How the upcoming hot weather could leave you and your car high and dry!

Hot weather affects our cars in so many ways; cosmetically by damaging the paintwork, internally by overworking the engine, and even on the ground by popping your tyres. Here are some of the most common, and most overlooked problems you MUST avoid for the rest of this summer.

Imagine this; you’re driving along the freeway, it’s 40 degrees outside, the air conditioner is on, you feel like you’re in your own little fridge on wheels then you hear “POP!”

You Have a Puncture.

“How did pop my tyre?” you think, “they are still in good shape.” As the air inside the tyre heats up it expands, causing the pressure to build up inside. Couple this with the fact that if you park in the sun, or drive along hot roads the air stays hot and can cause the wall of the tyre to burst. Not to mention the softening of the tyres from the hot road.

This can be particularly troublesome when the outside temperature then drops – like the weird summer weather we’ve been having.
Solution – Check your tyre pressure regularly, especially after driving for long periods of time in the sun. Each make of car and type of tyre requires a different pressure, so be sure to follow the manufacturer’s recommendation.
Let’s assume you safely pull over to change your tyre. Keep in mind, it’s 40 degrees in the shade, and you’re in the hot sun losing buckets of sweat changing this tyre, but you get it fixed and you’re on your way.
But your car won’t start…
Batteries can be under a lot of stress when the mercury rises, and it’s hardly a surprise with how hot it gets in the car. It’s not only the extra work that drains the battery, but the heat can also hinder the chemical process of the battery, and it will struggle to hold charge. This often results in a car unwilling to start. Be sure to have your mechanic check this every service, and to be on the safe side it pays to carry a set of jumper leads with you.
Everyday Prevention
Keeping your car cool is the simplest, cheapest, and overall most effective way to prevent damage to the inside and outside it. Try the following.
PARK IN THE SHADE
This one is a complete no-brainer. By parking your car you are (obviously) preventing the interior to heat up as rapidly as it would in direct sunlight. Not only that, but constant intense sunlight can devastate your cars paintwork – which looks terrible and can be costly to fix.

IMPORTANT NOTE – if your paintwork is already damaged make sure you check out the link at the bottom of this email
WIND DOWN WINDOWS
Again, this one seems pretty obvious, but I don’t mean leave them down while your car is unattended, but winding them down and then using your cars Air Conditioner to cool the ambient temperature a lot faster, and with less effort from the A/C. Think of it this way. On a hot day the interior of your car is WAY hotter than the outside temperature, and using the A/C with the windows up is inefficient because that hot air has nowhere to go, by opening the windows you may lose some cool air, but you’ll get rid of ALL of the hot air.
FRESH AIR IS THE BEST AIR

This seems to be the most common mistake made, recirculating the hot air inside the car rather than getting the fresh air from outside. As mentioned above the interior air of your car is way hotter than the moving air outside. So, forget trying to cool down the hot air on the inside and cool down the slightly less hot air from outside. You’ll cool down quicker, and help your car out by getting the same result with a lot less effort, saving fuel, and extending the life of your A/C.

Paintwork Already Fading?

If your car’s paintwork has already started to fade, then what you do now could save you MEGABUCKS down the road. Paint fading and blistering can mean a major depreciation in car value, and in some cases lead to bodywork damage due to the lack of protection given by the outer layers (Think RUST!) – if you’ve noticed fading or peeling send us some pictures and we’ll let you know the fastest, easiest, and BEST way to get it fixed. Just give us a call or click the link below for a free quote.

Get in contact with us now for a FREE Quote

• Call us on (08) 8362 7395
• Email us at [email protected]
• Or use our online quoting service – Just Click HERE