My apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning for the title here…
Like you, your car wants to look its best at all times and to feel loved. So seeing as February is the month of love and we women love our cars for the independence and safety they represent, how can we lavish seasonal attention on them in return to demonstrate that affection?
Let me count the ways…
Here are ten ways to show your motoring love for your car…
1 Your car likes to be clean! I am convinced it drives better afterwards. It was clean when you bought it. Give it an early Spring clean and polish to remind you why you fell in love.
2 It also used to be neat and tidy inside. Then life happened. But it’s still possible to restore order. Polish the windscreen, give things a thorough vacuum and encourage the children to take responsibility for their rubbish. Good luck on the last one Mums!
3 Given a choice, wouldn’t you prefer to smell nice rather than stale and oily? What not buy your car a Nia Car Fragrance as a Valentine’s gift? Or a Yankee Candle freshener… but not one from service stations please.
4 Check your tyres NOW. It only costs 20p and it’s so easy to do, so what’s the problem? Imagine the shame of failing a police check or being involved in an accident simply because you couldn’t spare 20p.
5 Diarise your car’s birthday MOT in advance. Check the normal suspects like lights and windscreen wipers. Your car wants to pass remember. And there’s no need to hurry to the garage at the last moment. NB: You can have this done a month beforehand without affecting next year’s date.
6 Look at your car’s handbook and check when it was last serviced? When should it next be serviced? Let’s face it, if it hasn’t been serviced for a year you don’t sound as if you DO love your car and it knows this. Whereas a beloved car (if only treated to fresh oil and a change of filter on an annual basis) is likely to be a happier runner and will repay you in terms of longer life. It’s also less likely to let you down when you need it most.
7 Take your motoring pride and joy somewhere special so you can show it off. A venue like Goodwood or a hotel spa or afternoon cream tea perhaps? A long drive is good for a car, especially one that rarely gets the opportunity to show its mettle when used to local school runs or similar. But if champagne is on the menu, best to give your car a day off and either get a friend to drive or take taxis!
8 If your poor car has collected a range of reversing dings, trolley dents and alloy wheel scuffs no wonder it looks and feels miserable. So why not get them all fixed in one and give it a new lease of life? You need a good cosmetic repairer to do your car justice though and ideally a FOXY Lady Approved one. You’ll both feel proud afterwards and nobody will be able to cast aspersions on your driving ability!
9 The ultimate car gift in February would probably be a dash cam to show your cherished car that you care. Most insurers will rate you (and your car) more favourably because this will help prove accident liability. Which is unlikely to be down to you of course, but you just might want to prove this to insurance doubters…
10 However if your treasured car has had its day and reached the end of its affordable life, there’s no point in being too sentimental here. You’ll need another one pretty quick. Given a choice, we say go for the one with as many safety gizmos you can afford. In this way your car knows you intend to love and care for it as you would your family.
Finally you’ll need a name for your car if it hasn’t one already. Mine is called Romeo (based on the RMY of ‘his’ numberplate) so there can be no doubt about my genuine affection for my mobile home and office extension on wheels. And if I do feel the need to remonstrate at any stage, talking to Romeo by name always helps me calm down…
Happy Valentine Day to all car lovers!
FOXY
