Buying your first or rather a brand new car gives you that amazing feeling of joy and happiness, especially if you just bought your dream car!
But before you take your new ride for a decent drive, first make sure that you know everything about your vehicle, and of course, you should be well aware of all of its new features and tech.
In this short blog post, I will discuss some “to-do list” after you buy your brand new vehicle. Lets get started!
New Car – New Tech and Features!
It is important that you are familiarize or knowledgeable enough about your new ride’s technology. As you know, you are getting a new vehicle for the purpose of a better ride, performance, features and many others. It is basically an upgrade, therefore keep yourself updated with its features and tech.
For example, if your previous car has a conventional automatic transmission and your newly bought car is a tiptronic transmission, then you must learn how to use that new feature as it provide that manual shifting pleasure if needed in a given road conditions. Tiptronic is a geared-automatic transmission that permits spontaneous gear changes at any time.
Some cars today uses a rotary selector or a push-button gear selector. This means that there’s no traditional gear shifters in the cabin. Of course, before you buy these types of expensive vehicles, make sure that you were given enough demo from your car dealer.
Another tech features are the infotainment system. If you aren’t familiar yet with your new vehicle’s infotainment interface, then you should study them first before you take a long ride. Most modern vehicles have their safety controls, cruise control, speed, tire pressure, and many others, are all shown on the infotainment screen. So this is a must after you just purchase a new ride.
Aside from a thorough walk-through and assistance from your car dealership, it is also recommended that you read your car’s service manual so you’ll know how you can take good care of your new ride.
New Car – A Whole Different Engine!
If you are a complete first timer, then you should never drive your new vehicle in high RPMs during its first thousand kilometers (running-in period)! This is because your engine still has low compression rate.
Here are some of the things that you should avoid after buying a new vehicle:
- Over-revving the engine
- Driving at a constant speed for long distances
- Super short trips
- Completely flooring the throttle
- Slamming the brakes
- Overloading or towing other cars
- Using premium petrol
Over-Revving the Engine. A freshly owned car with a new engine shouldn’t be taken to the redline! Revving up your engine could be fun especially if you just bought a performance or a super car. However, you should avoid this habit until you are over your running-in period of at least 1,000 kilometers.
Driving at a Constant Speed. Excited using your cruise control? If this sounds like you, then you might want to avoid using this feature for a long drive for at least 1,000 kilometers. Driving your car at a constant speed does give your engine a negative effect on the long run.
Super Short Trips. Never drive your new ride on a very short trip. You must take an effort of at least reaching your car’s operating temperature before you turn it off. If you often drive short trips, it will give detrimental effects on your car’s electrical system, engine, transmission and suspension system.
Completely Flooring the Throttle. All car dealership recommends not to floor the throttle all the way as it can give significant wear on your engine’s pistons. You need to let the pistons sink in first before you drive on your desired speed.
Slamming the Breaks. Like hard acceleration above, sudden hard breaking can have similar bad effects on your braking system especially your break pads, pistons and rotors. Let the discs get used to your driving habits first.
Overloading or Towing. Your car is designed to carry limited load and this should be neglected. Towing other car or overloading can give significant wear on your engine and especially to your transmission. You don’t want your brand new car’s transmission to overheat do you? So make sure that you don’t exceed the load limit of your car especially if you are still within running in period.
Using Premium Petrol. You probably wants the best, high-octane rating petrol for your car right? Well, that isn’t always the best choice for most car makes and models. Automotive companies never recommend running their cars on premium fuel. So make sure to read your manual about the recommended petrol brand for your new vehicle.
New Car – Maintenance Advice!
Having a new ride doesn’t mean that you will never do any extra touch ups and add-ons. To help your car last longer than expected, some preventive or maintenance tasks are needed to keep your car elegant, shining and luxurious overtime.
Consider the following suggestions:
- Ceramic Paint Coating/Protection
- Quality Floor Mats
- Ceramic Glass Tint
- Engine and Interior Detailing Kit
- Rain and Dust-Proof car Cover
Ceramic Paint Protection / Coating. Prevent unwanted scratches with ceramic paint coating which can last up to 5 years. This can be expensive but it is truly worth it. After ceramic coating, you may want to cover your car with paint protection film (PPF) which acts like a transparent cover to protect your ceramic paint coating.
Quality Floor Mats. Rubber or carpet floor mats are readily available at car dealership at an additional costs. But it’s all worth the price as you really need quality floor mats to keep your carpet clean and odor-free!
Ceramic Glass Tint. Most automotive companies only offer carbon-based glass tints. If you can avail ceramic tints that are much more expensive but can highly save you more money in the long run, then have ceramic tints instead.
Engine and Interior Detailing Kit. If you are a car enthusiast, then you know that owning a detailing cleaning set for your engine, tires, exterior and interior, will almost keep your car’s value for years. Plus, having a “clean” car is priceless!
Rain and Dust-Proof Car Cover. A quality cover is a must for every car especially if you plan on storing them for a long time. It will help protect your car pain from animal scratches, heat and water spots from acid rain. But don’t just buy any ordinary car cover, buy a car cover that is water and dust proof.
Conclusion
There you have it! Owning car shouldn’t be complicated to maintain. Enjoy your brand new vehicle to the fullest and it will reward you as long as the car is yours.
Follow the recommendations above and you’ll surely love your car for years to come! Until next time guys!
