New Car: What are the first things you do
Discussion
First post so go easy.
Question of interest: when you get a new car (always a 'new' old one for me) what are the first things you do.
Assuming it isn't remove the broken glass from the seat and start it with a short length of scaffolding pipe before the 5-0 arrive (don't you hark back to the days when car thieves were craftsmen and it wasn't all just computers?!) and you have acquired the vehicle legitimately, mine are:
-New wiper blades - no exceptions
-Lazer wheel alignment - always money well spent. Preferably Hunter.
-Run a bottle of Redex through on half a tank. It just makes me feel better.
-Full valet - always done since the Top Gear episode where a load of sp*ff was found on the seat
-A vigorous drive of an hour incorporating all of my favourite local roads.
-Perform oil service at local Stealership on the assumption that is won't have the right stuff in it.
-Secure Murray Mints/other boiled sweets safely in the glove box.
Interested to hear yours.
Garth
Question of interest: when you get a new car (always a 'new' old one for me) what are the first things you do.
Assuming it isn't remove the broken glass from the seat and start it with a short length of scaffolding pipe before the 5-0 arrive (don't you hark back to the days when car thieves were craftsmen and it wasn't all just computers?!) and you have acquired the vehicle legitimately, mine are:
-New wiper blades - no exceptions
-Lazer wheel alignment - always money well spent. Preferably Hunter.
-Run a bottle of Redex through on half a tank. It just makes me feel better.
-Full valet - always done since the Top Gear episode where a load of sp*ff was found on the seat
-A vigorous drive of an hour incorporating all of my favourite local roads.
-Perform oil service at local Stealership on the assumption that is won't have the right stuff in it.
-Secure Murray Mints/other boiled sweets safely in the glove box.
Interested to hear yours.
Garth
Clean all the interior surfaces thoroughly that other people have touched (gearknob and steering wheel mainly)
Check all fluid levels and top them up, top up tyres as well
Polish and wax it and treat the windows to some repellent
Last 2 new cars have been 6cyl BMW so golf tee the exhaust
Brim tank with V power
Get it warm and hoon around for a while.
Check all fluid levels and top them up, top up tyres as well
Polish and wax it and treat the windows to some repellent
Last 2 new cars have been 6cyl BMW so golf tee the exhaust
Brim tank with V power
Get it warm and hoon around for a while.
Clean it (in a sensible bucket and soapy water way, not the weirdly obssessive creapy cleaning), have a good crawl all over it looking for interesting engineering (I'm an engineer), flick though the manual and then wait for something to go wrong.
About three months in I'll finally trust it not to go wrong (yes 200SX and E36 323, this is because of you).
Unless it's a shed I've bought for drifting in which case it's: weld diff, book track time, see how many spare wheels I can fit in it.
ETA: car dealers - please stop drenching the inside of cars with shiny slime. It takes forever to clean off and is horrible to touch.
About three months in I'll finally trust it not to go wrong (yes 200SX and E36 323, this is because of you).
Unless it's a shed I've bought for drifting in which case it's: weld diff, book track time, see how many spare wheels I can fit in it.
ETA: car dealers - please stop drenching the inside of cars with shiny slime. It takes forever to clean off and is horrible to touch.
Edited by Captain Muppet on Thursday 23 July 16:40
CS Garth said:
First post so go easy.
Question of interest: when you get a new car (always a 'new' old one for me) what are the first things you do.
Assuming it isn't remove the broken glass from the seat and start it with a short length of scaffolding pipe before the 5-0 arrive (don't you hark back to the days when car thieves were craftsmen and it wasn't all just computers?!) and you have acquired the vehicle legitimately, mine are:
-New wiper blades - no exceptions
-Lazer wheel alignment - always money well spent. Preferably Hunter.
-Run a bottle of Redex through on half a tank. It just makes me feel better.
-Full valet - always done since the Top Gear episode where a load of sp*ff was found on the seat
-A vigorous drive of an hour incorporating all of my favourite local roads.
-Perform oil service at local Stealership on the assumption that is won't have the right stuff in it.
-Secure Murray Mints/other boiled sweets safely in the glove box.
Interested to hear yours.
Garth
This sort of thing is what gives car enthusiasts a bad name Question of interest: when you get a new car (always a 'new' old one for me) what are the first things you do.
Assuming it isn't remove the broken glass from the seat and start it with a short length of scaffolding pipe before the 5-0 arrive (don't you hark back to the days when car thieves were craftsmen and it wasn't all just computers?!) and you have acquired the vehicle legitimately, mine are:
-New wiper blades - no exceptions
-Lazer wheel alignment - always money well spent. Preferably Hunter.
-Run a bottle of Redex through on half a tank. It just makes me feel better.
-Full valet - always done since the Top Gear episode where a load of sp*ff was found on the seat
-A vigorous drive of an hour incorporating all of my favourite local roads.
-Perform oil service at local Stealership on the assumption that is won't have the right stuff in it.
-Secure Murray Mints/other boiled sweets safely in the glove box.
Interested to hear yours.
Garth
I drive it and see if there is anything wrong. If it needs cleaning it gets cleaned, if it needs servicing it gets serviced but I can't say I have a Rain Man style check list.
Good call on the mats, I didn't bother on my wife's X3 on the basis that we would be getting rid of it "next year" and 5 years on the boot looks like the Somme.
Uncertain on the body care kits, I bought an Evo VI a while back and the seller gave me his purchase receipt showing £600 from the Mitsubishi used retailer for a care package externally on seats and paint.
Couldn't say I noticed the difference but it did come with a small bag with a sponge and 2 bottles of touch up paint which was nice.
Uncertain on the body care kits, I bought an Evo VI a while back and the seller gave me his purchase receipt showing £600 from the Mitsubishi used retailer for a care package externally on seats and paint.
Couldn't say I noticed the difference but it did come with a small bag with a sponge and 2 bottles of touch up paint which was nice.
Fuel and drive really, then find out what was missed on the test drive and make a mental note of what needs doing now, in a bit, some point later on
I spent a couple of years just driving hire cars, and I'd have them for a fortnight at a time (work travel), so fairly used to just getting in and getting going, working things out on the way to wherever I'm headed.
I spent a couple of years just driving hire cars, and I'd have them for a fortnight at a time (work travel), so fairly used to just getting in and getting going, working things out on the way to wherever I'm headed.
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