Car Insurance

We’ve all been there. You’re driving along the highway, minding your own business, when suddenly a huge truck in front of you kicks up a rock and hits you right smack in the middle of your windshield. After you’ve cursed and wailed, you wonder, how the heck am I going to afford to replace this windshield? Or maybe you’re thinking, my deductible for my comprehensive insurance is five hundred dollars and a windshield costs less than that!

Working for several years at an automobile insurance company, I learned one thing. Insurance companies are cheap. Well, o.k, I learned two things, windshields don’t have to be replaced, they can be repaired. The reason I learned these things is because, when a customer would call in a claim to our company of a cracked windshield that they wanted replaced, the cheap insurance company would refer them to a company that repaired windshields at a fraction of the price, therefore saving the insurance company a lot of money and saving the customer a bit of time.

You can find one of these windshield repairing companies in the yellow pages of your local phone book. Most of these companies work with insurance companies and are equipped to come to your vehicle and repair it wherever it is. You can have your windshield repaired from the parking lot of your office or in the driveway of your home. These mobile windshield repairing wizards will go anywhere.

Through a magical process, your windshield repairman will make your chip or crack disappear and you won’t even be able to tell it was ever broken. If your windshield is only chipped it is a good idea to get it repaired anyway before your chip turns into a crack that stretches across your whole window. The whole process doesn’t take very long and you’ll be glad you didn’t have to take your car to a garage to replace the whole thing and your wallet will be happy too.

The windshield repair process involves the drilling of tiny holes into the glass and using special glazing techniques, the cracks are filled in with a substance that hardens and stops cracks from spreading. The substance used is a kind of liquid resin, which is then hardened with ultraviolet light, much the same as your dentist uses. Making sure that the repair has the same refractive qualities as the rest of the windshield to minimize distortion, the windshield repairman can cause your windshield’s crack to disappear. Sometimes, you will be able to notice a slight blur at the sight of the crack, but it should be fairly minimal.

The price for a windshield repair is on average about sixty dollars, depending on the size of the crack. Compare this to the cost of a replaced windshield at around three hundred dollars, and you can really be saving some money. Most services also warrantee their work so you can be sure that your windshield will be fixed right. Some companies even sell windshield repair kits, you can start your own business!

Having your car professionally detailed can be expensive, but when your car is detailed, it looks like new again. If you are ambitious, you can keep your car looking freshly manicured without spending a lot of money or just give your old car a facelift. Detailing your car is different from simply washing it and touching up paint, when you ‘detail’, you get every single little nook and cranny which will make a huge difference in the appearance of your car. The little things really do matter and you will see the difference when you are finished.

To begin your detailing, start with your tires. WD-40 or a similar product works great for spiffing up your wheel wells. Spray the product generously on every visible part of your wheel well and let it sit. Use a simple household grease-cutting cleaner like Fantastic, 409, or one of the new citrus types of sprays and douse your tires, rims and hubcaps. Use old toothbrushes, Q-tips and scrub brushes to get every single speck of dirt and grease from your tires.

Next, you will move on to areas of your car where road dirt, grease, etc. accumulate such as your grill, bumpers, the lower part of your windshield where leaves and small bits of assorted junk can accumulate. Use Q-tips, toothbrushes, etc. to get the dirt and grease and debris from every tiny crack and corner. Clean the inside part of your door where it latches with a good degreasing spray. Touch up any scratches or nicks with touch-up paint you can get from your dealer or auto parts store. Completely wash and hose down the exterior of the car and give it a good waxing. Polish all of the windows inside and out with glass cleaner and paper towels or old newspapers.

Now that you have the outside of the car looking good, move to the inside. Clean out your trunk and vacuum it. If you have a lot of junk rambling about in the trunk, use an inexpensive milk crate container to hold things. Inside your car, clean and condition your dash board, insides of doors, consoles, etc. Wash your ashtrays and coin holders. Spray a carpet stain remover on any stained carpeting and spray an upholstery cleaner on your seats. Use a carpet deodorizing powder or baking soda before you vacuum your vehicle.

Rent an upholstery steam cleaner or rug cleaner with small attachments to shampoo your carpet and upholstery.

To keep your newly detailed car clean, always keep a trash bag in the car for travel waste and drive your car through the car wash at least once a week or wash yourself!

Rust is every car owner’s worst nightmare. It can eat away at your vehicle like a sinister, unseen plague. Rusting is a natural process and cannot be eliminated. It can, however be slowed down. By regularly checking over your car for rust spots you can hone in on problem areas. Rust is caused when mild steel come into contact with water, which is slightly acidic.

Treating small rust spots is quite simple. These are normally caused by road stones flying up and chipping off the top coat of paint, leaving the bare metal exposed to the elements. In damp conditions the spot will rust very quickly. Here’s how to treat such areas:

(1) Wipe the rust spot and an area about an inch around it with a cloth which has been moistened with white spirits. Scrape away the loose paint. Now rub down the rust area with coarse sand paper until you reach a sound area of paint.

(2) After clearing off the dust, apply primer(not rust remover) using a fine paint brush. Overlap beyond the affected area by about a quarter inch. Allow the primer to dry thoroughly.

(3) Use an old knife to smooth on a thin layer of cellulose stopper. Try to make a clean job in smoothing over the affected area, without leaving any excess.

