The United States is a nation of cars. There are some 243.5 million registered vehicles in the United States. Every day, many millions of people are driving sedans, pickup trucks, and motorcycles on the streets and highways, and fortunately, most of these drivers are safe and responsible about how they handle their vehicles. Some, however, are not, and in other cases, the weather is poor and makes accidents more likely. So, when it comes to car care tips, a car owner should know how to handle everything from new car financing to looking up auto shops for car repairs all the way to hiring car wreck attorneys after an auto accident has taken place. Car dent repair may be done after a minor car accident, but if it was a major wreck and someone got hurt, a car accident claim may be filed, and a car accident lawyer may be hired to help with litigation. So, when it comes to car care tips, what should a car owner know? A car is a big responsibility, after all.
Looking for a New Car
Before car care tips concerning safety or auto accidents are relevant, someone needs to own a car in the first place. While it will take some work to find a car that you like and can afford, this effort is certainly worth it. A car can be new or used, and vary a great deal in factors such as color, top speed and horsepower, features, and much more. Now, a car sales rep can help you look over some cars of interest at the lot, and this is a good chance to look over the cars in person and check them for any wear and tear on the inside and outside alike. This is most relevant for used cars, but for any car, you’ll want to sit inside and “get a feel for it,” not to mention take it for a test drive on nearby roads. Once you are ready to finance a car, you can take advantage of on-site financing, as most car dealerships are connected to five to 10 different money lending services. Having a good credit score can help you get approved for a loan and get a low interest rate on that loan. If you are a young buyer who has little or no credit, you may ask a trusted adult to act as a co-signer and use their own credit score to appease the lender. In either case, new car financing is an important step in this process.
Car Care Tips: Repair Work
These car care tips cover any act of replacing parts of your car and other car repairs, and while not comprehensive, this list may give you a good idea on how many things might go wrong with your car over time. Some problems are the result of blunt trauma, while others are a simple result of the car getting older and wearing down naturally, so to speak.
Let’s start with car care tips for the tires and rims. Cars with old, shabby tires may drive poorly and sloppily, and this can prove inconvenient at best and dangerous at worst. Many auto accident scenes involve a car with old, worn-out tires on it. Old tires tend to deflate slowly but constantly, and they become too soft and floppy as a result. This lowers the car’s mileage, and even if those tires are pumped back up, they will start deflating again. Worse yet, old tires may be more likely to suffer punctures, and they will deflate entirely or even explode when they run over hard or sharp objects. In winter, this problem might be even worse if ice and snow are on the roads.
In some cases punctured tires can be repaired if the puncture is somewhat small and not on a critical part of the tire’s body. Crews at a tire shop can effect repairs if possible, but otherwise, the tire will need to be replaced. Overall, rotating the tires helps them last longer, and some car owners choose to have those tires rotated every time they have the car’s oil changed. A car owner can also keep a log noting the date and odometer reading every time their car’s tires are rotated or changed. New tires are tough and have good grips, and some are actually designed to drive off-road or drive on icy or snowy roads without a problem. This makes the car much safer and smoother to drive on, and a tire shop may have many different options available for a customer. And if you want to avoid paying for a car wreck attorney, you’ll definitely want to take good care of your tires.
Car care tips extend to the car’s body as well, mainly its steel hood and doors, and even its glass. What might go wrong? Many types of blunt trauma can damage a car, such as a glancing blow against another vehicle on the road or scraping against property such as large mailboxes. In some cases, the very weather is a problem, such as large hail that can pound dents all over a car’s roof, trunk, and hood. Not all hail is this big, but if weather reports predict severe hail, be sure that your car is parked underneath something or in a garage. Meanwhile, in traffic, a truck’s cargo might be improperly secured and come loose, and items such as bricks or stones may go flying everywhere and hit the cars behind that truck. Such items will pound dents right into your car.
Car care tips call for car dent repair whenever this sort of damage takes place. A concerned car owner can look up local auto shops, then call them and double-check that they can affect dent repair on cars. If so, the owner can simply take the car to the premises, and workers there will remove any damaged piece of metal and pound out the dents from the other side. After all, a badly dented car has impaired aerodynamic qualities, which harms its mileage and fuel efficiency. And of course, such dents look ugly and will make the car difficult to sell to anyone.
