Springtime is a great time for cleaning! As part of your car maintenance this spring, maybe the best place to start is with cleaning your car. It’ll make you feel better just looking at it. Not to mention how you will feel pulling up at the parking lot of your kids' school next to all the dirty cars around you. This is also a great way to get rid of the salt and other chemicals that were used on the winter roads. Leaving them there can lead to rust, and that is never a good thing.
Once that is done, you can focus on the car maintenance items that will help you save money in the long run and keep your car running on optimum levels. Here are six simple tasks to help your car transition from winter to spring:
- Check all the fluids. Check with your trusted partners at Brown Motorworks in Columbia to know what the best ones are to change out. Oil, for example, acts differently depending on the season. It might be time to change to a different weight.
- Before the spring rains start, if they haven’t already, this is a great time to change out your windshield wipers. Winter can really have an effect on them, and you don’t want to find out you need new ones during a torrential downpour.
- Check your battery! No one wants to get stranded on the side of the road with a dead battery. You also don’t want to be running late to a meeting or a soccer game and find that your car won’t start.
- Check out all of your tires. You want to look for tread depth as well as the condition of your side walls. The cold weather can change your tire pressure, so make sure that you check the air in each tire.
- You can change your own air filter for often under $20. Not only can it affect the air quality in the cabin of your car and the overall functioning of your engine, a dirty air filter can also decrease your gas mileage by up to 10% on its own.
- This is also a good time to rent a steam cleaner and give your car’s interior a thorough cleaning from the inside out. You can also mix baking soda and vinegar to create a paste to use to do some deep cleaning on the pole street. Apply liberally, do a little scrubbing, then let it dry and vacuum it up.
If you would like some help with your spring maintenance list, contact Brown Motor Works today, or stop by our shop at 520 Clemson Rd., Columbia, SC 29229. For the best service, schedule an appointment online. We specialize in BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Mini Cooper vehicles. We’d love to help you!