Brad-Your Car Guy-New Year’s Resolutions

Guess what time of year it is? That’s right, it’s New Years time. (Actually, if you didn’t know without guessing then perhaps reading my car blog isn’t what you should be doing right now. Call your doctor.) And What is it we all do at New Year’s time that has absolutely no effect on the rest of our year? That’s right, make resolutions.

In the spirit of the season, and as your car guy, I feel I would be remiss (one of my resolutions is to try and use the word ‘remiss’ more often) if I didn’t offer a few car related suggestions for inclusion in your New Years resolution list. So, here, without further ado (‘ado’ is resolution word number two) are my top five car related New Year’s resolutions:

1. Keep Up With Regularly Scheduled Maintenance

Today’s automobiles are engineered to run, well, basically forever provided you follow a regularly scheduled maintenance program. This New Years resolve to follow such a program and extend the life and value of your car.

Most manufacturers suggest that you change the oil and filter, and lubricate where needed, every 3,000 miles. Alignments usually come around every 15,000 miles or so, and things like engine flushes, injector cleanings and transmission flushes come at 18,000 or 30,000 miles. Consult the owner’s manual for your vehicle, or speak to your local dealer, to get the proper maintenance program for your car.

Aside from this type of maintenance, taking the time to lift the hood and visually inspect belts and hoses, and checking things like tire tread, are important parts of keeping your car in top running shape.

No matter the age or mileage of your vehicle, resolving to maintain it properly will help to make your new year both safe and thrifty.

2. A Clean Car Always Makes You Feel Good

We are all guilty of letting our car become overly cluttered every now and then. Life these days is most often busy, and finding the time to clean out or wash the car is not always atop our priorities list. Resolve to keep your car cleaner in 2009.

The exteriors of our cars are painted and clear coated not only to look bright and shiny, but to help protect against rust and damage to body components. An important step in helping to ensure your car’s paint job does its job is to assist it by protecting the paint by regularly washing and waxing.

The value of your car can also be seriously affected by things like stains and tears in the interior. Keeping the interior clean and uncluttered not only helps to maintain maximum re-sale or trade in value for your car, but helps to make travel safer by keeping objects away from pedals or out of your lines of sight so you can remain in control and informed of your surroundings at all times.

Twice a year give you and your car a real treat, get your car detailed. One way to turn a bad day into a good day is to get your car cleaned. I don’t know about you, but I always feel better in a clean car. Smart Tip….Always apply tire dressing, this is the icing on the cake.

3. Take a Defensive Driving Class

First Let me say, especially for drivers of pick-ups always wear a seat belt. Enough said.

We all think we are expert drivers and know exactly what we are doing. The truth is, many of us are so far removed from our days in driving school we are lucky to remember the shape of a stop sign much less the correct distance to follow a car or the required stopping distance when traveling sixty miles per hour. Resolve to take a defensive driving class this year and re-acquaint yourself with the rules of the road.

Along with becoming a better informed driver, defensive driving classes offer other benefits. Many states offer a reduction in points on your driver’s license or even a 10% reduction in insurance rates for completion of a defensive driving class.

Think of it this way, a defensive driving class is a resolution that not only benefits you, but benefits those traveling around you, or loved ones traveling with you, as well. I live in Bartlesville, Oklahoma and believe me they should make this course mandatory at least every five years. Take a drive through town and you will know what I’m talking about!

4. Lower Your Eco-Impact

Whether you are concerned about global warming or convinced that it is an attempt by the liberal media to promote Al Gore as ruler of the New World Order, there is no arguing that fuel supplies are a limited resource and cleaner air is never detrimental. Given this, a resolution to reduce your car related eco-impact is a resolution that can benefit your pocket book as well as your health.

By making sure that cars are well maintained and tuned, and that all emissions components are functioning properly, you can assist in reducing the amount of pollutants your car emits and conserve fuel. Taking simple steps like checking to make sure your tires are properly inflated, perhaps with a handy Obama tire gauge, can help as well.

Other ways to conserve your fuel consumption and emissions are car pooling, when possible, and by scheduling things like errands so that one car trip will allow you to take care of many things. Resolve to take all these steps and make 2009 the year you made an impact by reducing your impact.

5. Brad’s Daily Tips will Save you Energy, Money and Time

Well, this may not seem car related, but by taking a couple of simple steps you can make 2009 the year you resolve to increase your long term savings by trimming your auto expenses.

Maintenance has already come up a couple of times and, here again, it plays a major role. The money spent on regular maintenance can save you a bundle in repair costs down the road. Being eco-friendly also translates into savings in fuel costs, so another resolution ties in here as well.

You can also take steps, such as paying a little extra on your car payment every month to save money in interest down the road, or check out different auto insurance options to make sure you are getting the best possible deal.

And don’t forget to resolve to read my blog at least once a week for my daily insider tips at www.bradyourcarguy.com. My mission is to make car ownership a true pleasure and for my readers and for you to get the most bang for your buck.

So, make this year the year of the car resolution (or the year of resolving to add plenty of parenthetical statements to your blog posts) and the year that you keep the resolutions you make. The benefits are well worth the little amount of time and effort required to finally follow through on the five (6) little resolutions listed here.

For more information please contact Brad Doenges of Doenges Ford Lincoln Mercury Toyota in Bartlesville Oklahoma at (918) 333-0900.

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