Garden & Water Features

Get your car ready for the winter weather

As August ends and with it our British Summer time, we now look forward to the next big focus of the year: Christmas and the winter period. Winter time can be picturesque and serene but can also play havoc with your car, every year people have to get up early to prepare their car for work whether it’s for warming the engine up or just clearing the windows of snow and ice.

This extra effort is not without reason as a large percentage of road accidents will happen during winter due to the weather and especially their effect on the roads and our vehicles. There are a few extra car maintenance tips you should familiarise yourself with for the winter months as they can save you time, trouble and your safety when on the road this winter.

Get your washer fluid in order

During colder months there’s a good chance that your washer jets will freeze over if they only have water or regular screen wash solution. There is a way to stop this by filling the washer bottle with a solution containing anti-freeze and using it in the right measures. Some solutions need no water at all so these are less likely to freeze when you need them. You’ll need your washer jets during winter as the salt from the roads can fly up and whiten your windscreen quite easily.

Clear your windows early to avoid delays

It can be a pain having to wake up earlier than usual on a winter’s morning but by doing so you can save any delays in getting to work by clearing frost or ice from your car’s windows. An ice scraper is ideal but can be laborious on its own, teamed with a de-icer spray it can make the job a whole lot easier. Running your car’s heaters is advisable too; some cars even have heated front and rear windows which makes the task even simpler.

Warm your car up but remain with your car at all times

Some older cars may need their engines to tick over for a while before driving, this is a common practice and some people may even do it with newer cars just to let the heaters get up to temperature. There is a danger with this trick though as car thieves will be on the lookout for cars left unattended to warm up. Think about it: there is a car running, with the keys in the ignition and the owner is back in the house, eating their breakfast none the wiser. Winter is the time of year that car thieves love for this fact so if you are warming your car up stay with it and keep any garden gates or fences shut to keep intruders at bay.
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About the Author

Phil Adams-Wright writes for a variety of used cars related subjects, other sucjects Phil writes on are Car finance and cheap car loans.

hit a cow with car. Police say cause car drivable and i was OK I have to get money from farmer myself READ ON?

council guys were out trying to get cows off road, they say I did everything right, slowed down etc and that farmers fence was not in good condition. police came and said I have to get money for car repairs off farmer myself. Need new windscreen, scratches on car and two minor dents. how do I get money off farmer? what do I say on phone to make him pay? local police say farmer is not a nice man. NSW AUSTRALIA

Take him to court. If it happened on his property, his Homeowners Insurance should cover your damages.