It’s devastating to buy a vehicle, and a mere three years down the line,
notice it is laden with dents, scrapes, or blemishes. "Where did these
imperfections come from," you might ask? You may swear you were driving
carefully, but in this day and age it is just not enough to be a safe driver.
Aside from avoiding potholes, rock-rich dirt roads, and driving while hail is
coming down, most exterior vehicular wear comes from little things we do every
day and forget. Other than the scratch pad, of course, the best method of
vehicle protection is to pay attention to where you park and how you load items
in and out of your car. If protecting your exterior is important to you,
consider following recommendations:
Protect your vehicle from the sun
The sun’s rays will do a rough number on your car's finish over the years,
even if you use top-of-the-line protective waxes and polishes - the sun is just
too powerful. For those without physical disabilities, the best thing to do is
park in the shade. If you’re going to leave your car parked somewhere, even if
it is for fifteen minutes, find a shady spot under a tree or on a side street.
You're avoiding the heat, the heavy traffic areas, and busy parking lots - but
you're also avoiding one of the other leading causes of exterior car damage -
shopping carts.
Keep your vehicle away from shopping carts
Shopping carts have been the culprits behind car dings and scratches for far
too long. While drivers are happy that many of our favorite stores have started
to implement compartmentalized shopping cart areas throughout their parking
lots, we all know people are often lazy, and walking fifty feet to that area
proves far too bothersome for some. Instead, people leave their cart resting
along a curb without securing it in any way - making it easy for a light breeze
to send the car barreling down the lane and directly into your passenger door
while your are inside, happily shopping, and unaware.
Unfortunately, you probably won't notice a ding like this until much later,
when it is nearly impossible to make a report or take any sort of action.
Carry a blanket in your vehicle
The last recommendation we have today is simple: keep a thick blanket in the
trunk of your car. A thick blanket is useful on many occasions, but the main
purpose is to protect your exterior when loading items in and our of your truck.
Use the blanket as a medium between the item you’re trying to load and the very
vulnerable portion of your car where your trunk meets your bumper, and you'll
avoid unnecessary dings and scratches caused by careless loading.
Isn’t vehicle protection a little easier than you thought?
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