3 New Year’s Resolutions Your Car Wishes You Kept

You love your wheels, but did you keep all the promises you made to it last year? Have you made any New Year’s Resolutions for your car for 2024?

What about last year’s – how’d you go. Be honest…did you find yourself at the 2022 countdown (byeeeee COVID year) confessing to a friend over a bottle of red? Confessing how this year you plan to take better care of your car by learning easy car maintenance tips? How you spend a good deal of your lives together, so you should focus more on little acts of TLC? How these acts would strengthen your driver-car relationship and save you money in the long run?

Things like washing your car regularly or checking your tyre pressure on time? Like looking after your car even when you’re not driving her? Taking advantage of car organising hacks so she looks much neater when you do drive her? Little things that sound so easy but that are so easy to put off. We get it.

If this is you, read about the three New Year’s Resolutions your car wishes you kept last year. More importantly, here’s why you should keep – and improve on – these resolutions in 2024.

# 1: Think where you park – and why

Did you know possum pee is bad for your car? Ditto bat poo and bird poo. Yep, the feisty little critters’ pee can leave deep stains in your car’s paintwork. This is why choosing where you park should be based on your car and not just on you.

You may have enjoyed parking as close to the supermarket entrance as humanly possible in 2023. But next year your car just wants to be safely covered from bird poo and possum pee. Choose a protected and covered bay away from falling things, including tree sap.

If your car does become the bearer of unwanted animal gifts – do clean right away. The longer you wait, the harder these gifts will fasten. Washing them away poses more of a risk of paint scratching than when it’s fresh.

Also, think about the effects of the sun and ocean salt on your car. Where can you park so it’s better protected?

# 2: Wash your car regularly – how and why

Like any good parent, wash your baby regularly. Regular car washing keeps everything on the outside (including under the car) looking good and operating well.

We know that time is tight and you’re on a schedule. Which means heading to the car wash is probably in your line of sight. But be aware, washing your car by hand is actually more favourable on your car’s paintwork. Why? The detritus from each car that goes through the wash turns into grit that can cling to cleaning apparatus. This can be really abrasive to your car’s protective wax and paint covering.

Maybe you and your significant other can wash your significant car as a team building experience weekends ????. Much like packing up a camping trip…

While we’re on better bathing habits, don’t airdry your car. This can be forgiven with cutlery and crockery but it’s bad – very bad – for your car. Water spots look horrible and defeat the purpose of washing in the first place. More serious is that they can leave trace minerals which dry into and eat at your beloved car’s paintwork.

Kind of like a facial, this is so much more than just about aesthetics, it’s about ageing gracefully. Use a lightly dampened chamois to super dry your car instead.

# 3: Check your tyre pressure properly

If you’ve been driving to your destination and only stopping at the fuel station en route back home, think again. You should always drive on tyre pressure that it pitch-perfect or you’re shortening the lifespan of your wheels. This is bad for your fuel consumption too. Here are several rerasons why tyre pressure is so important.

Remember that your tyres should be cold for an accurate reading. And don’t over inflate. It’s not good for anything – egos, balloons, tyres, you name it.

If you were under the impression that the number listed on the tyre is the ideal pressure, you were wrong. This number is actually the maximum pressure the tyre can take, which is very different to the ideal pressure.

Now that you know this, you can up your game for your 2024 resolutions. Regularly check your tyre pressure and apply (the right amount of) air!

PS. If you’re a cat or dog parent, also read about great New Year’s resolutions for pets.

What’s good for your car is good for your pocket

Did you happen to notice the common thread in each of these New Year’s Resolutions your car wishes you’d kept? They’re good for your wheels and they’re good for your pocket. They’re small investments that don’t take much effort but save you big in the long run.

It’s about actively saving you money by keeping your vehicle’s bits and bobs in good nick for longer. This is like car insurance, which is also about making small investments toward potentially saving you more in the long run. Perhaps invest the cash you’ve saved from car TLC towards a better car insurance policy. It’s a win-win situation – just ask (ahem… drive) your car.