Keeping a car clean is mostly about avoiding the things that scratch it. Keeping it cheap to run is mostly about the two or three checks nobody does.
The cheap checks that save real money
- Tyre pressures, monthly. Under-inflated tyres wear faster, use more fuel and handle
worse. It is free and takes four minutes.
- Oil level, monthly on an older car. Running low is how an engine dies.
- Coolant and screenwash, which are the two most commonly forgotten and the cheapest to
top up.
- Tread depth. The legal minimum in the UK is 1.6mm across the central three quarters.
A 20p coin's outer band is a rough check: if you can see the band, get them measured.
Washing without scratching it
Most swirl marks in paint are put there by washing, not by the road.
- Rinse thoroughly first. Grit dragged across paint is what scratches it.
- Two buckets, one with shampoo and one to rinse the mitt, so grit goes in the water
rather than back onto the car.
- Top down. The lower panels are the dirtiest.
- Dry with a proper microfibre towel rather than letting it air dry, which is where water
spots come from, especially in hard water areas.
- Never washing-up liquid. It strips wax and dries out trim.
Winter
Salt is the enemy and it gets underneath where you cannot see it. Rinse the underside when you can, and do not leave salt sitting on the car for weeks. Keep the door seals from freezing with a silicone spray, not oil.
The honest bit about products
We do not review products we have not tested. What we will say is that the difference between a cheap shampoo and an expensive one is far smaller than the difference between two buckets and one.