Car care: How you should care for your new car

To ensure that the new car looks like one for a long time, it is necessary to take proper care of it. Even though the car is the Germans' favourite child, car care is often underestimated. We'll tell you what you should do to get something out of your new car for a long time.

Driving a new car for the first time is a very special moment for many people. Because you have to be able to afford a new car first and when the time finally comes, you naturally want to cherish and care for it so that it looks like new for a long time and drives without problems. Car care consists of various components.

 

Wash your car regularly

Regular car washing is essential, because sensitive vehicle parts or sheet metal edges can quickly rust. Scratches, dents and broken paint spots are also very susceptible to corrosion if dirt is not removed for too long. The same applies to damaged rims: a rim repair may be necessary. For example, if you want to spend the winter in your motorhome, it should be washed thoroughly beforehand. You certainly have an interest in keeping your car reliable and stylish. Glass surfaces in particular quickly look greasy if they are not cleaned for a long time. This applies to the windscreen, the side windows and panoramic roofs.

To make the car shine again in new splendor, there is no way around washing the car - especially if the vehicle is exposed to the following adversities:

• Salty roads in winter weather – underbody protection is recommended
• Bird droppings or tree resin on the paintwork
• The car is constantly parked outside
• Driving on unpaved roads

If your vehicle has recently been repainted, you should wait four to six weeks before washing it for the first time to protect the paintwork.

But you have the choice between a car wash in the car wash, a wash box in a designated washing area or the laundry at home on your own. Which method you use is a matter of taste. All options have advantages and disadvantages. Whether a car wash in winter makes sense in view of the gritted roads depends on various factors. Of course, the adversities of the world also affect the headlights, so that they can scratch and go blind.

 

Car polishing

When the car is freshly washed again, you can consider giving it a polish as well. This should never be done after every wash, because with each polish a little of the protective clear coat is sanded away. Once a year, however, polishing makes sense, especially if the paint becomes matt or the first scratches are visible. As with the car wash, the question arises: polish yourself or have it polished?

Polishing yourself

If you plan to polish your car yourself, you should plan a little time. The most important thing is that the car is freshly washed and that you have made sure before you start that all visible and coarse dirt residues have really been removed. Preparation also includes parking your car in a shady place. If you polish your vehicle in the blazing sun, you will firstly be bathed in sweat after a very short time and secondly you will get a poor polishing result.

In addition, the right polish plays a decisive role, because the abrasives contained can be fine or coarse, depending on the product. So not every polish is suitable for every paintwork. Inquire at the specialist retailer, then nothing can go wrong. Whether you should polish a freshly delivered new car is a matter of opinion. The best thing to do is to ask the manufacturer directly whether the paint has already fully hardened or whether you should wait some time before polishing it. Alternatively, you can have a nano-sealant applied to the car as a preventive measure so that any polishing may not be necessary in the first place.

Once all this has been clarified, tape off the visible plastic parts as a precaution so that they are not accidentally polished and off you go. But is it better to polish with a sponge or a machine now? Again, there is no right or wrong answer. However, if you are polishing for the first time, you should first practice with a sponge, because here you can feel better what pressure is necessary or which is too much.

The polishing compound is worked into the paint with small, circular movements and then the residues are removed with a polishing cloth. If you opt for the polishing machine, you save a lot of energy, but you have to handle it carefully. It is essential to use a special polish here, as pastes that are not suitable for use in the machine can cause strong heating that damages the paintwork. You should buy the right polishing machine from a specialist retailer, where they can explain the differences to you and you can decide on the right model.

Have a professional polish done

At least once in the life of the car, your car should enjoy a professional polish.

This is not cheap, but your vehicle will thank you. Even though polishing often seems easy, truly perfect results can only be achieved by a professional. The exact costs you have to expect vary depending on the workshop - but you can certainly get rid of 150 to 200 euros.

If you want to have a much easier time caring for your car, you can also have a ceramic sealant applied. However, this is also very cost-intensive.

 

Cleaning the car interior

If you have already done all the previous steps, then your car will now shine in new splendour from the outside. But what about the interior? Especially in winter, dirt is constantly carried into the car, dust settles and the sunlight can cause the plastic to fade. Regular interior cleaning and odor removal is therefore essential - and if you don't constantly avoid it, you don't have to clean for so long.

5 steps to a clean interior:

• Shake out the floor mats
• Disposing of garbage lying around
• Use vacuum cleaner
• Possibly upholstery foam for seats
• Plastic care for e.g. fittings

It's best to simply shake off the coarse dirt on the floor mats outside. Many car washes also have extra grids on which you can knock out the mats. The bags from the last visit to the fast food restaurant should also be disposed of immediately on this occasion. Then the vacuum cleaner is used. Some car washes offer free vacuum cleaners after a car wash, sometimes you have to pay with change.

