Part 1: Introduction
So there you are, my fellow PakWheeler, looking at your pride and joy, with satisfaction. After all, your royal chariot is now four years young in your caring hands, and it still look and drives like the day you got it. No, it is even better than the day you got it!
This is no idle boast. You have taken great care in maintaining it, with regular oil changes, and regular services, and regular tire pressure checks and even more. Certainly, you’ve kept it clean, and your friends and family clearly know just upset you would be if they were to spill something of a dietary nature in your car. But your enthusiasm goes way beyond that of a mere conscientious car owner. No, you are a special breed of car enthusiast called a PakWheeler.
Yes, you are a great car enthusiast, and you are happy that you know and your friends and family know it too. Not showing off, mind you, but in a good way. People ask you what oil to use, and how often to do this that or the other for their car. You know where to go to seek the best mechanic or whatever that any car might need, or how to track down the best source for a particular part.
And yet, something is not quite right with your car. No, nothing major, since you would have fixed it the moment had it happened. But you rode in a friend’s car the other day, and it was the same model car, but it was so much newer. Wow, what a difference. It was not just the intoxicating new car smell, but a lot of little things that you could notice, as a true car enthusiast and intrepid PakWheeler, as being different and adding up to a big difference take together. No, the little things, that are probably not important, but when all taken together, make all the difference between a new car and an old car. How could you let this happen? So what did you notice, and what could be done, if anything, to improve them?
Maybe it was the doors that did not quite make the same satisfying sound when closed; what if there was a way to keep them closing soundly. Or maybe the windows that do not go up and down as quickly and as smoothly as before; what if there were a way to keep them gliding smoothly. Was it the indicator switch that felt loose and rattley compared to the new one? It still works fine, but it just felt different; what if it could regain its “new” feeling? No, it could have been the headlights that appeared just a little yellow compared to your car’s, making you wonder whether you really should save up for those new HIDs, but did not get until now since you know that they are not really focused and blind other drivers; may be you could get back the original whiteness and be happy with them again. And the list goes on. Wipers that don’t move across the windscreen as smoothly as they once did; may be you could get them to slide noiselessly and smoothly again. The exhaust seems just a tad boomy at certain rpms; what if you could make it sound as it once did? The dashboard has a slight noise that you cannot find the source of, despite trying; what if you could make that stop? The speedometer does not seem to be as clear or bright as it once was; may be it could regain its lost luster. Oh dear; what if indeed?
Well, you do know that keeping a car in the Land of the Pure is no easy task. The roads are bad. The driving is really bad. The parts that are needed for maintenance are really, really, bad. Most of the mechanics are really, really, really bad. Anything to do with the any Regulatory Authority having anything to do with cars is really, really, really, really bad.
But there are bright spots too. Roads are getting better, albeit slowly. Driving standards are improving too, may be not as quickly as you would like or as quickly as they should, but it will be better someday. The parts that you might need can be hunted down, some with a little effort, and others will a lot of effort, time and expense. There are good mechanics around too, you just have to find the right references and go from there. The Regulation Authorities might….no never mind, that will remain a wish for the foreseeable future at least. That will require direct divine intervention it seems.
So there you sit, sipping the hot/cold beverage of your choice, and make a mental list of things that you can do to keeping your car new, PakWheels style, and things that you, even as the super car guru and champion enthusiast, know cannot be cured and therefore must be endured, and pray to the Almighty to give you the wisdom to tell these things apart.
Well, fear not, or at the very least fear not as much as you would otherwise. This article will serve as the introduction to a whole series of articles to help you do this: Keeping your car feeling and looking as new as possible, PakWheels style. You know, those little things you forget, didn’t know or couldn’t identify for keeping your car feeling and looking as new as possible.
We look forward to your feedback and participation, including your own tips and tricks, hints, problems, and opinions on the PakWheels forums as we proceed with the series.
Part 2 of How to keep your car always new: Water, water everywhere!
