Tips to Help You Protect Your Muscle Car Investment
Once you buy the muscle car of your dreams, the next thing should be to ensure that you keep it in tip-top shape for as long as possible. Next to buying a house, a car is one of the most expensive investments you will ever make. Therefore, you must do all you can to ensure that your investment is protected. Read on for tips to protect your muscle car investment.
Hire an Experienced Mechanic
Moat motorists only think of the mechanic when things go wrong. However, this is not how things should be. While a mechanic will certainly help you if something goes wrong, if you want to preserve the value of your muscle car, you also need to find the best auto mechanics to service your car regularly. This will help you identify small problems before they turn into complicated issues that can affect the value of your car.
Experienced mechanics know how to conduct essential checks on vital components of your muscle car. For instance, each time your car is due for service, they will thoroughly check the suspension, braking system, and engine to ensure that everything is functioning as it should. This will not only give you peace of mind when you drive, but you will know that your car will stay in good condition for a long time.
The problem with most motorists is that as long as they feel their car is running okay, they won’t bother to consult a mechanic. However, just because your car doesn’t seem to have problems, it doesn’t mean that every system is working as it should. There is a lot of wear and tear that happens with every mile that you drive. You might not notice the changes, and this is what will drive you into a false sense of security. However, this is a bad idea because, by the time you discover problems, they will be very complicated and costly to deal with. Instead, you must take your time to find an experienced mechanic who will maintain your muscle car for you.
Muscle cars are an expensive buy. You must, therefore, do everything you can to ensure that your investment is protected. You can do this by ensuring your car is serviced regularly. This way, it will stay in tip-top shape. You will also have a detailed service history for your muscle car should you consider selling it to someone else.
Apart from servicing your car, you can also find yourself in an accident one day. If that happens, you will need an auto body mechanic to restore your vehicle to its former condition.
Don’t Go Crazy With Modifications
There’s nothing particularly wrong with modifying your car. In fact, some modifications can even improve your muscle car’s performance when it comes to things like braking and handling. However, you can end up compromising safety and lowering the value of your vehicle if you go overboard with modifications. For instance, if you temper with the suspension and chassis, your car’s performance and safety will be greatly affected. These two components are designed as an integrated system for safety and reliability. This means any after-market editing can disrupt that system.
Some people love lifting the suspension to clear larger tires. Unfortunately, this results in a higher center of gravity. At the end of the day, your car’s stability will be compromised, and it won’t be balanced even when you are driving slowly.
Others also love installing plus-sized wheels. This is not a good idea as it can affect your car’s handling and braking force. All of this affects the suspension dynamics. Some modifications are worth it, but some aren’t. Please stay away from modifications that temper with the suspension, like truck lift installs. These can make the vehicle unstable. Some people will also lower the suspension, and this is not a good idea as well. A lowered suspension makes the car’s body more vulnerable to scrapes.
Drive Carefully
If you want your car to stay in good shape for long, you must learn to drive it carefully. This will help lower the risk of car accidents. You must also drive with mechanical sympathy. It’s important to understand how your car’s controls work so you can drive it better. This will reduce component wear, and your car will stay in good shape for a long time.
When driving, you need to pay attention to things like how the steering wheel works. You must also fully understand how to use the gearbox and pedals smoothly. Lastly, you must also look ahead when you drive, so you reduce the need to brake suddenly. This also helps avoid accidents and dealing with the accident injury attorney.
Muscle cars are fast, and this can be quite exciting. In fact, this is probably why you bought one for yourself. However, just because you have a beast that can go from zero to 60 in under five seconds, it doesn’t mean that you must keep on pushing the engine. This causes serious wear and tear, and you must avoid handling your car like that. You must also avoid towing more than what’s recommended for your car, driving on dirt roads, and start-and-stop driving. These kinds of behaviors, together with excessive speeding, can shorten the lifespan of your vehicle. Driving with mechanical empathy can keep your engine in good condition and reduce the risk of getting involved in accidents. This is quite important when it comes to maintaining the value of your muscle vehicle.
Keep Attorney Information Handy
Each year, there are millions of car accidents that take place. Unfortunately, even if you drive carefully, you can still get involved in one at some point. If it’s a minor bump, then you will only need a quick fix, and the value of your car will not be affected too much. However, some accidents can be quite damaging. If you are involved in such an accident, the first thing you will want to do is get medical attention. However, once that’s done, you will need to check on your car and get it repaired. In some instances, your car can be damaged to the extent that repairing it will be more costly than buying another. When that happens, you will need an accident attorney. Depending on what car you were driving, you might even need an 18 wheeler accident attorney.
A personal injury law firm will help ensure that your insurance company offers a fair settlement. They will also help you fight in court to get the at-fault driver to cover the costs of recovering or repairing your vehicle. This is why you must always keep attorney information handy. Even if the case is clear-cut, you must still consult with an attorney before making any moves. You mustn’t even speak to your insurance company without talking to a car accident lawyer first.