Of course, you can also vacuum the interior at home, provided you have a powerful cordless vacuum cleaner or a long cable. Fabric seats should be cleaned with upholstery foam, leather seats accordingly with leather cleaning. The plastic surfaces can be wiped off with a special interior spray. Use a microfiber cloth for this.

If you have coarse stains on your upholstery, you should leave it to a professional and consider professional interior cleaning. Of course, the cleaning steps also depend on whether you have leather or Alcantara covers in the car.

 

Inspection

Each manufacturer specifies different intervals for an inspection. It is best to find this information in your service booklet or operating instructions. It is essential that these prescribed intervals are adhered to with regard to the warranty service. In plain language: If the inspection was not carried out properly during the warranty period, the manufacturer will not pay for your damage.

Modern models show you well in advance of the due date that a service appointment is about to be arranged. So you can no longer deny that you didn't know anything about it. Which workshop you visit is up to you. It is only important that all the work prescribed by the manufacturer is carried out and entered in the service booklet. An oil change is also carried out, but can also be unplanned. The price differences between authorised workshops and independent workshops are sometimes enormous. Important: The workshop is not allowed to simply repair every defect it detects without consulting you.

However, small abnormalities such as a defective headlight are usually replaced. However, it is best to discuss with the responsible mechanic when you return your car which work may be carried out and for which your consent is required. Pretty much every workshop will also send you a cost estimate in advance if you specify the exact model and the necessary inspection, so that you have a rough indication of what costs you will incur. In the end, however, it should not be more than a maximum of 20 percent exceedance.

 

Car depreciation

Even if many want a new car, it is important to remember that the new one loses an enormous amount of value in the first four years. However, you can help to keep the residual value of the car as high as possible by taking proper care of the vehicle – as described in the article.

In addition, the following factors must be taken into account when assessing the depreciation of a vehicle:

• Location of the car (parking lot or garage)
• Smoking vehicle
• Accidental damage
• Severity of use damage
• Age of the vehicle

Because everyone has an interest in keeping the depreciation of the car as low as possible, regardless of whether you want to drive the car for a long time or sell it again quite quickly. The location of the car has a major influence on the loss of value. If the vehicle is unprotected in front of the front door in wind and weather, in the worst case a wide variety of damage can occur: On the one hand, the weather influences have a negative effect on your new car.

In winter, the salt that is thrown at the body by other vehicles can damage the paintwork in the long run - that's why washing a car in winter makes sense. In summer, too much sunlight can fade the paintwork over time. Overall, of course, there is always the problem with outdoor parking that a maggots make themselves comfortable in the still warm car that has just been parked and cause damage there. Bird droppings or tree resin are also difficult to remove and, especially if you don't pick up the cloth immediately, can permanently damage the paintwork.

A garage space or at least a carport is therefore highly recommended. If you have stains from food or drinks on the upholstery or if hair flies around everywhere due to the transport of pets that can no longer be completely removed, you must also expect deductions from the residual value. Smoking vehicles are hit particularly hard, because the smell takes hold and, in the worst case, persists for years.

 

FAQs

When can a new car be washed?

Actually, you get your new car washed and delivered in perfect condition. But if you want to visit the car wash immediately, you can do so without any problems. The paint has long since hardened and does not need to be spared.

How do I protect new car paint?

Animal excrement, e.g. bird droppings, should be removed from the paintwork as soon as possible, because the corrosive substances it contains can damage the paintwork in the long term. Of course, the car should be washed regularly and a wax cycle after the wash cycle is also recommended. When the shine of the paintwork wears off, it's time for a polish. This should not be done so often, because a polish contains small abrasive particles that wear away the paint surface a little with each polishing.

Should you polish a new car?

A car should only be polished if there are scratches in the paintwork. A new car should not have any scratches when it is delivered. Polishing too often can also be harmful to the paintwork.

When to grow a new car?

In the best case, a car should be covered with a layer of wax twice a year. It makes sense in autumn, because it allows you to protect the paintwork from road salt with a protective layer. To renew the layer, it makes sense again in spring.

Is vinegar harmful to car paint?

No, vinegar water does not damage the paintwork. If you can't get dirt removed in the car wash, you can try to remove it with the help of vinegar water. It is important that you rinse thoroughly with water afterwards and preferably wax the vehicle. Then there should be no problems.

How often should you go to the car wash?

If the car has not become excessively dirty, then it is sufficient to drive the car to the car wash every two months. Modern paints are nowadays quite robust against dirt.