All right, it’s the New Year and time to make your car look like new again. The first step is pretty obvious – clean it. Don’t go through an automated carwash if you want the best results though, as even the most advanced car washes can leave dirty spots on the outside of your car, and some can even damage the paint surface on your car. Read on for more details from BMW of Freehold.

But first, a description of the paint on your car. It’s made up of several layers of paint, usually a primer, one or more layers of color paint, and a clear coat on top of it all to protect the color paint. The scratches that build up in car paint are often only damage to the clear coat and it is this that you want to repair. Buy a reputable brand of cleaning products – they usually come as a multiple step system, but this is what you essentially want. First item necessary is a good detergent. Don’t use dishwashing liquid or household cleaners, as they can strip layers of wax and clear coat off. Next, you will want to use a good quality wax. This not only protects the clear coat, it fills in the scratches in the clear coat itself. Apply a layer of polish for the final gloss. At all stages use a new, clean cloth – never brushes or sponges. The idea to keeping care of your paint is using the least aggressive way of cleaning it.

Larger scratches and paint damage, such as the result from getting into a scrape with another car or a pole can often be buffed out using a cutting wax. This has tiny abrasive particles in it that strip contamination off the car. Even when it looks like your paint has been badly scratched, it is often the case that whatever the car has contacted has left some if it’s paint on top of your paint, and with a cutting wax it can quite literally be wiped away.

On the inside of your car it’s always a good idea to have a set of good quality floor mats. These not only cover the carpet under the mat and keep dirt off it, but it also means you don’t need to be too aggressive when cleaning the carpet itself. Most cars have synthetic carpets, and if you move the head of a vacuum cleaner over it too fast and with too much pressure, the friction can actually cause enough heat to melt the fibers together and cause a big scratch-like mark.

Dust builds up on the dashboard and center console, and this can be removed by simply running a damp cloth over the surfaces. As long as the cloth is damp and not actually wet the electronics in your car should not be affected. If you want to go further there are plenty of interior cleaners and polishes that can give a glossy effect, but always try the new formula on a piece of trim you don’t normally see so you can gauge whether you want your entire dashboard to look like that.

If your car has leather upholstery, you can go with a high quality leather cleaner. This not only cleans the leather, but like the polish on the outside of the car, it protects the leather from certain damage. Again, be careful in choosing a cleaner as some can make the leather extremely slippery.

Alternately, find a detailing company with a good name and reputation and have them do it all for you. Completely cleaning a car can take a long time, and that’s why there are many professionals around to do the job for you.

Whether or not you should let your car warm up on a cold morning is a bit of a thorny issue, and really depends on the age and type of car, but generally the idea is that instead of warming up your engine before driving off you should immediately begin driving. There are a few reasons for this. Let our team at BMW of Freehold tell you why.

Lubrication

The oil pump in your car is connected mechanically to the engine, and that means that when the car is idling the oil pump is not working very hard. This can lead to insufficient pressure in the oil system at a time when oil pressure needs to be high, as overnight most of the oil has dropped from the top of the engine to the bottom. Oil delivery galleries and pipes may be empty and that’s why lots of engine wear occurs in the period just after start-up.

Virtually all modern cars have notices in the handbook that the best way to warm the engine up is to immediately begin driving, but limit the engine speed until everything is warm. Your radiator water will always warm up quicker than your oil, so if you have a radiator water temperature gauge your oil temperature will lag behind that for some time, as long as fifteen minutes or more. Generally though, you don’t need to worry too much about this unless you’re about to start running the engine right to its redline. Just drive so the revs don’t exceed 2/3 of maximum for around 10 minutes and you should be OK.

Cabin heating

In the good old days an engine would run hot even while idling and provide plenty of heat for the ventilation system. These days, however, engines have become so efficient that at idle they produce little excess heat. This is especially true for diesel engines, and indeed some European car makers have special diesel burning heaters to heat up the interior of the car in very cold conditions. A modern car will not warm up enough to heat the cabin at idle for an extremely long time. Driving the car, however, makes the engine work a little bit harder and make the heating system (which uses heat from the engine’s cooling system) kick into action much sooner. If you live somewhere where it gets really cold, you can buy a car with heated seats, and in some premium brands, a heated steering wheel, which goes a long way to making you feel comfortable.

Fuel Consumption

Generally an engine will not consume more than three quarters of a gallon of fuel per hour, but it’s still fuel that could be used for going further, and indeed many car makers are producing cars with engines that automatically shut down when the car is stationary, and start up again when you push on the throttle, saving fuel that would normally be wasted.

In general, the advantages of driving the car immediately, at a reasonably stable pace, outweigh any advantages from warming the car up before driving away. The only exception is perhaps in areas that get so cold that the car comes with an auxiliary electrical engine heater you plug into the house electrical supply so the oil does not freeze overnight.

You’re familiar with those perspiration-like beads that form on the outside of a cold beer bottle. That’s moisture condensing out of the atmosphere. The drips can be irritating, but they won’t ruin your day. But when condensation occurs in your car’s fuel tank the impact can be far more serious. Read on to learn how to avoid this mishap from our team at BMW of Freehold.

Gasoline and water don’t mix. Usually the water sinks to the bottom, from where it can get drawn in to the engine. And as water doesn’t burn, your engine is going to cough and splutter. That’s not the end though. Where there’s water, corrosion isn’t far behind, and a fuel tank with water in it can start to rust from the inside, as can the fuel lines.

Throw in freezing temperatures and the problems multiply. When water in fuel lines turns to ice the engine will be starved of gasoline and you won’t be going anywhere until things warm up.

There are three main ways water gets into the fuel tank: it was in the gas station’s storage tanks, it got past a badly fitted gas cap (perhaps when using a car wash or during a rainstorm,) and condensation. The first you can avoid by patronizing gas stations that do a high volume of business. (Rapid turnover keeps the tanks filled with gasoline.) The second is just common sense, and as for avoiding condensation… well here are some suggestions.

Condensation comes from water vapor in the air. The amount of vapor air can hold is closely related to its temperature: warm, moist air holds more than cold, dry air. Armed with this knowledge you’ll see that the keys to reducing condensation are to minimize both the amount of air in the tank and the temperature range it sees.

Keeping the fuel tank full is perhaps the easiest step. The less air inside, the less water vapor there will be to condense out when the temperature drops. As for minimizing temperatures, if a temperature-controlled garage is out of the question, the next best thing is to limit exposure to extremes.

If the car is garaged, avoid leaving the door open on frigid winter days as cold air will quickly chill the air in the tank. And conversely, don’t let the garage get too hot in summertime as a cool night will lead to moisture in the air in the tank condensing out. Insulation in the garage roof space will help, and you could try cracking the door open a touch too.

But what if, despite your best efforts, you think water has found a way into your fuel tank? Bring your car or truck into our dealership. We’ll be happy to determine if water really is the cause of your problems.