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What to do when your car gets scratched
How to avoid scratches on your vehicle
Final word
 

What to do when your car gets scratched

When you get a scratch on your car, the overall look and value can easily diminish a notable amount depending on the severity and location of the scratch. That is why you need to get the scratch repaired. However, many people think that they can wait and do that whenever they want. That is actually not the case because waiting to get a scratch repaired can actually lead to further damage. This is because when your car gets scratched, the clear coating that protects the paint gets removed and then that area is much more susceptible to rust.

Another mistake people make is they try and fix the scratch with touch up paint themselves. The problem with this is that there is a specific process that, if not done correctly, could lead to visible dirt being trapped underneath the touch up paint and/or an uneven look. That is precisely why you should take your car into the auto body shop as soon as you get any scratches.
 

How to avoid scratches on your vehicle

An even better option than getting any scratches on your vehicle repaired right away would be to avoid getting any scratches altogether. This obviously is not always possible as sometimes it will be completely out of your power. However, there are a few simple things you can do to avoid getting any scratches on your car in Hawaii.

First, you should always make sure you park where there is more than enough space next to you for other drivers not to scratch your car by opening their own doors. Next, you should consider skipping driving on dirt or gravel roads. Micro debris such as pebbles can kick up and scratch your car when you do drive on these types of roads. Also, do not park in or near heavily wooded areas because small branches that you might not be able to see as you drive past them can easily cause a scratch. Finally, whenever you can, take the opportunity to park your car in a garage.
 

Final word

Getting a scratch on your car is not the end of the world but it can lower the value and overall look of your vehicle. If you do not get a scratch repaired in a timely enough manner, rust can occur as a result. So, when you do get a scratch or scratches on your car get it repaired right away and do so by taking it to a body shop not by touching it up yourself. Finally, the best way to get a scratch fixed is by not getting any scratches in the first place so do whatever you can to avoid them.

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Getting a newly purchased vehicle registered
Renewing your registration
Conclusion
 

Getting a newly purchased vehicle registered

If you buy a new car in Hawaii from a dealer, there is a very good chance that all of the work will be done, and that the car will already have the registration ready to go. If not, they will give you all the paperwork you need as well as any instructions you need in order to get your new car registered. You will need to do that within four weeks of the official purchase date.

If you buy your car from a private seller you will need to do all of the legwork for getting the title and registration transferred. So, you will need to take a trip to your local Hawaiian DMV and you will need to bring the previous registration (from the previous owner), the signed-over vehicle title, a filled out “application for registration” form, the safety inspection report and cash or credit card for payment of associated fees.

If you are getting a car registered that you shipped to Hawaii from another state you will need to go to the DMV and bring the following: the most up-to-date out of state registration, proof of vehicle weight, the vehicle title, a filled out “application for registration” form, the safety inspection report and cash or credit card for payment of associated fees. If you do not want to do this right away, you can also apply for an out of state permit as well. Whether you get your car registered or get the out of state permit, you will need to do both in person and within thirty days of arriving in Hawaii.
 

Renewing your registration

Thankfully, renewing your registration will be much easier. You will not even need to take a trip to the DMV to complete this as you will be able to do so online. In order to renew your vehicle’s registration in Hawaii, you will just need to find your specific counties’ registration website and go from there. There will be fees associated with the renewal which you can pay online with a credit card. You can also renew your registration by mail with a check. Another positive facet to renewing your registration in Hawaii will be that you will not even need to remember to renew your registration as the DMV will send you a reminder, by mail, about forty-five days before your current registration expires.
 

Conclusion

What you will need to do in order to get your car registered in Hawaii will depend on whether you are registering a car you just bought from a dealer, a car you just bought from a private seller, a car you shipped to Hawaii or you are renewing your current registration. If you are registering a car that you shipped here or bought from a private seller, there will be a bit more work to do in order to complete the registration process. Regardless, be sure you always get your registration in a timely manner in order to avoid a costly ticket.

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Using your headrests for comfort and safety
Adjusting your headrest
Conclusion
 

Using your headrests for comfort and safety

The headrests in your car provide crucial safety and comfort as you drive. Without your headrests in your car or without them properly adjusted, you risk pain, chronic issues and, in the case of an accident, potentially life-threatening injuries. When it comes to comfort, your headrests will support your head which is the foundation of a good posture. Good posture and proper support for your head will prevent any straining or aching that could have otherwise been easily avoided. Your headrest will also help to prevent excess head movement when driving over a rough road and/or braking.

