Are you a used or older car model owner? Do you sometimes bemoan the state of your car, and wish you had something new to drive? Maybe not – hey, a car is a car, and as long as you’ve got reliable transport, who really cares what the car looks like! But sometimes, you do find yourself dreaming about driving something a bit more sporty or a bit more flashy, and you have to catch yourself before you try to spend an ungodly amount of money you know you really can’t afford!
So, if you’re finding yourself in this camp, it’s time to take action. If you’ve got a pretty old car model on your hands right now, maybe it’s time to give it a bit of a facelift, as well as a personality transplant. Because even when your car is over 10 years old, it can still get you pretty far, and it’ll probably work out much cheaper for you to upgrade a few things here and there, instead of buying a new model from the dealership.
But what should you do here? If you want your car to both look and feel fresh, and even luxury in some places, what should you focus on changing? Well, we’ve got some ideas for you to start with below.
Upgrade Your Seats
The first thing you’ll want to change here is the seats in your car; they’re probably old and a bit worn by now, and those seat covers aren’t going to be able to save them forever! Sure, this one is a bit of a costly upgrade, but these new seats will last you a good few years to come, and are the kind of purchase that will help you save up a lot more money for affording the car you want in the future. They’re a smart, temporary choice here.
Best of all, you can rip out the old seats and put some new ones in yourself. You don’t need to visit a mechanic or workshop for this; you just need some good tools and the right seats on hand. You can find seats for all kinds of makes and models of car out there, so don’t think that just because your car is nearer 20 than 10 that you’ll be out of luck. Indeed, some seats out there could even make your car faster!
However, if you don’t want to rip out the seats entirely, you could just think about changing the fabric. Maybe the seats, underneath all that padding, are still in good condition, and you want to save a bit more money here. Most of all, if your seats used to be covered in some kind of light fabric, it’s time to change that covering for a more durable and hardy leather alternative.
Buy New Floor Mats
Now comes a more light paced, cheaper upgrade you can perform easily on any car out there; buy some new floor mats! To be fair here, this is probably a change that instantly jumped to mind when you thought about giving your car a fresh new look and feel, but you want to get your hands on some good floor mats here.
Car mats can get extremely dirty, we all know that, but if you haven’t changed yours in a good few years (and just vacuum them every now and then…), you’re going to need something a bit more durable on the floor at your feet. Thankfully, there are plenty of options on the market for you to look through, so go for a set that both look good and come highly reviewed.
However, as a sort of next step here, you may also want to change the actual carpet on your car floor. It’s another easy thing to do, but does come with a higher price tag than just replacing mats, simply because the carpet itself needs to be custom molded to your car’s shape. You can find a guide on everything you need to do to fit a new carpet right here.
Change Your Tires
Changing tires on an older model of car is imperative to keeping it running smooth down all kinds of roads. After all, if you’re looking for a more fuel economic vehicle, it’s the tires that are letting you down! Not to mention just how fresh your model can look when the tires are brand new and hardly worn.
Not to mention just how easy it is to change the tires on your car yourself. All you need are the right tools on hand, and to be able to get the car elevated to ensure you can access the tires properly, and you won’t ever need to visit a mechanic.
Plus, you could also think about changing the setup of your tires here too; namely the wheel. Sure, the rims may need replacing, and you could do with putting a few new nuts and bolts in there, but the wheel is the most important part of the make up here.
Because your older car model has probably gotten a bit worn around the wheels at this point in its life, and you’ll probably need to replace the wheels that hold up your tires for a more shiny and strong alternative. For example, investing in mag wheels could be a good shout here; cost effective, durable and versatile for all weathers, and they look pretty good when you’re rolling down the road too!
Clean it Properly
Now the next thing you’re going to need to do is give your car a good wiping down! Older car models are much more likely to be ravaged by grime and animal faeces over the course of their lifetime, and because of this, you need to pay special attention here. Most of all, you might want to commit to giving your car a good clean every week, especially if you’re determined to keep its good looks about it.
You don’t even need to take very long in cleaning your car once a week, especially if you’ve got a lot of other responsibilities on your plate right now. Get the garden hose out of the shed, and make sure the spray head is attached to it.
Use this to rinse the car from head to toe (and this is the correct way, otherwise you risk dirtying your car even further), then grab your soapy water bucket and a good brush or cloth and wipe the whole thing down, and try not to wipe in circles here either. When you’re done, use the hose again to give everything another spray, and then grab another cloth to dry your vehicle and let it shine.
Install Some New Tech
And then we come to the real gritty portion of taking the time to update your car; there’s a lot of new tech out there, for car owners to both complain about and make good use of, and this is your chance to install the best of the best within your vehicle. Because it’s a lot easier than you may think to swap out that old cassette radio for a more modern USB or AUX cord variant, and you’re probably sick of having to listen to the radio, rather than your own tunes.
Get your hands on an aftermarket audio device, in order to make good use of ‘carplay’ systems; you can connect your phone to these and listen to music, have your texts read out to you, as well as take phone calls much easier when you’re busy behind the wheel. And, if you’re not sure where to get started with replacing your stereo system, you can follow a highly informative instructional video right here:
[videos file=”https://youtu.be/sXmcOjXKzmY”][/videos]
(Video by Sonic Electronix)
Aside from this upgrade, you may also want to invest in a dashcam as well. Newer models of these not only record your journey, but they also act as GPS devices, as well as connect to your phone for instant downloads of your journey data. And you can find a handy list of the best Dash Cam Sat Navs right here, if you’re curious to know a little more about them.
Are You Up to Making Your Car a Little More Fresh?
If you’re a car owner with an old car, now’s your chance to do something more with the vehicle that gets you from A to B. As long as it’s not so old it’s dangerous, and it’s not a complete write off either, you can make quite a few changes here and there, to really make yourself satisfied to be behind the wheel.
So change those old tires out, install some newer, more convenient tech onto the dashboard, and make sure you’re giving your vehicle a good clean out every other week or so. Just by putting a little bit more effort into your vehicle’s appearance and performance, you can feel like you’re driving a more luxury vehicle, without ever having to spend any of the associated money!