Car care tips extend to the car’s very glass. This is similar to body damage; flying objects from trucks may strike the car’s windshield, or large hail can crack the class or vandals may strike the glass to crack or shatter it. A car accident might also transfer enough kinetic energy to the windshield or side windows and crack them. Cracked glass should be replaced at once, especially the front windshield, since cracked glass is difficult to see through, and that impairs driving. Worse yet, cracked glass might suffer further pressure and end up shattering entirely, which is horribly dangerous. Cracked glass will also make the car more difficult to sell, and a car with damaged glass will likely fail a car safety inspection. So, the owner can take their car to an auto shop that offers window replacement services, and all damaged glass is removed and swapped out for new models.
Let’s not forget the paint, either. A car’s paint is not only an aesthetic effect, but that paint and sealant act as a protective skin to prevent the car’s body from rusting. In the auto industry, the “neutral” colors are gray, white, black, and silver, though cars can also be red, green, blue, and even orange. But car paint can wear out and start flaking off, or it may get scratched or scraped off after blunt trauma takes place. When a car gets into a minor accident, the car may not only suffer dents, but also damaged paint, and the metal underneath may be exposed. Car paint can also get badly scratched if a heavy tree branch falls on the car, and some vandals are known to “key” a car, when they drag a key or similar item across the body to put ugly scratches on it.
A car paint shop’s crew can touch up any damaged part of the car’s paint job, and the cost may be affected by the extent of the damage and on what part of the body it took place. The colors may not match exactly, but the crews will approximate as well as they can with on-site paints. In other cases, a car owner can do this themselves, and they can check the barrier between the car’s engine compartment and passenger area for a sticker that describes the car’s paint code. Once the right paint is ordered and arrives, the owner can sand down the affected area, then apply primer and let it dry. Now the owner can apply a few layers of paint, and then sealant to finish the job.
Auto Accidents and Litigation
Many of these car care tips will keep a car in good condition and reduce the odds of an accident, and a car can be repaired or touched up after a minor auto incident. But suppose a major wreck takes place, and a driver is badly injured? This may call for the aid of a car accident injury attorney, who may represent their client during litigation or even a court case (should it come to that). Either way, it’s important to file a car accident claim no matter the severity of the accident.
Why might an auto accident take place at all? While most drivers are safe and responsible on the road, some are not. Some car drivers are intoxicated, and driving drunk is a serious crime, whether or not a crash takes place. As the law recognizes it, drunk driving is when a car’s operator has a BAC (blood alcohol content) of 0.08% or higher, and some state laws have even lower thresholds than that. A drunk driver has impaired coordination, reflexes, and judgment, meaning that they will drive sloppily and recklessly, such as driving through red lights or weaving through lanes repeatedly. These drivers are likely to hit a piece of property, another vehicle, or pedestrians, and personal injuries are likely to follow. In these cases, it’s crucial to enlist the help of a car accident attorney.
In other cases, a dangerous driver is not drunk, but distracted, preoccupied with a handheld electronic device or the car’s dashboard features. Such a driver is not paying attention to other cars or street lights, and will be too late to react to dangerous developments and end up hitting something. Often, drivers attempt to text while driving, but this is always a bad idea. Finally, some auto accidents take place simply due to bad weather, where heavy rain, snow, or fog (especially at night) lowers visibility for all drivers. Snow or ice on the roads can make them slick, and drivers may go out of control.
After an auto accident, an injured driver may look for and hire a car accident lawyer or personal injury attorney, and get their help with litigation. Unlike the client, who is emotionally charged, the lawyer will have a cool head and clear perspective, so they can more easily use the law and the facts to build an effective legal case. Besides, a lawyer can easily calculate how much settlement money the client should ask for, factoring in medical bills as well as the long-term financial impact of injuries that prevent the client from performing paying work. Calculating all this without a lawyer’s help may prove difficult. Overall, most cases like these are settled through litigation against the at-fault party, but some cases might make it all the way to court. A lawyer can also handle complications such as the at-fault party’s insurance company stonewalling them, or a case with multiple parties involved. Assigning blame and distributing settlement money is easier with a lawyer’s help.