Store Your Car for the Winter
There are several reasons why your muscle car can benefit from proper winter car storage. This practice essentially extends the life of your vehicle. You will also find that your car will be better prepared to be on the road again come spring.
When it comes to winter storage, you need to be very careful. You can’t just hit up a container rental service and throw your car in a metal container all winter. This will not protect your muscle car. Some experts believe that improper storage might be worse for the car than driving it all winter on salt-covered roads. If you aren’t used to storing your car for the winter yet, you must not delay finding out more about this practice. This is a good way to keep your muscle vehicle in pristine condition.
Keep Your Garage in Good Shape
When your garage is in good shape, it can do a better job of protecting your car from extreme weather conditions. This is a good way to extend the life of your vehicle and maintain its resale value. For instance, if the roof has no leaks, your car will be exposed to rain and snow. You must also make sure that you install custom garage floors to prevent moisture from getting into the garage from under.
Apart from protecting your car from the weather, your garage also protects your muscle car investment from theft and vandalism. Even with car alarms fitted, parking your vehicle in a garage that’s too easy to access will expose it to theft and vandalism. This is why you must always ensure that you install custom garage doors that lock properly and that the windows cannot be easily opened from the outside. Keeping your car in a properly maintained and secure garage reduces the risk of it getting damaged or stolen.
Cover Your Car When Necessary
There are many ways your car will benefit from a removable insulation cover. This is a great way to protect your investment and keep your muscle car looking showroom new. When you cover your vehicle, it will be protected against unsightly dents and scratches. Apart from that, there are several natural and man-made finish-destroying hazards that you can block with a car cover. It’s essentially a barrier that helps you to protect your muscle car from external threats.
It’s doesn’t feel good to discover that your brand new muscle car has been scratched or dented. Unfortunately, dents are a reality, and unless your place your vehicle in a hidden underground room, they are a real risk to your car. However, when you use a car cover, you add an extra layer of padding that can cushion your vehicle against several blows, including tress, dust, and even birds. Apart from dents, birds seem to have the most accurate aim when it comes to leaving their droppings on your car. Fortunately, a car cover can block these droppings and prevent them from splattering against your paint job. You will find that the majority of car covers are not harmed by the acidity of bird droppings.
Most people aren’t aware that dust is a real threat to their vehicle’s paint. The paint on your vehicle is just about 0.006 inches thick. Whether your car is in the garage or outdoors, when dust collects on the body, it turns into a potent abrasive that can cause small scratches. By the time these scratches start to become visible, it will already be too late. This is why you must get a cover so you can protect your muscle car against dust.
You don’t need to be a vehicle expert to know that weather can be a threat to your car’s finish. While the occasional spring shower won’t do a lot of harm, this water can find its way into your car’s scratches and initiate the corrosion process. Things get a little bit worse when dealing with acid rain. By covering your car, you will be able to keep it dry and shield it from corrosive forces. A car cover will also protect your muscle car from the harsh UV rays that would otherwise cook its paint.
Maintain Your Driveway
It’s obvious that over time, your muscle car will acquire inevitable wear and tear. However, there are certain things that can accelerate this process. For instance, a cracked driveway with lots of potholes. If you are always riding over bumps and diving into potholes with your muscle car, its durability will take serious blows. Research shows that many people lose money each year due to pothole damage. This is why you must hire local concrete experts to ensure that your driveway stays in good shape all the time so you can protect your muscle car.
Potholes and cracks can cause serious damage to your vehicle’s tires. Tires are essentially the first line of defense against potholes. This is why they are the first to be affected. When you hit an edged pothole, there’s always the risk that your tire will pop like a balloon. Potholes and cracks can also cause tread separation.
Cracks and potholes will not only damage your tires, but they can also destroy your wheels. If a pothole has enough depth and a sharp edge, it can even bypass an inflated tire to cause harm to your wheels. This repeated jagged force caused by potholes can cause your wheels to wear out faster than they should.
Apart from the damage they cause to the tires and wheels, cracks and potholes can also misalign your entire car. This will significantly affect the condition of your car’s suspension. In general, your car’s suspension helps to absorb impact and make rides smoother for you. However, if you are always hitting potholes, the shocks and struts can be affected. This can be quite costly to repair, which is why you should ensure that your driveway is always in good shape to protect your muscle car from excessive wear and tear.
Cracks and potholes can also affect one of the most important components of your car, which is the exhaust system. This is an outlet that controls emissions from your vehicle, and it also maintains the temperature of the exhaust. The exhaust runs under your vehicle. This means that just like the tires, it can also be damaged by potholes and cracks. If the exhaust system keeps being assaulted by potholes and cracks, it can rupture. Technically, this is known as bottoming out. In the worst cases, your exhaust system can even be ripped from your vehicle. This is not only harmful to the car and passengers, but to the environment as well. A damaged exhaust system can leak dangerous toxins into the environment, and this can be a major health risk.
These are some of the things you can do to protect your muscle car investment. It’s important to ensure that you do all you can so your car can last for a long time. You must also work hand in hand with people like mechanics and lawyers who can help protect your muscle car.
