Drivers urged to look out for change to your vehicle to avoid bills | Personal Finance | Finance
Drivers have been urged to keep a close eye on their vehicle’s condition as an easy-to-miss change to your motor could result in a hefty repair bill.
Motorists should check their car regularly for scratches as even minor damage to the paintwork can slash the value of your car, experts at Auto Express have said.
Tom Jervis, consumer editor with the group, warned: “You don’t just risk a visual hit from a car that’s been scratched and scraped over time.
“You could also lose out financially when it’s time to sell your car, because a scuffed or damaged car won’t be worth as much as one that’s in pristine condition.”
He warned of one situation where drivers should be particularly wary of this: “This is especially worth bearing in mind if you lease a car or have bought one through finance.
“The car’s predicted value at the end of the agreement will be dependent on what condition it’s in. If the scrapes and scratches are particularly bad, you could face hefty repair shop bills, too.”
If you find a scratch but the damage is light, affecting only the clear coat top layer or base layer of the paintwork, you may be able to fill it in yourself using a scratch repair kit or a car care product such as T-Cut.
Mr Jervis suggested a tip to check how bad the damage is, saying: “A quick test you can do to determine the severity of the damage is by running the tip of your thumb or fingernail over the scratches. If your nail doesn’t feel the scratch, you should be able to remove it by using scratch removers or T-Cut.
“If your nail can feel the scratch or scuff, then the damage runs a few layers deeper, affecting the primer coat or plastic or metal bodywork. The likelihood is you’ll require the services of a professional garage or paintwork technician. “
If you can repair the damage yourself using a scratch remover, there are several steps you need to follow, including doing some preparation before applying the product.
You will need to wash you car thoroughly to remove any surface contaminants or road grime, so you don’t rub any grit or debris into the paint surface, causing further damage.
It’s important to read the instructions on the scratch remover as this will tell you if you need any specialist buffing or polishing tools for the job.
In most cases, you will have to apply a small amount of the solution, about the size of a 10p coin, onto a cloth or buffing tool, spreading it over the cloth so you can apply it evenly.
You can then apply the solution to the area, using a circular motiob. Mr Jervis explained: “Remember, you’re essentially removing layers of paint, so you don’t want to go too deep; only apply light amounts of pressure and move in one direction.
“If your cleaning cloth starts turning a different colour, that means you’re down to the paint layers, and you’ve removed the protective lacquer on top of it.
“Once you’ve finished working on one area of the scratch, buff any excess product off with a clean microfibre cloth – because some scratch removers can damage the paintwork if they’re left to dry.”
You may need to repeat the process to further remove the scratch but make sure you read the insutructions and be careful not to over-apply the product.
Once this is finished, you can polish your car’s paintwork to add an extra layer of protection. If the damage is only very slight, such as from a stone chip, you may be able to use touch-up paint pens to cover it over.
Again, you will need to wash your vehicle before you do this. Then you will need to shake the pen for a few minutes to the paint pigments are mixed correctly and they dry evenly when you apply it.
You should apply the paint in layers, waiting aroud 15 minutes betwen each layer to give the paint time to dry. Once it’s done, you’ll need to wait another hour to allow the paint to cure before applying a clear lacquer to seal it.
If the damage is a bit more substantial, such as if you scrape a wall or a post, and you have damaged the colour coat or scraped down to bare metal or plastic, you may need a more substantial solution
There are kits you can use at home for these repairs, with a range of products coming with a variety of polishes, treatments and brushes.
You can even get kits for your car’s specific paint colour, by finding your car’s point code, which is usually on the vehicle’s VIN plate.
Mr Jervis said: “To work with a kit, you generally follow the same procedure as for scratch removers: clean the affected area, paint in the damaged section with a brush, allow the paint to dry, then polish the area down so it’s smooth with the rest of the paint. After that, you can clean the car with wax to give the damaged area some additional protection.”
