7 New Years Resolutions For Your Car in 2022!

It’s the beginning of a new year and a new chance for a fresh start. And while you’ve likely spent time planning your new years eve celebrations and personal goals for 2022, have you thought about that one thing we often take for granted? Our cars.

Just like the kids and furry friends, our cars are almost part of the family. Taking us from A-B, school drop off, reliably getting us to & from work and even taking us on adventures to places unknown. But as we all know they do require a little TLC from time to time. So if your vehicle made it through the crazy year that was 2021, here are some of our new years resolutions your car will love you for!

1. Regular Maintenance

If you found yourself becoming a bit lax with your car servicing appointments in 2021, 2022 is the year to make it right! We know that regularly servicing your car can be painful, but as you’ve probably heard a thousand times before, regular maintenance is the best way to ensure your car lasts! And you definitely don’t want to upset the automotive karma gods by dodging a service or 2!

Some of the things that should always be checked regularly are oil changes, tyre care, brake pads and air filters.

2. Learn to do basic maintenance checks yourself

Is it just me or are you a little rusty when it comes to basic maintenance checks? Or maybe you know how to do them but never seem to find the time? Well 2022 is the year for you! While there are many things that should only be done by a qualified mechanic, there are basic vehicle checks that you can (and should) do yourself at home!

Things that needs to be checked regularly include:

• Fluid levels (think oil, water & radiator fluid)
• Tyre tread
• Windscreen wipers 
• Tyre pressure
• Car battery

We recommend getting into the habit of doing these monthly, or every 2nd time you fuel up your car, whatever is more convenient!

3. Don’t get distracted

In some aspects, this one is easier said than done. We’ve all had those moments where we’re driving along and all of the sudden realise we’re at our destination with little recollection of how we got there.

Did you know that XX people in Australia are killed every XXXX as a result of distracted drivers?

While most people tend to think of distracted driving as texting or touching your phone while behind the wheel, distracted driving really means anything that takes your full attention away from the road.

Other things that are common distractions include:

• Reaching for something
• Changing the music
• Using an app on your car (or your phone)
• Checking your GPS or map
• Taking a photo
• Checking email or posting to social media
• Eating and drinking
• Putting on makeup or doing your hair

So while we’ve all been guilty of getting distracted when driving, make a commitment to end this in 2022! 

4. Stay Courteous Sunny Coast!

Picture this, you’re late for work, the kids are screaming in the back seat and your stuck in a traffic jam. A series of unfortunate events if there ever was one! But that’s no reason to lose your cool behind the wheel. Its easy to let things like this get on top of you so why not make it a new years resolution to curb the anger and be patient with the people that you share the road with.

In fact, think of it like this, everyone has somewhere that they need to be and sometimes while its inconvenient we just need to accept that not every driver will always do the right thing, but you can! We recommend leaving 10-15 minutes earlier than you need to, to give yourself ample time for traffic congestion and other delays!

5. Keep it clean, jellybean!

Some people are so good at keeping their car clean, it just comes naturally and for others the struggle is real! If your car is a mess, it might be worthwhile making a commitment to yourself to keep in clean in 2022!

The first thing to do is declutter! Do you really need 5 umbrella’s, 2 camping chairs and 6 pairs of shoes in your car? Probably not. It's time to be frugal here… anything you don’t use regularly or need in an emergency needs to come out.

Second - let's talk about paperwork, I’m talking receipts, coupons, your children's artwork and any other miscellaneous paperwork that somehow always finds its way into your car. It's all got to go! Once you’ve decluttered, you need to make sure that the important paperwork (think rego certificate, log books & insurance paperwork) is in a safe and easily accessible place in case of an accident or emergency.

Now it's time to deep clean! Vacuum the floor, seats and boot and wipe down all of your surfaces before giving it a nice bubbly car wash. We always recommend doing this yourself and using quality products rather than going through a car wash.

Either way, there is no better feeling than stepping into a nice clean car ready for the trip ahead.

6. Learn how to change a tyre!

This is a skill that many car owners should know but don’t. So we’re recommending that you make it’s a resolution to learn how to change a your car tyres in 2022! Yes, its always safer to call your Roadside Assistance provider to do the job for you, but if you don’t have roadside assistance or need to get your tyre changed fast, its definitely a skill that you’re going to want to know!

To make it easy for you one of our Mechanics walks you through step-by-step on How To Change Your Car Tyres. Check it out here.

7. Upgrade to your dream car!

Have you been thinking for a while that it’s time to upgrade your car? Make a new car your new years resolution in 2022. While new vehicle stock has come large wait times right now at Sunshine Toyota we have a select range of unsold new Toyotas that are ready for delivery in the coming weeks! We also have a huge range of quality pre-owned vehicles ready for delivery right now.

If you’ve been thinking its time to consider upgrading your car – talk to us today!

So there you have it our top 7 New Years Resolutions for your car and regardless of its age your vehicle can always do with a little extra TLC.