Some car owners clean and detail their vehicles religiously and some car owners have not been educated on the real benefits and advantages of keeping and maintaining a clean vehicle all year round. Some major factors than come in to play is how do you drive your vehicle? Do you drive up to your cottage every weekend, do a lot of highway driving and simply the environment you drive your vehicle in?
For a lot of Canadian car owners, we face very harsh and cruel winter months and the vehicles are exposed to an extreme amount of salt on the roads. There are two areas you should be protecting as a car owner, the interior components and all of the exterior surfaces including the undercarriage and everything in the wheel liner. There are 2 ways consumers obtain a vehicle to drive: to lease or to buy/finance. When bringing these vehicles back, whether for lease return or trade in/selling of vehicle. Overall maintenance and appearance of your vehicle when you are returning, trading or selling it can make a very big difference in resale value and the amount of charges you may occur when returning a lease.
What Am I Protecting The Exterior Of My Vehicle From, And How?
When buying a new vehicle you should always rust proof all door jambs, wheel wells and fender linings as well as all under carriage components. Once you have those areas covered, its time to protect all painted surfaces. To help keep the longevity of front end, which is the area of your vehicle that takes the most abuse while driving; Paint protection film is always the best option. This also eliminates the need for re-painting of front bumper over time due to stone chips which break through the OEM clear coat and begin peeling back into your basecoat.
Most front and back bumpers of vehicles are not metal, so we don’t need to worry about rusting in those areas, but protection is still recommended. For the rest of the painted surfaces on the vehicle which can range from aluminum (which doesn’t rust) to metal, we still want a thick layer of protection on top of the clearcoat especially during winter months. A polymer-based sealant topped with a high quality carnauba wax is what is recommended if an application of ceramic coating does not fit your budget.
For a dual layered exterior protection with quality products at preferred shop should be in the price range of $200-$400. For better protection and longevity of the painted surfaces a quality installation of Ceramic coating should be in the price range of $1,200 – $2,200.
or the front windshield there are a few options depending on the vehicle. For vehicles that aren’t winter driven there is a thick transparent film that can be applied to protect from stone chips and cracks in windshield. If your vehicle is winter driven there are hydrophobic window treatments and ceramic coating applications which can be applied to reduce the need for wipers which increases visibility and elimination of glare at night.
Interior Protection
To protect the interior components from basic wear and tear on the carpets and floors, it is highly recommended that Weather Tech mats are purchased and installed on a rejuvenated surface (floors & carpets without salt stains, etc.) All other areas of your interior including leather or fabric seats and all trims and kickplates can have a ceramic application applied which will repel water and stains and increase the longevity of all components.
