With winter fast approaching and the consitions of last year still haunting us thoughts should be on how to best prepare our cars for winter. Its a good idea to get a winter service carried out by your local servicing centre where they can check anti freeze levels, screen wash levels and wiper conditions.
With a lot of frost and ice around we tend to use the wipers a lot, unfortunately the rubber on the wipers go blunt and get damaged by the sharp ice. We also tend to use a lot more screen wash to clear the windscreen, so it's vital we keep an eye on the screen wash level, most modern cars have an indicator on the instrumental panel warning of low fluid levels.
In our winter season we have a lot of wet weather, it tends to be nonstop drizzle rather than a downpour, and I find this leaves my windows with water marks and stains. To avoid this I clean the outside of all the windows with household glass cleaner, this helps the water slip down the bodywork of the car and because it does not dry it doesn't leave water marks.
A lot of dealerships are offering free winter checks to make sure your car is ready for the demanding season, Renault servicing in Sussex are also offering a winter essentials kit containing ready to use screen wash, de-icer and an ice scraper. All three of these items are essential for winter and should be kept in the car.
Hopefully we have all learnt our lesson from last year and will be much better prepared so we can enjoy the snow and winter wonderland conditions rather than panic or worse get stuck.