If you’re not careful, cars can start to look old after just a couple of years. The wear and tear from weather, small accidents, sun exposure, interior spills, and other things all contribute to the natural aging of your car, leaving your car to look less than ideal. While your car may be performing fine, the appearance of it could have taken a beating over the years.

Even if you are driving an older car, it doesn’t mean you want it to look like an older car. If you want to drive a car that looks new, without having to spend money on an entirely new vehicle, we have a few tips for you to make your old car look like new again. 

1. Keep your car clean

Cleaning and organizing your car might seem like an obvious thing, but it can really make it look great. A thorough detailing can make it look like it just rolled out of the showroom.

First, you need to take out any trash or extra items you have inside or in the trunk. You only need a tool kit, a spare, and jumper cables in there. Inside your vehicle, you only need some every day and emergency items in your glove compartment. Everything else needs to go.

Then, vacuum and shampoo the floors. Take the time to clean the little areas like your cup holder, radio, buttons, air vents, and steering wheel. These areas can gather a lot of dust and dirt if not cleaned properly.

Once the inside is taken care of, you should focus on the outside. Wash your car twice; the first wash will get the heavy stuff off, and the second one will ensure it’s clean of all grime. Alternatively, you can consider investing in a quality car wash and detailing service.

A special note to pay special attention to the rims and the bottom part of the car because these tend to be the dirtiest.

2. Car Wrap

If you want to give your car a new look, but don’t want to make the change permanent, or if the colors you are after are not available, then a car wrap might be the choice for you. 

A custom vehicle wrap will allow you to completely change the look of your car to just about anything, and then remove the wrap whenever you’d like. 

This makes it ideal if you plan on some drastic changes, but don’t want to hurt your resale value. Car wraps are an affordable alternative to painting your car that allows it to look like new without changing the car forever.

3. Windows first

Smudges and fingerprints on your windows will make them look old and dirty. After you finish washing your car, you need to take the time to clean the windows separately. Use microfiber cloth; that way, little pieces of paper towel aren’t left behind.

You need to wash the inside and outside of the windows. The inside will likely have fingerprints or spills, and the outside might have pollen or bird droppings. There are special cleaners to use on the auto that protects the windows from environmental hazards. They add a protective coat to make those things harder to stick or repel them completely.

4. Change your windshield wipers

We often forget about the windshield wiper, but they’re important to keep your front window clean. The blade wears out over time, which can leave marks and streaks on your windshield, and this doesn’t look good overall for your car. These streaks not only look bad from the inside and from the outside, they can also obstruct your view. 

Investing in a new wiper will make seeing in the rain better and leave your windshield looking great. So, it’s always a good practice to replace them every 6 months.

5. It’s all in the details

Getting that “new” car look will definitely require you to be as detailed as possible. 

To get that extra shine, you need to wax your car after you wash it. You can buy wax in the same color of your car to make the paint pop again. Sun exposure can make your ride look dull, but a good coating will bring it back to life.

If you have small scratches, you can buy a small tube of car paint to fix that. It’s important to buy it directly from the auto manufacturer to make sure the color is exactly the same. Each car company has its unique greys, blues, reds, and even blacks and whites.

With rain and humidity, the headlights and backlights can become fogged up. There are products that you can use to clear these up too. This will help with visibility at night and also give your car a fresh look.

When your ride has leather seats, you need to buy polish to finish up the inside of your car.

6. Keep the airflow fresh

Dirty air filters can have the opposite effect on your vehicle if they're left too long. By getting new air filters, you'll not only improve the breathing quality of your vehicle but you'll also prevent the build up of dust and other allergens that can come into your vehicle through the air vents.

Alternatively, there are car air fresheners with the new car scent. This is the perfect finishing touch to make your auto look and feel new again. You can hang them on your mirror or get ones that you can stick in your vent.

A secret tip to get a new car scent is to put a bar of soap under the seat if you’d rather not look at it. There will always be a faint clean smell in your ride, and no one will know where it’s coming from.

Conclusion

While you may not be able to get that feeling of driving off in a brand new car, we hope that the tips in our article have at least helped you to clean, organize, and detail your car to give it that shine when driving around. 

So, if you want to feel like you have a new ride, but aren’t ready to buy a new one yet, these are the things you have to do. Once you do all these things, you’ll feel like you’re driving a brand new car. 

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If you’d like to know more about the automotive industry or if you’re still unsure whether it would be a good fit for you, don’t hesitate to have a chat with our automotive course counsellors, who would be happy to help you out!