Typical Vehicle Maintence

[Ankur]

What are the typical things I need to do to keep my car in good shape. I have been reading a lot of blogs about scratches, dents and dings. How do I fix these? Do they need to be fixed? Does this cost alot? I mean when I fixed my car for some dings it cost me $250 bucks. Am I spending that type of money every couple of weeks on a stretch.

How about scheduled cleaning. Do I need to get the car detailed after every job?

Any other tips on vehicle care?

[Greenpala]

Detail - well, I would say once a month or once per 3 months. We detail cars every 4-6 months. Scratches will always happen. You need to have good drivers - but even that will not stop scratches unless you only do weddings.
Dings and dents - well, there are DENLESS removal services where they use special tools to remove dings and dents without painting or bondo. It usually costs around $75-$100 per panel.

[Salicete]

Originally posted by Ankur:
What are the typical things I need to do to keep my car in good shape. I have been reading a lot of blogs about scratches, dents and dings. How do I fix these? Do they need to be fixed? Does this cost alot? I mean when I fixed my car for some dings it cost me $250 bucks. Am I spending that type of money every couple of weeks on a stretch.

How about scheduled cleaning. Do I need to get the car detailed after every job?

Any other tips on vehicle care?

PM me.

I'm in your area and can give you the contact info for a fantastic paintless dent removal guy who does unbelievable work for very reasonable prices.

I can also direct to one of the few reputable limo mechanics in the area.

[limo bill]

Ankur,
use commen sense when adressing these questions. First of all its best to avoid getting dings & scratches in your car in the first place. Know body will treat you car the way you should, after all you paid for it. Do not park your car in high risk areas where you will get damage. Secondly, as for maintance if it brakes .. fix it. Keeping on top of things is the only way to do it. If you let maintance slide you will just have a crapy car that no one wants to rent. Wash n Wax as needed, always have a full tank of gas so your ready to roll.
Basis 5 step limo business rules:
1) buy car
2) get license & insurance
3) book customer
4) pay bills on time
5) repeat

P.S. try to enjoy yourself.... good luck !!

[Steve W.]

> What are the typical things I need to do
> to keep my car in good shape.
I could not tell if you are only speaking of vehicle appearance or vehicle maintenance but you do need to have some standards for both.

For vehicle maintenance (mechanical systems) follow the manufactures guidelines for heavy use vehicles. That will include things like oil changes, coolant swaps, trans services filter intervals and the like. A good mechanic will help you develop a schedule.

For appearance your only goal is to keep it looking as new and fresh as possible. It will really depend on your use and local area (seasons) what that will entail. So there is really no set answer. You will however be taking it to the car wash a lot sometimes daily. Just when you notice the paint getting a little dull or some surface scratches time to take it into the detailer to get the paint polished and waxed. That will bring the shine back to life. Here in LA we always time our yearly paint detailing right before award show season and they seem to look pretty good the rest of the year.


> I have been reading a lot of blogs about
> scratches, dents and dings. How do I fix
> these? Do they need to be fixed? Does
> this cost alot?
Can add up over time that's for sure but you don't have to worry about every little scratch or dent. On scratches many of them can be buffed out with paint cleaner or rubbing compound to a level where at least it is not noticeable. If the scratch is to the primer or metal some touch up paint will also cover it up until the next time you have to get the entire panel repainted from an accident or major ding.

Where you will get the most damage it seems is the rear bumper. Not only from taking luggage in and out but from backing into things as well. Good investment there is to get a foldout carpet that cover the rear bumper when loading luggage and the like. Also I have seen some companies install a black rubber strip on the apex of the bumper to absorb "touches" if you damage the strip it is cheaper to repair that.
Examples of bumper guards (http://www.eurobumperguard.com/pictures_bumper_guard.html)

Previous poster was correct you can minimize you damage by paying close attention to where you choose to park and what goes on around your vehicle. I have seen many drivers wanting to impress their clients park right in front of the door of a night club. Then of course when the inevitable fights break out they spill right into the side of the limo with a nice dent to show for it.

> I mean when I fixed my car for some dings it
> cost me $250 bucks. Am I spending that type
> of money every couple of weeks on a stretch.
You will go broke pretty quick if you kept that pace up. Just make an effort to keep you vehicle nice, it does not have to be perfect all the time but if you got a fist size dent in your door yea by all means get it fixed. It really comes down to the pride you show in your business and each owner has different levels of pride and it shows in their vehicles. Sometimes it's hard to distinguish the appearance of your car until it is parked right next to another (maybe new) limousine and you see how dull your paint is or how many scratches you have. But when you see only your own vehicle daily you don't notice the subtle difference of the paint getting dull so you never take any action. If fact I think the syndrome many owners get into is they really start to see these vehicles as a expensive tools and as long as the tool is working and looking half way decent they don't want to sink any more money into it than they have to. That is the way to profitability for many folks but it sometimes catches up to them when they least expect it. But the fact is the paint is going to fade, the chrome will get dull and the glass will get a little pitted. We cant go around replacing every part on these cars as they get slightly worn so not every limo is going to look perfect all the time. That's why many of the big companies replace the cars after a few years. Most don't have that luxury so just do the best you can and take pride in your ride!

> How about scheduled cleaning. Do I need
> to get the car detailed after every job?
I don't know what your definition of "detailed" is but in general I would say no. That is not to say that you don't have to clean it after ever run, yes you have to do that, mostly on the interior in some cases. But then there are some runs where all the people do is sit in the car and they touch nothing. And some where they touch everything so all the glassware has to be cleaned all the nooks and crannies have to be cleaned in the bar and trash taken out of the ice chests and everywhere else it could hide. Basically you have to get it fresh each time for each client. I would not call that detailing in so many words just good cleaning habits. Only schedule you may want to stick to is cleaning out the mats every few months. A lot of liquids get spilled into them and that can usually be the source of some smells in your interior. The carpet it self should get shampooed on a regular basis also (few times a year) but the instances of vomit usually will necessitate more shampoos than the scheduled ones so that takes care of it's self.

> Any other tips on vehicle care?
One thing i do as a driver when working is plan a single area to really deep clean while I have some down time. While my clients are at dinner or in a concert I pick one thing and really try to give it some attention. Because there are some areas that never rarely get cleaned by the car wash. Things like:
Interior door panels - they wipe them down but don't get in the nooks and crannies
Bar - lots of areas for grime to hide behind glass holders and around ice chests
Ice chests and ice buckets - a film of muck can develop at the bottom of these if not cleaned regularly. Broken glass can also accumulate over time.
Ceiling - finger prints can accumulate there and many drivers never bother looking up
Outside door handles - On Lincolns when people reach for the door handle there is a plastic piece in there that I guess their finger nails scratch. Some paint cleaner brings this area back to new.
Seats - some leather/vinyl cleaner and protectant gives it a new look

Trick is to just to a small of enough area of something where you will not be in the middle of it when your clients call for you. IF you are hiring drivers may want to give them assignments such as these when you give them jobs you know will have some down time. Maybe keep a log in each vehicle showing when was the last time these things were performed.

Once you get going vehicle care will not be that big of a deal, you will just start doing the things automatically when you see you need them. You will have much bigger problems to worry about!! Like how to get more customers!

Good Luck and welcome to the forum!!