New Car Question

[Mike]

Hi, I have a couple questions regarding new car care. I am stupid when it comes to cars, so please bare with me!!!

I just purchased a new car and I want to take care of it. Researching car care on the internet has been ok so far but I have a few questions.

1) How soon and how often should I wax my car? What kind of Wax is good? I have seen wax that is advertised to cover scratches and what not. Now I dont have any yet but is that any good?

2) I take it that alloy means aluminum? If so, when cleaning my tires I should spray the tire and the rim with a tire cleaner to clean? I have seen on here that you should wax your rims also.
So do you use the same wax that you would use on your paint?

3) For the dash and interior vinyl should I use armor all or something with a better UV protection?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

[BrianS]

Hi Mike,

Welcome to the forum. I take it you are in the States? You guys call them Aluminums, we call them Alloys.

For the best care of a new car, you should have it waxed from day one. Now some dealers may already have them waxed before selling them, but they may have used a cheap wax so its better to be safe than sorry. You should set a schedule to wash weekly and wax at about ten weeks, depending on your choice of wax though.

A good wax is a polymer carnauba wax. If you are in the US you have some great products available to you. Keep an eye out for these:

Klasse All-in-one & Klasse Sealant Glaze. With a brand new car, you just need the SG. Its made from acrylic, so if you put on two or three coats it will last twice as long as regular wax.
Zaino Bros. This is an excellent polymer sealant which I use myself. The only drawback is that you need two bottles of stuff to use it. One is the Sealant and the other is a foundation liquid which ensures a tight bond to the paint. But you get a real show-car shine.
Meguiars. Excellent brand with excellent results. You should find that anywhere.


To clean your tyres & wheels, use regular car shampoo and a soft brush. If they are really dirty, you can up the concentration a bit, but make sure you do it frequently. Nothing worse than trying to get rid of a build-up of brakedust. Waxing the wheels gives only light protection, but it makes them easier to clean and makes them shiny. I do it but its absolutely necessary.

For the dash, I’m not too sure about Armour-All. There were some bad rumours about their range, but they seem to have improved. Anyway, if you are getting products from some of the above brands, they will have good vinyl dressings. Make sure that it is a water based dressing - no solvents, better protection. It’s a milky liquid - that’s how you will know its water-based.

Hope this helps but let me know if you need any further assistance.

Take Care Out There.

Brian.

[Mike]

Thanks for the reply. I am in the U.S!!!

I just got a suzuki xl7 and I want to take care of it unlike my other cars that turned to beasts that I have had!!!

Cheers

[BrianS]

but a lot of work!!

I love the big 4x4s. I have a Pajero (I think they are called Montero's in the US) but it has a short wheel base. Great fun all the same!!

Happy Motoring.

B.