Winterize  Your  Vehicle  to  Retain  Value

It’s that time of year again—the time of year where Autumn will soon evolve into Winter, and your car has to be prepared for the upcoming, callous winter conditions—yes, it’s time to winterize your car.  It doesn’t take a great deal to winterize your car, especially if you’re a D.I.Yer, and it’s usually inexpensive to do so.  Here’s a ‘To-Do’ list for winterizing your car to give you a push in the right direction.

Use a lighter weight oil – This allows the oil to flow better in cold temps

Replace radiator hoses and thermostat

Replace the fuel filter

Switch to all-weather wiper blades and winter washer fluid

Purchase new tires or snow tires

Replace brakes

Check and/or replace battery & belts

Test 4WD function to make sure it’s working

Prepare an emergency kit to keep in the car at all times

For those of you who have never prepared a winter emergency kit for your car in case you’re ever stranded, here are a few things you should include.

Extra blankets

Clean, dry clothes including shoes/boots

Flashlight and batteries

Jumper cables

Washer fluid and coolant/antifreeze

Shovel, broom, and ice scraper

An extra cell phone and/or car phone charger

Bag of salt, cat liter, or ice melt

Toolbox and/or toolkit

Now you may be asking—what are the benefits of winterizing your car?  Winterizing your car will allow you to be prepared in the event that you do become stuck or stranded, it makes the harsh winter driving and weather conditions more bearable for your car, and your car will drive better and will be up-to-date on routine maintenance.  Perhaps the greatest benefit of winterizing your car is that its value can increase as well.

How  Your  Car’s  Value  Increases  When  You  Winterize

We all know the moment you purchase your car and drive it off the dealer’s lot; its value begins depreciating, right?  Well, now you’re going to learn how winterizing your car restores some of its value and appreciation.  Autos.com explains five ways to maintain your car’s value; keep your car clean, perform routine maintenance, avoid having accidents, minimize customization, and use Kelley Blue Book to buy a car that will uphold its value.  Part of performing routine maintenance includes winterizing your car.

Because winterizing reduces repair costs and overall part failure and/or wear and tear; it also increases your car’s Trade-In Value.  Your trade-in value is exactly what it sounds like—the value of your current car when you use it as a ‘trade-in’ to purchase your new car.  The less repair history and engine or part failure history your car has, the more it’s worth.

Believe it or not, winterizing can also improve gas mileage, and as we’re all aware of, the number of miles a car has on it, and its MPG capabilities are major factors we take into consideration to determine a car’s worth when we’re at the dealer shopping for a new one.  Some of the routine maintenance that is included in the winterizing process like changing the fuel filter and buying new tires contributes greatly to improving your car’s fuel economy and MPG.  When fuel economy and MPGs are improved, your car goes farther with less fuel because it burns less fuel, which eliminates high mileage and a low MPG, and ultimately adds to your car’s value.

Winterizing your car reduces repairs, repair costs, and allows your car to retain many of its OEM parts, which is another contributing factor to your car’s value.  When your car has most of its OEM parts, it says that you have taken care of your car by maintaining the routine maintenance at the scheduled intervals, and that everything is in working order.

So now you not only know what goes into winterizing your car, but also how winterizing increases the value of your car.  As previously mentioned, the Fall season is upon us and quickly transgressing into the Winter season—now is the time winterize your car.  It’s always best to begin winterizing between September and October while the weather and temperatures are still ideal for the D.I.Yers and before the dreadful, ‘dead-of-winter’ weather finally arrives and settles in—it’ll be too late then.  Also remember that winterizing your car isn’t a costly maintenance procedure, in most cases it could be done for approximately $200 to $250, and if you’re that ‘Do-it-yourselfer’, you could more than likely cut your costs in half.