How do you keep your cars in excellent condition and avert breakdowns this rainy season, amid the bad roads, marsh and flood? These were some of the questions Emmanuel Okeke, a University of Benin History graduate-turned -auto refurbishment expert, who is also Managing Director of Armani Autoworks Ltd, fielded during a recent interaction with EMMA ANYA.
Driving during rainy season?
Car maintenance has nothing to do with season. It is something every car owner should do, literally every day. There are some major things one must look out for before putting a car on the road.
We all know that our roads are virtually not motorable. Therefore, we must ensure we have very good tyres because those are the part that march the ground and prevent accidents, especially during rainy season. Tyres are to a car what legs are to humans. They keep you firm on the ground.
One should also have good break system. Before you drive out, check under your car to be sure there is no leakage, check that you have enough break oil and confirm that your brake pads are good enough.
Also, check your wipers to be sure that they wipe your screens very well. When you drive with worn out wipers during the rains, you are more prone to accidents, because you’ll likely have poor vision. When you are faced with such a challenge, the best thing is to park and wait for the rain to subside.
Again, your lights, including the trafficators and hazard lights, must be in excellent working conditions. With good lighting system, you are sure to see well especially at night. Vehicles behind you will also see you well when it is raining. All these save you from accidents.
You must also avoid speeding when it is raining because roads get slippery and dangerous.
Rain and car AC
Car air conditioner is meant to maintain a particular temperature within a vehicle so that it remains cool. But it also clears your wind shield for good visibility.
If your car AC is not on when it is raining, the wind shield will not be clear, no matter how good your wiping system is. If you wind down your side glass, the mist will clear but rain water will wet you silly in the car. This forces you to park and wait for the rain to subside, but if you opt to manage, you will be exposing yourself and other drivers to accident.
There are times a car engine goes off when you run into flood with the AC on. My advice is, no matter how excellent your vehicle engine works; endeavour to put off the AC once you are approaching a flooded area. This prevents the engine from going off and protects your AC fan. Note that when the AC fan is forced to stop rotating, it may break or destroy something that might force you to get stuck in the flood.
* Heater, AC and poor visibility or mist
We are not used to heaters here. Many car owners have never turned them on. Heater can do the job of also clearing the mist during the rains like the AC but most times it makes the driver and his passengers very uncomfortable.
* Why you must wash your car during the rains
A lot of us hesitate to wash our cars regularly during the rainy season. But it shouldn’t be so. Rather rainy season is the period you should wash your vehicle every day.
You must realise that because of the acidic nature of rain water, your car body is more prone to rust. So you need to wash it daily. Also during the rains, your car collects more mud or sand. If you fail to clean it every day, you are also inviting rust.
Your car is like your body
Your car is like your body, if you treat it well, you will hardly go to the mechanic. If you don’t, the mechanic becomes your friend. Some people say some cars are problematic but I disagree. There is no car that is not good if you treat it like your body. If your vehicle demands oil change, change it. If your car demands petrol you don’t have to wait for the level to be empty before you top it up. If you don’t top it up above half tank, your fuel pump will draw dirt and cause a break down.
* Better bake your car
Baking is a system whereby your car is painted in a regulated spraying booth. The booth is such that you have enough illumination and temperature that regulates itself. It also has water resistance system. If you spray your car in a booth, it comes out looking as if it was just rolled out of a factory. You can drive it immediately because it is dried automatically unlike a conventional spraying.
Even during the rains, baked cars resist the acidic nature of rain waters and leave it still smothering and shinning because it was painted in a conducive or regulated environment.
*Keeping your car constantly shinning
Avoid using salty water to wash your car, because they corrode car colour. But how possible is this since most of our waters are salty.
When you wash your car with detergent, don’t allow the foam to dry on it. Pour water and wipe it off immediately with pebble free duster.
You also need to polish or wax your car at least every six months to keep its colour shinning like a new car. You don’t really need an expert to teach you how to polish or wax your vehicle. Simply buy good cotton wool and good wax or car polish and you are good to go. You and I know cotton wools aren’t expensive. Likewise, polish or wax. Some car polish or wax cost just N1, 000. But waxing or polishing is time consuming.
If you know you are a very busy person; there are experts that can do it for you at moderate cost.
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