It will not be long before the cold winds of winter will start to blow. Before they do; you'll want to get your car winter ready. Otherwise, you might end up like those unfortunate travelers on that cruise ship; stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing but Spam and Pop-Tarts.
First, you need to check your car battery. Extreme cold weather will rob it of much of its cranking power. If it is more than a few years old, you may need to replace it. Next, check the antifreeze in your radiator. You can buy an inexpensive tester at your local auto parts store. The tester will tell you if you have the correct amount of antifreeze. Of course, if your system has not been flushed in awhile, now is a good time to do that. Then, check your tires. If your tires are worn or you have high performance tires, you should replace them with snow tire. Also, make sure you maintain the proper amount of air in your tires. Cold weather will make the air in your tires contract resulting in them being soft if you don't keep checking them.
Now is also a good time to change the oil in your car. Many car makers recommend using a thinner motor oil like 5W-30 during the winter months because it circulates better at colder temperatures and helps to reduce engine wear. In addition, you should check your belts and hoses along with your brakes, heater, headlights and brakes lights, etc. to make sure all are in working order.
Once you have gotten your car ready for the cold, snow, ice and wind that winter brings, it's time to stock it with all the items you will need to help you get through them. Those items include an ice scraper, a snow brush and small snow shovel, bag of sand or cat litter, road flares, jumper cables, blanket, etc.
If you don't have confidence that your car will get you safely through the winter, now is the time to do something about it. You can spend a lot of money repairing your car, but that might not raise your level of confidence. You can attempt to sell your car. That might be difficult since the chances are good that if you don't think it will survive the winter neither will a prospective buyer. You can trade it in towards a new or newer car. Unfortunately, if it is not in good condition, you probably won't get much for it. You can avoid all that aggravation by logging onto http://www.cars4charities.org/ and donate your car to charity.
Cars4Charities will gladly let you donate car in virtually any condition as long as you have a title, have not stripped parts off of it and have it parked where a tow truck can easily get to it. When you donate car to charity, you get a tax deduction of the greater of $500 or the amount your car donation is sold for. No muss, no fuss! If you prefer to speak to someone in person, just call 866.448.3487 and they will be happy to give you the donate car details.
Author Resource:
Karen Campese is the Co-founder and CEO of Cars4Charities, a not for profit car donation center. They have over 1,000 respected charities that you can donate car to. When you donate your car , you get a tax deduction and help a good cause.
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