Tips to Make a Used Car Feel Like Yours
So you’ve got yourself a new car! Well, it’s not exactly “new”. It’s new to your life, but it’s a secondhand car, and so has seen its fair share of use before. In fact, it almost feels like the person who was last driving this car is still here, in spirit if not in physical form. Maybe you can still smell their cigarettes, or you can tell they used to have a dog in here. Maybe the color isn’t to your liking. Maybe they even left some old belongings in there.
Whatever the case, you’re left with a car that doesn’t quite feel like yours. Of course, if you got a good deal on it, then it would be odd to complain too much. Besides, there are always things you can do to ensure this secondhand car truly feels like yours in no time.
Drive it
This is the obvious one. You should spend a little time just going for a drive instead of only using it for particular journeys and errands. Get to know all its mechanisms and quirks. This will help all your drives feel smoother and more natural a lot faster.
Open it up
Of course, the best way to get to know the car’s mechanisms is to actually see the mechanisms. Open up the hood and have a look at what’s going on. This is also a perfect opportunity to start doing some basic maintenance on it. Once you’ve tightened the brakes, changed the oil and checked the coolant levels? Then you’ll feel a bit “closer” to the car. Yeah, it sounds abstract. But it’s true!
Get leftover possessions back to the owner
I’ve known a couple of people who have let leftover possessions linger in a used car for too long. They felt bad throwing things like forgotten CDs away, but they don’t quite know how to get it back to the owner. This is usually because they bought the used car from a dealer. Well, the dealer will still have the contact information for the previous owner of that car. Hand anything that’s leftover to the dealer and have them contact the previous owner.
Customize it
A lot of people get used cars that have some kind of feature they’d rather do without. That, or it’s missing a feature they really want. Of course, it’s often worth the sacrifice for the price of a used car that runs really well. This is one of the problems with buying used cars: you have a much more limited range from which to choose. But why not change the color? The upholstery? The engine? The handling? When you customize a car to your specific desires, then it definitely starts to feel more like your own.
Clean it out!
You’re not getting that new car smell back. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make the car smell a bit fresher! Various scents will be leftover in a used car, even if you don’t quite notice them. Your brain will probably be reacting to these scents without you even realizing it, making you feel less comfortable in the ride. Clear everything out and give the interior a deep clean.
