Tyres.
Tyres.
Tyres.
The vast majority of people aren't going to go out and buy a set of winter tyres, but at the very least you should make sure the tread is well over the legal limit through winter.
I've never heard anything other than anecdotal evidence, but "free winter safety checks" at garages are probably going to be an excuse to sell you something. It's fairly straightforward to do all the basic checks yourself anyway, get a Haynes manual for your car.
Batteries are a common problem, whether they'll be an issue is going to depend mainly on your driving habits (i.e. short journeys will be flattening it)
Don't buy "ready-to-use" windscreen wash; concentrated fluid is cheaper and the strength can be tailored to the time of year. Top up your bottle at the start of a cold spell with neat fluid to bring down the working temperature. Try and get a rough idea of the current concentration if possible, the instructions will tell you "use X parts fluid to Y parts water", but this is meaningless if you don't know what's currently in your car.
Wash your windscreen wipers too every now and then. Get a bit of washer fluid on a clean cloth, and run it along both sides of the rubber. Gunk can build up on the wiper blades over time which will end up just smearing dirt around, keeping the blades clean will also make it less likely that you'll end up with scratches across your screen.
One useful tip I've also picked up, many people just use their air-conditioning through summer, but it is very useful in winter to quickly de-fog your windows in the morning as the A/C dehumidifies the air. (It's also good to run it for a few minutes each month anyway, as it prolongs the life of the unit.)
Keep the inside of your windows absolutely clean. Most cleaning products seem to leave a thin residue on the window, it makes the windows fog more easily, and smear more if you try wiping them. Microfibre cleaning cloths are the way to go, both for thorough cleaning and for day-to-day demisting. (Another tip, after you wash a microfibre cloth, a rinse in a water softener (i.e. calgon) will keep it working better. (it's the only thing calgon is good for incidentally, over the lifetime of a washing machine, it's actually much more expensive buying calgon than it is to buy a brand new machine a few years earlier.))
If you want to keep your car looking nice, give it a deep clean, polish and wax before the winter sets in. Properly applied, wax should last through the winter, it'll keep water beading off which keeps it cleaner for longer. Shampoo+wax combinations are okay for intermediate washes, but should really only be used over the top of a proper wax, as they don't leave a thick or strong enough layer of wax to last for very long.
Hand car washes in car parks might not be a great idea, they're probably using the same sponges/cloths for far too long, bits of dirt and grit will get stuck in them and could scratch your car. (Don't let Polish people Polish your pride and joy.)
>>3409 >The vast majority of people aren't going to go out and buy a set of winter tyres, but at the very least you should make sure the tread is well over the legal limit through winter.
Definitely this. In this country, winter tyres really aren't worth the money unless you're really out in the sticks, but make sure you look after what's on the car. If your MOT is between October and February and you get an advisory on tread depth, sort it straight away. To get an idea of your current tread depth, try the 20p test - the "rim" of a 20p is 3mm, and anything less than this is getting on the unsafe side.
Get a pair of gloves. The £10 Thinsulate ones will do just nicely. On the off-chance that it does get very cold, a rubber steering wheel will take forever to warm up to the point of not being uncomfortable. If nothing comes of it, you're only down £10. Also, do this early. The first time I had to drive during a particularly cold winter, it came around in February, by which point anyone selling the things had already rotated them out in favour of their spring/summer lines.
If there's any indication of frost on its way, get some WD40 inside your locks. This will prevent moisture from building up inside and freezing the lock.
Make sure you have a few essentials like a blanket, a torch, and a stash of food and water in the boot.
It's not like this country is big enough that you will ever be stranded for long enough to be in real danger, but believe me, you'll be fucking thankful you have such preparations to hand if you break down on some B-road in the arse end of nowhere and the van takes several hours to arrive.
De-icer is useful, but only use it in extreme circumstances like if you're already running late for work or something, because the ice melting makes the inside of your window condense twice as much, which you'll then have to either wipe off or sit and wait for the blowers to warm up.
You realise, I trust, that using this to reply to a months old thread is why we can't have nice things? You've not even tried to put a twist on it to fit the thread, like napalm in the screenwash or something. I find this quite amusing, but if you force it it'll piss people off. Be subtle, it's not hard.
