Many cars now come with tinted windows to help with sun’s glare and add a bit or privacy to the occupants of the vehicle also. Of course these windows also set the car off too, making your car look cool or better looking at least.
Being able to see where you are going is probably an important thing when driving, but you would be surprised how many people just rely on what out of their washer bottle, front back and sides. So now and again it is worth while just getting those windows clean, not just so your car looks better, but from a safety point of view also. Using the wrong types of cleaner can leave streaks or even damage your windows over time, so there is a secret to the type of cleaner you should use on your car’s windows.
Ammonia free cleaner is the secret, just spray it on and use a cloth or tissue to take the cleaning fluid off. The video tells it all, but it is not rocket science, just make sure you use ammonia free window cleaner.
Keeping your car on the road is key to everyone and one of the main topics of our blog. But from time to time things go wrong even if you look after your vehicle well. In fact, most breakdown cover call out are for silly little things like a flat tyres, or leaving your keys ion the car or even running out of fuel. IN the USA we have partnerships throughout the states or a network of recovery trucks that will attend a stricken vehicle sometimes part of a warranty agreement.
In the UK however, they is a term called breakdown cover, which is not known outside of the UK and describes the umbrella term for basic cover, normally known as roadside assistance to breakdown recovery, which will transport your car to a place of repair. Our job is not to explain all this, but to point you where you can learn more. We have come across a new site call breakdown cover today, which although a new site will explain everything you need to know about breakdown cover, not at once of course but over several posts.
We know that breakdown cover is marketed differently across the world and forms warranty of an insurance policy. But at the end of the day all the motorist wants, is someone to get them back on the road again, quickly and cheaply. So it is worth knowing a bit more of what it is about and you should investigate the possibilities of buying breakdown cover toady for your own protection.
I suppose there was a time in the UK where we need arm action to open the windows in our cars. And for many vehicles we still do, but in the USA that was frowned upon many years before us in the UK. The traditional track for the side windows to go up and down has now been replaced by a drive cable which is easier and quicker to replace.
Although for the UK and has no reference to any car we sell here in the UK, here is an American mechanic showing us how to remove this window drive cable, from his unrecognisable Auto. (Well to us anyway). But one presumes the technology is the same over here and whether it is an Auto or a car you refer to, the job should be done in the same way.
In most salvage cases (normally not flooding)there will be some panels that need changed, the cost and complexity of changing these panels is normally what dictates whether the car is repairable or not. There are different ways of buying these panes, you can try and buy them second hand through a car parts location service like CarSpareFinder, or through your local breaker’s yards, you can buy them new from an auto shop (these parts tend to by copies made abroad) or you can go to the main dealer and the buy the same quality of panel that was put on the car at new.
The decision of which route to take is normally related to the value of the car when finished, it is unlikely you will put used old cheap parts say on a new BMW, but with a cheaper or older car, you may go down the used or cheaper copy route. The next question is whether that panel bolts on or needs welding? The answer of this question normally dictates whether you do it yourself or pay and experience welder to do it for it, unless you are trained at welding of course.
You then decide on how big and where the panel is. Below is a video of a garage replacing a quarter panel, which normally needs cutting out wand welding in. This is one of the most expensive panels to replace on a salvage car and the cost and hassle to this repair should be considered carefully before buying any salvage project.
The paint is the next consideration, but that is for another 2 way automotive post.