In an ideal world, your car would never need any maintenance. Every day your ride would be the same as it was when it rolled off of the lot; right down to that weird clicking sound no one can ever explain and the faint, vaguely feline scent of the previous owner. You’d never have to worry about those dents that tell the world you no longer drive a brand new vehicle.
In a slightly less ideal world, you would be able to take care of all of your car’s problems by yourself. No more standing idly by when more mechanically minded relatives get grease up to their elbows on your behalf, and even better, no more blowing money in a shop. Maintenance expenses are no joke, even if you just got a car: The average used car owner drops $1,040 before they make it to 24,000 miles. Here are seven tips to help you keep some of that cash for more important things – like a car freshener:
1. Pop Out That Dent With Hot and Cold Water
If your bumper has a big old dent in it and you don’t feel like shelling out the cash to take it to a body shop, this trick is for you.
It’s simple: Slowly pour boiling water all over the dent. This will make the plastic bumper flexible. Wearing a glove – remember you just poured hot water all over this thing – reach under the bumper and start pushing out. The bumper should be flexible enough for you to adjust. Once you’ve gotten the dent pushed out, pour cold water back over the area you worked on. This will shrink the plastic back down.
2. Hot Air and Compressed Air
Here’s a slightly modified solution to that same problem: Instead of using boiling water, use a heat gun or a blow drier – the blow drier will take much longer – to heat the area. Then take a can of compressed air, flip it upside down and spray the area. The upside down air shoots out freezing gas. Make sure not to breathe any of it in.
3. Get Tar Off Your Car
If you’ve driven through some freshly laid asphalt and notice some specks of tar messing up your paint job, don’t run off to the body shop just yet. Applying some laundry pre-wash liquid to the spots should be enough to harmlessly remove them.
4. Impromptu Snow Shovel
If you find yourself stuck in a snow drift and don’t have a shovel to dig yourself out, don’t despair; you’ve been driving around with four perfectly good shovels and didn’t even realize it. Try taking off one of your hubcaps to get snow out of your way. If the situation is really dire and you’re lucky enough to be with three friends, everybody can dig with their own hubcap. Obviously this is an emergency measure, and probably is only marginally better than using your hands, but everyone you’re with will be amazed by your MacGyver-like ingenuity.
5. Stop Rust
So the inevitable has happened: You’ve noticed a paint chip. While you might be willing to save money just by overlooking it, the very least you can do is take steps to prevent that spot from being the origin of a serious rust problem. All you have to do is clean the chipped area and apply some clear nail polish to keep the rust out.
6. Remove Rust
If you’ve noticed rust accumulating in places you couldn’t have covered in clear nail polish – like your bumper or other metal pieces – then try this trick to remove it. Crumple up some aluminum foil and get a liter of cola. Pour the cola and scrub away with the foil – amazingly, the rust comes right off.
7. Remove Bumper Stickers
Maybe your kid is no longer on the honor roll. Maybe you’ve swapped political allegiances or just don’t think Calvin peeing on something is funny anymore. Like tattoo removal, bumper sticker removal can be a therapeutic way to put some past mistakes behind you, get a fresh start and move on with your life. As eager as you are to get those stickers from four elections ago off of your bumper, you still don’t want to mess up your paint job.
Here’s how to make this potentially tricky situation easy: Get some lighter fluid and a razor (make sure you put that cigarette out first). Soak the sticker in lighter fluid and then gently pry at the edges with the razor. Do your best not to make any slicing motions; you’re using the razor to get under the sticker, not to cut it off. Once you get under the edge, the stick should peel away without tearing up any paint with it.
These tips will keep your car looking like new – or at least presentable – for a long time to come.
~Ali Lawrence
