this point, its condition and history will largely determine the selling price. Here are a couple of suggestions from our service technician at Sheehy Nissan of Mechnicsville on how to get the most out of your car – with reliability while you own it and good resale value when you sell it.
 
Dealer service history

Every car comes with a service book that details when or at what mileage your car is due for a service. Some higher-end cars have automatic countdowns on the instrument panel to make it even clearer. Many car brands these days have free service plans built into the sale price, which certainly makes dealer servicing very attractive.

A full and authentic service history tells the next owner that you have taken care of the car properly. It also ensures that not only will the car remain as reliable as possible, but it will also be fixed for free in the event of a car recall for a specific problem. Once you move out of the dealer’s network, the auto company can lose track of you and may not be able to alert you to recalls.

Use correct fuel

Cars can use different grades of fuel, so read the manual and find out which grade your car takes. You might save money by buying lower grade fuel, but it can mean lower engine performance and possible damage to the engine. Fuel with an ethanol mix might also not be compatible with your car, as it can degrade seals in the car’s fuel and engine systems.

Wheel alignment

You car’s wheels are designed to be aligned in an exact direction when on the road, and even a soft bump on a curb can cause the settings to get out of spec. Getting a regular wheel alignment means that your tires will last longer, you will use less fuel, and your car will drive much better.

Paint care

Car paint these days is pretty tough – it consists of several layers of paint, topped off by a clearcoat that protects the paint and gives the car its shine. It’s the clearcoat that you have to care for, so keeping your car as clean as possible is important.

When you clean your car, use a reputable brand of car care products. Use them following the instructions exactly, and remember the secret to taking care of paint is to use the gentlest means possible to apply each product (no hard brushes, for example). Follow these simple measures and your car will thank you for it.

5 Ways to Protect Your Vehicle's Exterior from Dings, Scrapes, and Grime

Auto owners like you take pride in their cars. Regardless of whether you bought a new car from the showroom or bought your car used, you want to keep your vehicle looking like new for a long time. Unfortunately, modern life is the enemy of a great-looking car. Tar and stones from roadways can wreak havoc on beautiful finishes. Other drivers can carelessly dent your car in parking lots and refuse to accept responsibility for the damage. Debris flying out of trucks, birds, and other problems add to the long list of threats to your car. Rather than accepting dings, scrapes and grime on your car as a fact of life, follow these five steps from our team at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville to keep the exterior of your car looking fabulous.

1. Get covered

Rain, snow, and sunshine can all adversely affect the exterior of your car. You can do little about the weather while driving your car, but when you get home, you can cover your car to protect its beautiful finish. Although garages offer the best protection against outside forces for your car, you might find out that you can get similar results by using a car port or a portable garage. A portable garage is a flexible cover that you can put over your vehicle to protect its exterior while not in use.


2. Paint Protection Film

Special products exist that help protect the finish of your car at all times, even while you drive. Paint protection film creates a layer of protection between the exterior surfaces of your car and the environment, so your car can withstand an array of road hazards. This type of product eliminates expensive trips to your dealer’s body shop for touchup work and preserves the resale value of your car. Ask your dealer what recommended paint protection products will work best for your model.

3. Wash Your Car

Although a carwash can put the exterior of your car in jeopardy, it can help prevent harmful grime build up. If you care a lot for your car, you will give it a loving hand-wash and wax periodically to keep its finish looking great. While you wash, you can look for new scrapes and dents that either you or your dealer can quickly repair before they become ugly and embarrassing.

4. Cautious Parking

Parking lots pose some of the most severe threats to auto exteriors. Regardless of how carefully you park, someone else will come along and park too close to your car, giving your car a free dent. Although often minor, parking-lot damage can cost a lot to repair. Motorists these days live with the fear that a claim will cause their insurance premiums to rise, so they might not take responsibility for denting or scraping your car. It’s time to take parking into your own hands. You can try taking up two spots when you park, making it impossible for other car doors to reach your vehicle. Also, you can park far away from other cars where most people will never park. The long walk will give you valuable health benefits, and the remote parking spot can help prevent damage to your car.

5. Common Sense

Your best defense against scrapes, dents, and grime might reside under your own hat. Common sense should tell you to avoid roads while they undergo paving line-painting work. Avoid attempting to enter narrow alleys and resist the temptation to drive up to your mailbox when you get home at the end of the day. Never drive your car near trees and bushes. Always avoid dirt or gravel roads. Also, keep your garage and carport clear of tools and other objects that can easily fall and damage your car.

September Brain Teasers

Critical thinking, decision making and problem solving are all skills vital to your role as a car owner. Ironically, similar qualities are also required for more leisurely tasks, such as brain teasers. So in the spirit of sharpening our cognitive abilities, here’s a round of our favorite exercises from Forbes at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville to test your wits. 

1. Johnny’s mother had three children. The first child was named April. The second child was named May. What was the third child’s name?

2. Before Mt. Everest was discovered, what was the highest mountain in the world?

3. If you were running a race and you passed the person in 2nd place, what place would you be in now?

4. What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?

5. In British Columbia you cannot take a picture of a man with a wooden leg. Why not?

Answers are below.

