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There are many how-to videos on the internet. When trying to find a good one there are a lot of useless videos that one has to screen through. When I find how to videos that are useful I'll put them on here so you don't have to deal with the bad ones.

How To Wash A Car Properly

An informative video on the proper way to wash a car.


A couple months ago I bought a brand new car. Although I'm against the purchase of a brand new car as it is never as economical as buying used cars, I opted for a new one for a few reasons. I bought my old car when the one I had before it got totaled after someone T-boned me at a traffic light. My totaled car was 16 years old at the time and was in mint condition with very low mileage since it was garaged before I bought it. May it rest in pieces. Needing another car, I bought a VW Beetle 1.8T but it had some issues where a small part of the vinyl in the passenger seat was missing. There was a crack in the bottom of the front grill, and the VW emblems off the wheels were missing. Being a perfectionist, I like things nice and clean and presentable but the car, although fun to drive was not so presentable. It wasn't a bad purchase however, since it had 112,000 miles and the previous owner had replaced the turbo charger, brakes, and the alternator among a few other things.

When buying a used car, I highly recommend a little more than 100,000 miles on it than a little less than 100,000 miles. If the car has around 80,000 miles, it will generally cost more than if it has 120,000 miles, for example. Moreover, since many components in cars generally wear out at around 100,000 miles, buying a car with more mileage makes sense since they would have already been replaced for the most part.

With all the benefits of buying a used car rather than a new car, I opted for a new car this time around. I drive 22 miles, one way, to work every day and I was averaging 25 miles per gallon. Driving with a lead foot or not, city vs. highway, didn't affect my fuel economy much. I was filling up every 5 or 6 days that the solenoid on the gas cover wore out. I needed a more fuel efficient vehicle but I liked the Beetle. The best option was to get a diesel engine.

Diesel engines last much longer than gas engines, have higher fuel economy and are less maintenance. While many hybrids boast over 40 mpg, so do most diesel cars. Moreover, not having a battery in the trunk frees a lot of space. Since they run at lower rpm's than a gasoline engine, it takes longer for them to wear out and they only require oil changes every 10,000 miles. 

I knew I wanted a diesel Beetle. When it comes to TDI's, the ones made before 2006 have less emission controls than the newer ones. This makes them easier to allow them to run off biodiesel. Biodiesel is easy to create at home and simpler and safer than running a meth lab. TDI's since then are rigged to only run on clean diesel. Moreover, they are slightly less fuel efficient due to tougher emission standards. This is counter intuitive since adding more regulation decreases fuel economy that the extra fuel usage will counter the tougher standards. The EPA should be regulated as they have gone off the deep end with regards to emissions-especially CO2 emissions. Having a Master's in Climatology I could ramble on on why CO2 emissions are not a big deal, compared to nitrous oxides in a vehicles exhaust but that is a different story than how to properly clean a car.

Of course, the new body style is more manly so I opted to get a 2013 Beetle TDI rather than an older one. Since I have been driving I have had 3 cars and the 2013 Beetle TDI is my 4th. I would have only had 2 cars before getting it if my second one did not get totaled from someone running a red light and hitting me. Needless to say, all 3 used cars collectively cost a little less than my 2013 Beetle TDI but I opted for the TDI because I knew the engine would easily last for 15 or more years and being a new car I do not have to contend with the horrific damage to the interior from previous owners who are not as meticulous as I am.

A new car brings on a variety of concerns, mainly when is it safe to wax it, how can I wash it without creating scratches, etc. After owning my new car for a couple of weeks, I went to it on my lunch break and to my dismay, it was covered in fine concrete powder. I was furious. I didn't know what to do to remove it without scratching the paint. My joy of driving around with a 30 day tag was shattered by having a dirty car.

People at auto part stores are completely useless and everyone suggests different cleaning products, etc. One guy even began to rub his finger on the dust on my bumper. I told him to stop. What a degenerate. I go there to seek help in removing the abrasive dust and he rubs it into the paint. How can anyone be so stupid. Didn't his mamma teach him how to have respect for other's belongings?

Anyway, I found the video listed above on how to clean a car without leaving micro scratches in the paint. Since soap has a slimy feel, as it coats the dust granules, it allows it to come off with less of a possibility of scratching the paint. One auto part store sold me a chammy cloth but I returned it. A couple friends advised against those and told me that they were junk. Fortunately I managed to clean the dust off my car and am enjoying my new ride. My work place is planning to purchase more land and expand and I hope they would buy out that concrete place. Although it was the only time since I worked there that the prevailing winds shifted causing my car to be downwind, I do not want this to happen again.

Happy washing.

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