5 Ways to Get Your Car Ready For Spring

Now that the winter is – finally! – coming to an end, it's time to think about what your car needs as you drive into the warmer months. For drivers living where winter climates really do a number on the exterior, underpinnings, tires, and wheels of cars, looking at salt damage, getting a wash and a wax and taking care of a number of maintenance needs on your vehicle's outside is a smart way to get ready for the spring. Take a look at these spring tips to get ready for warmer weather or find the perfect used car to drive this spring and further beyond.

Spring Maintenance Tips

• Remove leftover salt: This is the big one. Driving over salt-covered roads throughout long winters will leave some lasting damage to your car. You want to make sure your car gets a thorough wash to get rid of any salt leftover, especially underneath where important metal components can rust.
• Replace windshield wipers: If you're the kind of driver who has heavy-duty wipers installed to better clear off ice and snow in the wintertime, it's the perfect time of the year to swap those out for more sensible all-season wipers. Like with tires, you might want two separate sets for different kinds of weather, extending the lifespan of your wiper blades for a couple of seasons.
• Wax and wash: With salt, ice, snow and everything else your car went through this winter, the start of the spring season is the perfect time to get a full wash and wax. Keeping your exterior clean and refurbished after winter effects on your car will maintain its value longer.
• Clean or swap out floor mats: Entering your vehicle daily in the winter means you're probably bringing a lot of that winter precipitation, along with dirt, mud, salt, and other unwanted debris, into your car. Perhaps your vehicle has all-weather floor mats that you can swap out with cloth mats for warmer, cleaner months, or you can simply give whatever mats you have a solid cleaning before putting them back inside.
• Swap out wintertime emergency gear: It's always smart to pack up some spare winter clothing and snow pants, jackets, gloves, and boots. But as the cold weather and snow recedes, you can give those emergency supplies a quick clean and save some room in your car, while maintaining other equipment like a first aid kit, road flares, and other useful items to have in case you get stranded somewhere.