Got a luxury vehicle? BMW? Mercedes? Doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you want to keep it looking stellar days, months and years after you drive it off the lot. After all, you’re spending a lot of money for performance and image — your high-end luxury vehicle should deliver on those promises throughout its life span. It won’t happen without your help, as even the nicest cars can get run down and look pretty old.

Check out these tips on how to keep your foreign car looking like new through the years.

The Right Products

It’s pretty sound advice: good detailing is 90% application and 10% product, says CNN. Don’t do what 60% of the population does and use dish soap to clean your car. Do it right, spend a few bucks, and head to the automotive store to pick up the good stuff. Gather your other supplies before you begin. It’s best to use two buckets: one for clean soap and water and one for clean water. Clean off your mitt in the clean water before dipping into the soapy water so you always have a clean, sudsy application. Invest in a high-quality microfiber cloth to reduce friction and scratching, making it easier to wash, rinse and dry.

Use a Trim Protectant

Prior to waxing, use a trim protectant or restorer, which you apply after washing and drying your vehicle. This will act to repel polish and wax that could stain the trim. Masking tape will also do this job quite well at a fraction of the cost. Use this whenever you apply wax, which should be about every few months.

Brush Your Interior

When it’s time to clean the interior, you may assume you need to use fancy chemicals or sprays to achieve that clean, new-car smell. However, it’s always best to treat the problem at its source. Get a good brush to engage in effective mechanical agitation. Before pulling out the vacuum, use a stuff nylon brush to de-mat the fibers to make the practice of vacuuming much more effective because the dirt will come out more easily.

Know When to Clean

You may schedule your car a nice wash once a week or month, particularly in the warmer months. Whether you get it detailed by a professional or you do it in your own driveway, these regular all-over washings are certainly important. However, even more important is cleaning off your vehicle when it needs it most: after a winter storm when all the salt on the roads has been caked to your panels and undercarriage, or after you’ve been driving through that construction zone all week that’s left bits of gravel and tar on your car. Leaving winter salt and road grime to fester is one of the worst things you can allow to happen to your paint job.

Protect the Interior

Your interior can fall victim to heat and UV rays, so do your best to protect the interior plastic through the following practices:

Park your car in the shade or in a garage when you can
Use a window deflector screen
Apply a UV protectant to prevent drying of plastic and vinyl

Contact Hance’s European

For full-service foreign auto repair in Dallas, TX, count on Hance’s European. We’ve been serving luxury car owners like you in and around Dallas since 1995, providing auto body repair, painting and detailing for BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar, Land Rover, VW, Porsche, Audi, Volvo and more. Contact us at 214-761-8823 for more tips on how to keep your European car looking like new.