1. Johnny
2. Mt. Everest – it just wasn’t discovered yet.
3. You’d be in second place. You passed the person in second place, not the first.
4. Incorrectly
5. You can’t take a picture with a wooden leg (you need a camera).

5 Tips for Packing your Vehicle for a Camping Trip

Whether you drive a modest-sized sedan or an SUV, packing your vehicle for a camping trip can create problems as you struggle to fit all the tents, food, flashlights, water, and other essentials—while still having room to fit the kids in the back. Here are a few essential tips from our team at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville for packing your vehicle for this kind of trip, however.

1) Take care of safety first. Make sure there's a fully-stocked first-aid kit in the car. Check the pressure of the spare tire. Think about keeping an extra can of gasoline in the trunk in case of emergencies.

2) Write a list. Write down absolutely everything you want to pack, and tick it off as you stow it away in your vehicle. If you've been sensible and written the list well in advance of the trip, you should find this methodical approach reduces the risk of forgetting any crucial items—though it might seem laborious at first!

3) Plan for the best, but prepare for the worst. If you're going on a camping trip, you're probably aiming to go during the summer. Obviously, pack plenty of summer clothes, sunscreen, sunglasses, and swimwear. However, never rely on Mother Nature when you're placing yourself entirely at her mercy. Pack some waterproof clothes and thick jumpers, just in case.

4) Remember the journey. If you're going on a camping trip, you'll obviously be including bottles of drinking water and books and games to keep any children occupied. But remember that you'll need these items on the journey! Even though they're vital, don't put them in first so they end up covered in tents and fishing rods—instead, keep them up front with the passengers. Anything that you could conceivably need while on the road, keep as cabin luggage in the car. You will probably want to make the odd stop so that everyone can stretch their legs, but having everything to hand gives you much greater flexibility in how often you need to stop driving.

5) Be creative. Optimize the luggage space in your car by thinking outside the box a little. Wear your bulkiest clothes on the days that you're traveling. Pack items like socks inside spare pairs of shoes. Take a moment to consider which supplies you absolutely have to take with you, and which you can purchase once you've reached your campsite. Don't hesitate to strap bulky equipment to the roof or to think about towing. Even a modest-sized car can transport a huge amount of cargo if you approach the task with a little imagination and flair!

How to Organize a Carpool

Carpools aren’t just for kids anymore--more and more, adult students and professionals are organizing carpools to share resources, save money on gas and parking, and reduce the environmental burden of multiple-car journeys. With more and more drivers on the roads and congestion at an all-time high, the daily commute can be extremely stressful, particularly at peak times, and carpooling can be a great way to alleviate this stress.

In order to get the most benefit from a carpool, careful organization is critical. There are a number of different areas that will contribute to the success or failure of your carpool, so take time to plan carefully. Follow these tips from our team at Sheehy Nissan of Mechanicsville to create the best carpool possible.

1. You should set out to define the target group of people that you wish to include in your carpool. It may be based around your workplace, your child’s school, or simply based on a particular route that many drivers use. How you set about attracting people to your carpool will depend entirely on these considerations. In the workplace or for your child’s school, you will have a fixed location in which you can advertise and manage membership. In other cases, you may need to manage the pool online and via email. Online tools exist that can help you find and make contact with interested drivers.

2. Establish criteria for the membership of your carpool. It is important that all members are treated equally within the scheme and that, conversely, everyone contributes to the same extent. You will need to set ground rules around the expected frequency with which people will drive, for example, and whether you will accept non-drivers into the group. You must define any financial commitments that members must make. Non-drivers, for example, may need to contribute towards gas costs. There may be a need for different insurances. You may even wish to ask members to contribute towards coffees and treats en route. There will also need to be penalties for non-attendance or failing to meet commitments.

3. Construct a plan around the initial membership. Clearly identify the days and times members are available and then establish a schedule for driving and non-driving. You may wish to make this more or less flexible according to the needs of your members. Always include a contingency plan, so that there is cover in the event of sickness or holidays. Ensure that a schedule of maintenance is included for all the cars in the pool, such that vehicles are regularly maintained and can support the group commitments. You may be able to secure a discount with your local dealerships if you can guarantee business from a number of different vehicles. Make sure your plan is shared with everyone in the group and can be easily accessed at all times.

4. Agree on carpooling etiquette. If you have a mixture of smokers and non-smokers, then you need to establish ground rules that meet everybody’s needs. You will also want to consider things like eating and drinking in the car. Who is responsible for collecting and disposing of litter? Music tastes vary wildly, so you need to establish some form of etiquette that caters to everybody, perhaps agreeing to listen to a commercial radio station instead. It may be a good idea to designate a carpool manager to whom suggestions and comments can be raised.

5. Make sure that there is a mechanism for reviewing and changing the plan. This might include short-term needs such as disruption to a route through road works. Other longer-term changes will include somebody leaving the group, or changing their patterns of movement. You may also want to consider how you track the benefits of your carpool, through mileage and gas saved. This can be a great way to encourage people to join or to maintain their commitment.

Driving is stressful and expensive, and pooling resources can be of enormous benefit. Use these tips to organize a carpool and help reduce the costs and the impact on the environment of your daily commute.