It seems like every time winter hits, it out of nowhere and there is never enough time to plan for it.
Even though I live in Canada by choice, I dont like winter. Its cold. I dont like the cold or any activities related to it. Winter makes people drive crazy and put on winter weight. Neither of which are things I look forward to. My biggest concern is that some one will hit my car and somehow my insurance rate will go up. I can’t afford it to be higher than what it is.
This year I planned in advance as I commute for work I want to make sure that my car is winter ready. The biggest expense every year for me is is replacing the tires. Those range anyway between $1200-$1500 for me, depending on the type of tires and whether I want all seasons or winters. The last 2 years I have gone with all seasons and they have turned out pretty good, but I think I want to go with snow tires this season and then get summers in the spring.
The other thing that I like getting done if I am not getting new tires is a tire rotation and a tune up to make sure nothing needs work. There is nothing worse than being carless in the winter. I also like having any stone chips filled so they dont crack in the winter and having extra washer fluid in the car. I swear I go through atleast one container a month.
I dont know how many of you get steel rims but it you use the same rims all year round, make sure you put some vaseline or some other type of gel on your rims to stop salt from eroding them.
The biggest pain this fall has been getting the garage ready to have another car in there. Last year I parked in the driveway and it was not a fun experience brushing ridiculous amounts of snow off it every morning.