Take 10 Years off Your Cars Appearance
With the world economy recovering from a severe hangover there's
bound to be a huge number of gearheads who have had to put aside
their plans to trade up to a better vehicle, or upgrade their
existing car on an extensive scale. However there is also a large
percentage who still have some spare change to put into their
pride and joy and make some improvements, while still keeping
the wallet happy.
If you happen to own an older vehicle which is in need of a revamp,
and is worthy of some time, money and effort here's some ideas
which can take years off it's appearance.
Comprehensive
Cleaning
It's
pretty obvious but a really good wash, wax and full interior
cleanup can make a huge difference to a cars appearance.
Often when people give their car a wash they neglect the
details. This includes the badging, the black rubber window
surrounds, the windows, door handles, door jams, and various
other trim. A plastic rejuvenator can make faded black plastic
look almost new within a few minutes, and applying a water
dispersing treatment (like RainX) to the exterior of the
windows helps to make them glisten like new. A good wax
can bring faded and lightly scuffed paintwork back to life
(if possible use a colored wax which closely matches the
paint color).
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Replica
or Lightly Used Wheels
Instead of buying expensive designer alloy wheels which
are often not to everyones taste, and therefore can affect
resale, why not try looking for used or replica wheels which
match the make of your vehicle. For example, if you have
a BMW 3 Series with 15 inch wheel fitted as standard - try
looking for 18 inch wheels taken off a higher spec 3 Series.
It could save you money and will almost certainly be a good
style match with your car. |
Color
Code your Bumpers
Often optional trim packages from manufacturers will include
'body colored bumpers'. This basically means that they took
the time to do what they should have done in the first place.
It's amazing the difference a simple color match can make.
Look at any modern car and you'll be hard pressed to find
one which has large black plastic bumpers. There's a reason
- they're ugly. If you're competent, and I mean competent,
then you can attempt it yourself with a spray can (depending
on the surface size). If not a quick trip to a body shop
should get the job done. |
Halo
headlights
Halo headlights are available for a wide variety of makes
and models. They are work especially well on older vehicles
which lack the more recent reflector style headlights. They
often cost less than standard replacement headlight units
and are usually an absolute breeze to fit. Once installed
they can instantly take years off a cars appearance. Another
benefit to halo headlights is that they often appear to
have come factory fitted and therefore provide a subtle
yet effective upgrade.
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Trim
from Newer Models
If you happen to live close to a scrapyard or have some
time to trawl through ebay why not try looking for some
trim from facelifted versions of your car. Obviously if
your car is the final year model then this idea isn't going
to work. But if you have an early model there could be some
trim elements which were upgraded during the lifespan of
the model. Many of these will just bolt on in place of the
old part (be careful though because some won't!).
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See also:
All Tutorials
How To Check Your Oil
How To Identify Vehicle
Leaks
Basic Tire Maintenance
Take 10 Years Off Your Car's Appearance
How to Perform a Heel-and-Toe Downshift
Left-Foot Braking
Driving on Snow and Ice
What is Torque?
What is a 'Monocoque'?
What are Superchargers?
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