FF - Your community Magazine
Page 30
The importance of car care and the simple things that you can do yourself.
For many people, their car is the second most valuable thing they own ( or indeed the most valuable ) – why not try and take care of it – it will pay dividends in the long run!
There are a host of things that you can do yourself that are very inexpensive, don’t take up too much of your time, and will save you money in the long run. Have a read through the tips below and see how you can retain as much value in your car as possible – this way when you come to either sell or part exchange it you will ultimately get more for it.
1) Take care of your paintwork. Whilst we are fortunate here on the Costa Blanca, that we don’t suffer from salty roads - we do suffer from a very strong sun which can be just as bad. Treat your paintwork to a decent polish at least twice a year as this will not only make it look nice and shiny, it will also help protect it from the sun’s rays. Once the sun has damaged the top layer, your paint will start to fade and realistically will need re-painting to get the shine and colour back.
2) Use a windscreen sun reflecting shade. As above, parking your car in the sun for long periods of time will start to damage the dashboard and the general interior of your car. Using a sun reflective shade will not only make your car more comfortable when you get in, it will also help protect the interior. We see many cars with damage to the dashboard which has been caused by the sun – often to the point that little can be done to repair it. Ultimately this will make your car worth less and will make it harder to sell. For those that park their car for extended periods in the summer, this is particularly important – equally it is worth paying a little more for covered airport parking if you can.
3) Use seat covers or regularly clean your seats. It is always surprising how many people allow their dogs, children, garden rubbish etc. to roll all over the car’s interior. A bad interior is always difficult and expensive to put right so will certainly effect the value of your car – a good valet can help but if the interior is too bad then sometimes it is impossible to put right. Those of you with leather seats must remember to treat the leather. As it gets older (no different to our own skin!), leather will start to dry out, shrink and eventually crack. This can be avoided by using a moisturising cream cleaner. Once again, a bad leather interior is very expensive to put right so is worth looking after.
4) Regularly check and adjust your tyre pressures. Having your tyre pressures set at the correct level will save you money in two ways – you will get better fuel economy on a day to day basis and your tyres will last longer so it is a win win situation.
Just to give you an example of how much difference it can make in the long run, we saw two identical models this week for valuations. Neither car had any accident damage, the kilometres were very similar, they only varied in the level of care. The nominal value of the cars should have been around 4,000€ – the first car had been extremely well looked after, was presented immaculately and as such we actually offered 4,400€ for the car as it was such a nice example and a credit to its owner. The second vehicle however was a different story – it had not been abused as such, just uncared for. We decided not even to make an offer for the car but as the owner wanted a valuation, we valued the car at 2,500€ (some 1,900€ less than the first one). Why the difference:- The paintwork on the bonnet, roof and boot had faded and required repainting, the top covering of the dashboard had started to peel away in the corners, the steering wheel had gone brittle, some of the plastic trim inside had deep scratches, the driver’s seat had a cigarette burn in it, one of the rear headrests had been chewed by the family dog and all of the wheel trims were scuffed and scraped. To be fair to the owner, the second car was mechanically perfect however the damage inside and out (which was all completely avoidable), is what made the difference.
Stay safe on the roads, drive with care (especially when the roads are wet), and don’t forget to look after your car – it will cost you in the long run of you don’t.
Thinking of buying or selling a car - we hope to see you soon here at Javea Auto Sales. See our advert below for more details.
Female Focus
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60