In terms of safety, all of the benefits in regards to comfort also qualify as benefits for safety in terms of the possible prevention of chronic issues. However, the safety that your headrest will provide goes far beyond preventing long term neck and shoulder pain. In the case of a collision, your headrest will limit the range of motion that your head will instantly experience. This can prevent fractures, whiplash, paralysis and even death. This is why driving without your headrest is illegal and can result in a pricey ticket.
 

Adjusting your headrest

It is not just enough to have your headrest in the car, you must make sure that it is adjusted properly in combination with your seat, specific to your particular needs. As a rule of thumb, your headrest should always reach the top of your head or, at the very least, the top of your ears. Also, there should never be more than four or five inches of space between your head and the headrest at any time as you drive. If you find physical discomfort with any of this, try adjusting the angle of the upper portion of your seat and/or the distance of the seat from the pedals. You will not need to adjust your headrest each time you get in your car, once you get it correct you can keep it in that position.
 

Conclusion

Your car’s headrest is a much larger part of your overall comfort and safety than it might initially seem. The headrest will support your head and neck which will prevent pain and discomfort. Your headrest will also provide tremendous safety for you in case you are involved in an accident. Without a headrest, you are at much higher risk during a car accident of getting whiplash, fractures, paralysis or even worse. Always drive with your headrest installed and properly adjusted.

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Doing some spot cleaning yourself
Detailing and other cleaning services
Conclusion
 

Doing some spot cleaning yourself

If you have stains on your car’s upholstery, you should get the stains cleaned and removed because it can affect the resale value of your vehicle as well as make your passengers feel less comfortable. If the stain is small and fairly recent, you should consider cleaning it yourself. This will be both cheaper and quicker.

In order to attempt to clean your own upholstery, you should start by identifying whether your car has cloth or leather seats. For leather seats, you will have a few options. You can use nail polish remover on a rag and blot the stain until it dissipates. Then use warm water and dish soap to get rid of the excess nail polish remover. Another option for cleaning a leather seat would be to put some non-gel toothpaste on a new toothbrush then carefully and gently scrub the stain.

If you have cloth seats your first option for cleaning a stain yourself will be to use laundry detergent with hot water and apply that mixture to a cloth. Then, use the cloth to make the stained area damp. Then, after a bit use a towel with cold water to remove the mixture. You can also use a baking soda solution that is baking soda mixed with warm water. Apply the solution to the stains using a clean toothbrush and let it sit for about a half an hour. Then, wipe off the excess with a cloth.
 

Detailing and other cleaning services

If cleaning your car’s upholstery, yourself does not work, or you just want to skip that effort altogether, you can always take your car in to get the stains professionally removed. This will take more time and definitely cost more but it is easily the most effective option. Typically, when you get your car detailed, it will take an hour or two and will cost between seventy-five and two hundred dollars depending on what is included in the detailing and the size of your vehicle. Obviously, larger vehicles such as SUVs will cost more. Most car washes offer a detailing service of some kind.
 

Conclusion

Getting your car’s upholstery cleaned will entail you either putting in some elbow grease yourself or spending some money to get it detailed. Attempting to remove any stains yourself will be quicker and be much less costly but it is typically less effective than getting your car detailed. Do your very best to prevent stains on your car’s interior in the first place but if you do end up with stains on your upholstery, you still have a few options.

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How your brake pads work
How to know when to replace them
Final word
 

How your brake pads work

Brake pads are a critically component of your car’s braking system. If they are not working and/or are too worn out this can cause your brakes not to work as efficiently or even to fail completely. Without your brakes working correctly, you are at a great risk of a catastrophic accident that could cost you your life.

Your brake pads work by making contact with and applying pressure to your brake’s rotors. Your brake rotors are the visible discs that, when pressure is applied, slow your wheel down. Your brake pads apply this pressure to your brake rotors via friction. This happens thousands of times in the life of your brake pads before they become too worn.

There are three types of brake pads not including the special types used for trucks and motorcycles. These are organic brake pads, ceramic brake pads and metallic brake pads. The difference between these brake pads is obviously the material they are made of. They function the same but depending on the material, they might wear more quickly or make more noise. For example, organic brake pads wear faster because they are softer and made of plastic, but they also tend to make the least noise of any of the three types of pads.
 

