New Car: What are the first things you do

[Kentish]

Sorry, back on topic.....

I clean mine and make up a chronological history folder to store the paperwork in.

Then replace stereo, wheels, exhaust, brakes, suspension

[danzman1991]

New tailor made floor mats
LED sidelights
Aero wipers
A good day cleaning it!

[Martin_M]

Welcome to the mad house OP!

I tend to go for new cars but my process is:

full wash, clay and wax.
Interior clean
Read manual
tune radio to my preferred stations
Fill to the brim with fuel
Take pictures
Stand back and admire
Drive
Repeat first two above.

[alpha channel]

I'll second the Welcome.

- Drive it gingerly home (I've had the same car for the past eleven years so new-to-me cars need a great deal of getting used to and they're a damn sight bigger now).
- Get my seating position just right.
- Find out what the tyre pressure is supposed to be and inflate accordingly (I've always found them to be under-inflated, the Alfa was a good five+ PSI under the right pressure on the rears and damn near ten on the fronts).
- If needed flick through the menu to see if I can turn the DRL's off (the Merc could and the Alfa doesn't seem to have them thankfully).
- Read the manual for those switches and menu options that I have no idea about (finding out that the Alfa has four different speeds for the intermediate wipers was nice).
- Wash it? depending, if it's dry when I drive it home nope, if it's wet then it gets a wash and blow dry when it turns nice.

[Tickle]

A good clean also try to pick up on any jobs that need doing and make a list
Oil change,
Wheel refurb and new tyres

Then...

Point it to North Wales and drive!

[talksthetorque]

1. Moan at the delivery company for delivering it dirty.
2. Tell the OH to get in and we go for a drive just for the sake of it
3. Listen to OH say it's not as <insert car related adjsective here> as she thought it would be.
4. Realise it's 5pm, get stuck in traffic, end up at a takeaway, drive home very carefully.
5. Eat takeaway
6. Run bath and peruse Manual in bath, for a bit of peace and quiet.

[PomBstard]

anarki said:

Wait until 2AM, head out to M5 J18 drive to M5 J20 with foot to the floor.

Used to be one of my favourite stretches too Before the raft of cameras everywhere, I'd keep going to J22 and it would then be back via A38, perhaps taking in Cheddar Gorge and Chew Valley.

Now with any new car its fill with fuel, check everything works and is safe, then just use it.

[anonymous-user]

1. Fill the CD changer.
2. Put my rubber Wile E Coyote mats in it (Had them 20 years, not changing them now.)
3. Fill the tank/ tyre pressures if it's been sitting a while.
4. See how fast it goes.

None of this weird OCD stuff, if the car needs a wheel alignment, a wash (!) etc then chances are I wouldn't have bought it in the first place.

[neil1jnr]

1. Go to the nearest petrol station and check/adjust tyre pressures and add fuel if required.
2. Once home, thoroughly clean exterior and specifically interior if the car isn't brand new.
3. Go for a spirited drive.

[anonymous-user]

PHers in this day and age:



and

[samvia]

1) Take 17 photos, each one a very slightly different jaunty angle from the last.
2) Post on Instagram.
3) Repeat for 2-3 years.
4) Sell.

[MattHall91]

CS Garth said:

don't you hark back to the days when car thieves were craftsmen and it wasn't all just computers?!)

No.

[williamp]

After I buy the Astra, I spend 30 minutes at the dealer with a microscope before I accept.
Get it home and wash it. Really wash it
wash if again
clean it. Twice
then ruin it with some shiny tat under the bonnet
Fit a bangin' stereo
Clean it

[Triumph Man]

Captain Muppet said:

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

I bought a Passat once that was fine when I viewed it, interior was clean ish but would just require a vacuum. It also smelt nice and typically German. When I collected it, I found they had slimed the horrible slimy polish stuff everywhere, including the steering wheel! When I released the handbrake, my hand caught the slime that had pooled in the handbrake recess! eughhh!!!

[Monty Python]

Riley Blue said:

Put fuel in, drive car.

This (almost forgot - drive it home first).

Edited by Monty Python on Tuesday 28th July 14:37

[anonymous-user]

Remove the dead hookers from the boot.

[matpilch]

figure out where to put my phone, wallet and keys.
of course once it's cleaned

[kambites]

Monty Python said:

Riley Blue said:

Put fuel in, drive car.

This

With a modern car, pretty much this although I'll have checked things like the tyres and lights before buying.

I'll generally do the alignment, thoroughly check over the suspension and give it a service at some point in the first few months if I have time.

Edited by kambites on Friday 24th July 08:31

[Nickbrapp]

New number plates and holders. Can't stand seeing screws in plates!

[RicksAlfas]

Peel any dealer stickers out of the back window.