It’s that time of year again – as summer becomes a distant memory, get ready for wet and stormy conditions, frosty mornings and cooler temperatures. As well as swapping our summer t-shirts for snuggly jumpers, winter means taking care of your car in a different way, too. Freezing conditions, snow and rock salt on the roads bring their own challenges; salt melts into slush and gets splattered onto your vehicle’s paintwork and, if that mixture refreezes, there’s added potential for damage and corrosion. The key stages of pre-wash, wash, rinse and dry stay the same, but here are our top tips for washing your car in winter. Start with the wheels Wheels take a lot of punishment in the...

For many of us, cleaning the inside of our car is less of a priority than taking care of the outside. It seems a bigger job somehow, especially if your vehicle is full of clutter. But interiors need some TLC too, to keep them in good repair and looking smart, so it’s an essential task every once in a while. Here’s our guide to giving your car interior a thorough clean – while not making it too hard on yourself. Clear it all out Remove all the ‘stuff’ that has accumulated in your car, from old receipts and empty snack packets to kids’ toys and the extra jacket you threw in the back ‘just in case’ and then left there....

You may have heard the term ‘rust bucket’. Most frequently it’s used to refer to a car, but it can also apply to a ship, truck or even a building. It conjures up an image of an old, unloved vehicle – but, left unchecked, even modern cars are susceptible to rust. Here’s our guide to preventing it. What is rust, exactly? To get slightly scientific for a moment, rust is what happens when you get a chemical reaction called oxidation. Iron reacts with water and oxygen, and the result is that flaky, orange-brown coating. It’s a form of corrosion. Dirt, moisture and rock salt can all cause rust, usually because they build up in places not reached by your usual...

Whether you’re a motoring fanatic or your vehicle is simply a way to get from A to B, if you own a car then chances are you spend quite a bit of time in it. There’s the daily commute, the school run, the supermarket shop, taking the kids to dance lessons – and that’s without using it for your own leisure. While there’s nothing quite like the feeling of collecting a shiny new car from the showroom, for most of us that’s not an option more than once in a while. And there’s nothing wrong with that. We get comfortable with our cars the longer we have them. We learn – and love – their quirks. We cherish them. Now...