How to know when to replace them

Because your brake pads are so important to your car’s function and overall safety, knowing when to get them replaced is just as important. There are several signs that will not take much to notice that the time has come to replace your vehicle’s brake pads.

The first of these signs is that you will hear noise such as squeaking or grinding coming from your car as you brake. The next is that you will notice your car is taking noticeably longer to come to a complete stop when braking. Another sign is that your car will vibrate when you are braking. Finally, the most obvious sign will be your brake pad indicator light will come on. If you experience any of these, be sure to get your car to a mechanic in order to replace your brake pads right away.
 

Final word

Your brakes can not function correctly without reliable brake pads. Without your brakes working correctly, you are risking your life every time that you get behind the wheel of your car. At the first sign that your brake pads are too worn or not working, get them looked at and replaced immediately. Telltale signs that your brake pads might be overworn include noise coming from your car when braking, vibration in the car when braking and your brake pad indicator light coming on.

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What is a car appraisal?
When should I get my car appraised?
Wrapping up
 

What is a car appraisal?

A car appraisal is when you find out what your car’s exact and current value is by having it looked over by a professional appraiser. Getting your car appraised can be useful for several specific reasons but it is easily the best way to assess a car’s true worth fairly and objectively. Trusting someone else who is buying or selling the car in question or attempting to go off Kelly Blue Book yourself will be much less accurate than an appraisal will be.

There are several things that affect the final number in an appraisal. The first, and likely most important, is what exactly the appraisal is for. For example, if you are getting a car appraised in order to sell it to another individual, the appraiser will give you an objective estimate of the best price you can sell it for. However, if you are getting a car appraised to assess its trade-in value, the value assessed for the same exact vehicle at the same time will be different.

Other more typical factors will also hold a good amount of weight during an appraisal. These include, mileage, maintenance, your location, the age of the vehicle and more.
 

When should I get my car appraised?

Any time that you need to get the most exact and objective value for a vehicle, you should consider an appraisal. This can include if you are buying or selling a car. If a car is new, there will be no need for an appraisal. However, appraisals will be quite useful for used vehicles, whether you are buying or selling one.

Appraisals are also useful for when you are trading a vehicle in. If you get an official appraisal and bring it with you to the dealer when you are trading a vehicle in, this can help you gain some leverage in the bargaining process.

Finally, appraisals are also often used when people get divorced and need to determine exact values of all their assets that are to be divided up.
 

Wrapping up

Getting a vehicle appraised is the best way for you to get the most objective value for it. It will be quite useful if you are buying, selling or trading in a car. In the end, it will help you maximize the value out of whatever deal you are making, be it with an individual or a dealership. If you do get a car appraised, make a deal and then need it shipped to or from Hawaii, you can always call the auto transport professionals with Hawaii Car Transport at (808) 445-6695.

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Traffic complications
Dangers
Conclusion
 

Traffic complications

“Rubber-necking” is a phrase that describes when motorists slow down to look over at an accident, often taking their eyes off of the road in the process. The “rubber neck” part refers to drivers turning their heads to look at the accident. Rubber necking really causes a lot of completely unnecessary traffic congestion. It can also create dangerous driving situations easily leading to accidents.

When there is a car accident that draws a lot of attention and rubber necking, traffic congestion increases and, as a result, so do overall travel times along that route. It has been observed that drivers will look at an accident three times longer when the accident is in full view as opposed to when the accident is completely or partially out of view.

So, if there were no accidents, travel times would be unaffected. If there was an accident that was mostly out of view, people would, on average, likely only look for three seconds or so. If you are on a big road or highway, let’s say there are a hundred vehicles in front of you. That means rubber necking would add five minutes to your travel time. If the accident was in full view, rubber necking would be three times longer. So, that would add a full fifteen minutes to your drive. This does not even take into consideration any lane closures due to said accident which can slow traffic down even further.
 

Dangers

Rubber necking is also very dangerous. It is considered to be a form of distracted driving because you are removing your focus from driving and the road in front of you for a few moments. This means that there will potentially be many partially or completely distracted drivers driving within a close proximity at the same time. That can obviously be a recipe for disaster.

