lifestyle auto car

by Marjorie, Social Media Manager

It doesn't seem very long ago that we were posting tips on how to prepare your car for winter. For those of you who hate winter, that may seem like a very long time ago! Spring has reached West Michigan in force this weekend, and at last it's time to talk about something much more pleasant: preparing your car for spring!

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you clean out your car this (beautiful) weekend:

Remove sand, salt and extra weight in the trunk. Last fall, Robert recommended keeping bags of kitty litter or sand in the back of your car to give it more traction or to use in emergencies. Now that we don't have to worry about black ice and snow, this extra weight will only serve to decrease your car mileage. If it's not a spare tire, get it out of the trunk!

Wash off that salt! Especially from the undercarriage. It's best to take your car through a quality drive through car wash for its first post-winter wash. Your car's undercarriage has undoubtedly accumulated untold layers of salt and grit that will eat away at the vehicle's vital organs if not removed. Tell the car wash fundraiser kids (or your husband) they can have the next cleaning.

Organize your car's interior to help keep it clean. There's a reason there's always garbage in my car, and it's not ONLY because I'm usually too lazy to bring it inside and throw it away. My tiny compact car has no trash can! My mom has solved this problem by hanging a small plastic bag from the cigarette lighter, but anything else would work. An old plastic cup from the gas station, a paper bag under the seat - it could be anything, as long as it keeps the trash all in one place.

Do you struggle with having stray CDs or receipts around the inside of your car, too? Treat yourself to a car CD organizer and a few plastic containers and place them in easy-to-reach locations inside your car.

Change those winter tires! Don't waste your super-sticky tire tread on dry pavement. Throw your car's summer tires in the trunk and run them down to the Cars for Keeps shop to make sure your winter tires keep their tread longer.

And finally...

Check for repair needs. Your vehicle's fluids, wiper blades, oil and undercarriage should be inspected to make sure they're keeping your vehicle in good shape. Antifreeze and transmission fluids are often low after a winter season, oil is often dirty and snow clods may have damaged important wiring in the undercarriage. You can have all this taken care of with our free Pit Stop inspection.

Enjoy this weekend's beautiful weather!