(4) Use medium grade sand paper to smooth the job down until it is completely flush with the surrounding areas.

(5) Having purchased some touch up repair paint, shake the can thoroughly. Then stir it with a piece of thin wire. Apply the paint smoothly and quickly. Overlap the paint onto the existing paint work. After 24 hours, apply a second coat.

When searching for an exact color match, look under the car’s bonnet and find the identification plate. You will see a section marked paint color or trim code. Take this number along to the accessory shop. They should have a color chart showing which color this corresponds to. This will give you the exact shade of your paint work.

The most vulnerable areas to minor rust as a result of chips are the lips of the wheel arches and the area immediately behind the wheels. You can prevent much of this damage by investing in mud flaps. You may also find that areas around the doors and locks are vulnerable to rust. This is because your car keys are likely to chip paint when they knock against the paintwork. Being aware of this can make you more cautious.

It’s true that rust never sleeps. Neither should we when it comes to treating rust. Get onto the problem smartly and you will avoid what could develop into a major repair bill.

A dent in the car – so easy to come by and oh, so expensive to get fixed. Almost makes you want to save those expensive panel-beating rates and do it yourself, doesn’t it? Oh, if only you knew how. Well, fixing minor dents is actually not that difficult. With the right tools you can do it yourself – really. Here’s how to go about it:

TOOLS

Before you attempt to fix that dent make sure you’ve got the right tools and materials. You’ll want to have a couple of hammers, one ball-pein and the other claw. Also have on hand a block of wood, an electric drill, HSS drill bits, self-locking grips and self-tapping screw, an abrasive sanding disc or wire brush, body filler kit, sanding paper, cellulose body stopper, clean rags and a hair-dryer.

DENT FIXING STEPS

(1) The first step is to beat out the dent. Try pushing it out with your hands. Often the dent will simply spring out. Failing this, hold a block of wood on the outside of the dent and use a ball-pein hammer to gently beat out the dent from the inside, doing so until it is just below the level of the rest of the panel.

(2) If the inside of the dent is inaccessible, mark the center of it, then drill a small hole with an HSS bit. Now screw in a long self-tapping screw until about half an inch sticks out. Grip the end of the screw with either the end of a claw hammer or a pair of self-locking grips.

(3) Now sand down the area with an electric drill fitted with a wire brush or sanding disc. Remove all paint from the dent.

(4) Apply filler to the dented area with a plastic spatula.

(5) After allowing the filler to harden use a rasp to shape the surface. Move to coarse sand paper wrapped around a sanding block. As the shape becomes closer to it’s finish, move to a finer grade of paper.

(6) Check for any imperfections in the finish with your fingers. Fill these with cellulose stopper.

(7) Give a final rub down with fine paper.

(8) When you are ready to spray paint the area, cover light clusters, windows and surrounding body-work with masking tape and brown paper sheets.

(9) Apply aerosol primer. From a distance of about 8 inches, spray a thin coat, all the time moving the can back and forth. Apply two more coats of primer. Lightly rub over with fine paper when completely dry.

(10) Now apply a top coat, spraying in horizontal lines and working your way down from the top. Apply two more coats. Allow to dry thoroughly and then rub down with fine paper. About an hour later apply your final respray.

And there you have it. Fixing your own dents will require a large amount of patience and attention to detail but it will avoid putting a dent in your wallet and that makes it well worth the effort.

Unless your car is kept garaged most of the time it is subject to the dirt, smog and harsh weather. These conditions make it hard on the body and interior of your automobile. Learning how to properly wax and clean your car can prevent premature wear and tear. It is also smart to keep your car in the best condition for the sake of resale value.

Washing the exterior of your vehicle is the first step. Using a small amount of car soap with a bucket of water is much more effective than trying to wash it at a car wash. You can purchase car soap and is recommended over household soaps because of its mild chemicals. A steady stream of water instead of blasting it with a hose is gentler on the paint. Once you have soaped and rinsed you car as well as the glass use a clean dry soft towel to dry it off.

Now you are ready to apply a glaze. A glaze is used before waxing to hide scratches and spiderwebbing. You can apply this rather fast as it does not have to be perfect. Once the glaze is dry it is time for the wax. You can buy a liquid wax or a solid wax, the latter lasts longer. Apply with a sponge or whatever may be provided, make sure you are not in direct sunlight. The sun can dry the wax making it hard to remove. Take a section at a time being very careful not to get any on rubber or plastic. A dry clean polishing cloth is best to remove it with.

Now you are ready to clean the interior. The first thing for a good thourough cleaning job is if possible, remove the seats. This allows you to vacuum in hard to get to places. Be sure and take out the floor mats and clean those, too. If they are carpet mats you may want to shampoo them and vacuum them with a shop vac. Using a vinyl protectant on the dash and dash board will protect it from the sun as well as giving it a shine. A Q-tip is an easy way to get to the little areas a cloth will not reach. Make sure you do not forget the windows inside and out. Using a glass cleaner and clean paper towel or newspaper will suffice. If your automobile has leather seats it is wise to clean with a leather protectant for best results.

Keeping your car’s interior and exterior clean is not only beneficial to the life of the car, it also makes you feel good about the vehicle you are driving.