8 Cheap and Good Car Maintenance Hacks

While car ownership is already expensive in Singapore, some places charge an arm and a leg to repair simple issues or to clean up easily removable stains and grease that can amount to way too much a year. Here’s a list of 8 cheap and good car maintenance hacks that you can save some money and have fun solving your car problems.

Did you park too close to the car next to you while you were on your supermarket run and they end up giving you a present on their way out? Fix that little scratch or paint chip with the closest shade of nail polish! Pick out from your partner’s stash of nail polish or head to the nearest beauty store to pick out a bottle. You’ll solve your trouble for just 5 dollars!

If you don’t feel like going all the way to a mechanic to fix the small dent, this old do-it-yourself trick will help you to eliminate it! Place a plunger on the dent and pull it back, the suction of the plunger will also pull the dent forward and back into its original form.

Do note that this only works for small dents!

Toothpaste, especially the whitening ones, can clean foggy headlights. Using a cloth, apply some toothpaste to the plastic lens cover and rub it thoroughly all over the lens. You’ll need some strength and might to rub it before rinsing the toothpaste off with clean water. Wipe it dry with a dry cloth and your headlights will look sparkly and new! To keep it that way a little longer, use some car wax or furniture polish.

Windshield blades will go through wear and tear and sometimes it may be so damaged that it falls off. For most of Singapore’s hot weather, you may not need to activate the windshield but if you face a thunderstorm, a bare wiper will scratch the glass! For a quick and temporary fix, warm a stocking tightly around the arm of the wiper as a way to act as a barrier between the wiper arm and your glass and it cleans off debris well too!

Coffee filters are soft and works well as a scratch-free polisher while olive oil is often used to keep one’s skin and hair looking good. Combine these two and it will work wonders on your dashboard. Pour some olive oil on the coffee filter and wipe your dashboard. Doing so will help you pick up all the dust and grime and present you with a shiny dashboard.

Rust may accumulate on the metal parts of your car, especially in Singapore’s humid weather. To remove rust on car, use coca-cola! Coca-cola has a low pH and the carbonation it has can dissolve metal oxides to remove tarnishes. Pour some Coca-Cola onto the metal portions, and use an aluminium foil to scrub the rust off. Thereafter, do rinse it with some water and wipe off with a dry cloth to remove the sticky residue!

To remove oil and grease stains, most would usually use a stain remover or some degreaser, but if the stain persists, try using some shaving cream. Take a bit of shaving cream and place them on the stain, wait for a couple of minutes and rub it with a clean cloth to see the stain disappear!

Most would either hand wash their cars once every week or fortnight or send them for a car wash at the petrol station. However, sometimes washing your car does not necessarily immediately bring out the shine of the car. If you would like to restore the glossy paint, wash the exterior with some water that is mixed with a mild hair conditioner. For better effect, repeat these steps every fortnight to preserve the shine in the paint much longer!

Everyday products can work wonders in cleaning and maintaining of your car. We cannot possibly go to the car workshop for every little problem so DIY your own solutions and have fun at it too!

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