In fact, research has shown that approximately sixteen percent of all car accidents are due, at least in part, to rubber necking. This is no surprise when you consider the fact that taking your eyes off of the road for more than two seconds doubles your chance of getting into an accident. As we said before, the shorter end of average duration for rubber necking is about three seconds. The only reason rubbernecking doesn’t account for even more accidents is because of the very low speeds it tends to occur at.
 

Conclusion

Rubber necking is a blight for proper driving conditions. It unnecessarily slows traffic and creates very dangerous conditions where additional accidents are much more likely to occur. Do yourself and everyone else out on the road a favor, always avoid taking more than a super quick glance at an accident or else you might be next.

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The risk of an accident
Getting a ticket
Conclusion
 

The risk of an accident

Parking lots are for driving slowly, finding a spot, parking, walking to & from your destination, pulling out of your spot and leaving the lot slowly. When you quickly try to drive across one, you upset that balance, and this puts you at risk of an accident with another vehicle or even a pedestrian. This can potentially cost you thousands of dollars or more. This is especially true if someone else gets hurt and civil action is taken in the form of a lawsuit. It is simply just not worth the risk of cutting through a parking lot in order to avoid waiting a few more minutes at a red light.
 

Getting a ticket

When you cut through a parking lot in order to avoid traffic and/or a red light you can also be ticketed by the police. This is because you are deliberately trying to avoid a traffic control device. In the eyes of the law, it is the same as running the red light. Police often watch for this at busy intersections where there is an easy way to cut through a parking lot to do this.

The fine will run you a couple hundred dollars plus more in court fees. It is also a moving violation which means that it will also potentially carry a negative impact for your insurance rates going forward. In Hawaii, there is not a point system for moving violations anymore. However, with each moving violation that you are officially convicted of, you can expect your insurance rates to increase. Typically, your insurance could increase by one or two hundred dollars per year for a minor moving violation like avoiding a traffic control device. Your insurance can increase by much more than that if you had previous moving violations on your record.
 

Conclusion

You might think that cutting through a parking lot next to a red light is a clever way of saving some time in traffic. However, there is a ton of unnecessary risk that comes along with it and makes it not worth it. When you quickly try to cut through a parking lot you are risking hitting another car or pedestrian. You are also risking an expensive ticket and moving violation which can easily lead to an insurance premium increase. Word to the wise, just wait the extra few minutes at the red light.

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What are pedal extensions?
How to know if you need them
Conclusion
 

What are pedal extensions?

Pedal extensions are devices that can be attached to the regular car pedals, typically by being bolted on, that will extend the pedals in order to make them easier to reach for a driver. These devices can be beneficial in a numerous number of circumstances. If a driver’s legs cannot physically reach the typical pedals these extenders will make the drive much safer and comfortable. Sometimes it will be because a car’s driver’s seat does not come forward far enough. It could also be because a physical limitation makes having the pedals extended much more comfortable.

They are also used in many circumstances out of general safety concerns. Many people want to put extra distance between themselves and the steering column in the case of a crash because their chest would be impacted by the airbags rather than their head and neck. Pedal extensions allow them to be an optimal distance from the safety column for safety.
 

How to know if you need them

The majority of drivers out there will not need pedal extensions, but you could still choose to use them for a variety of reasons including the reasons we mentioned above. Either way, here are a few criteria to be aware of in order to know whether or not you should be using pedal extensions in your vehicle.

If you are having any physical issues where reaching your leg to the stock pedals causes pain, discomfort, weakness or numbness. Types of physical conditions that can cause those issues can include various back, knee and hip issues, pregnancy, arthritis, and general weakness reaching the pedals. Pedal extenders can often be beneficial for those who consider themselves short in stature or clinically overweight. One important thing to keep in mind will be that some states require a certain type of license for those using “adaptive devices” such as pedal extenders. If you feel you need pedal extensions and are not sure about the local laws and/or type of license required, get in touch with your local Department of Motor Vehicles.
 

Conclusion

Pedal extensions are useful devices that extend the length of the gas, brake and/or clutch pedals in a vehicle. They are typically only used by those with some sort of physical limitation whether it be temporary or permanent. You may need a special license or exception in order to use pedal extensions legally in your particular state, so check with your local DMV before you choose to have them installed.

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Posture for comfort
Posture for safety
Conclusion
 

Posture for comfort

Driving posture is important to your comfort as you drive, your safety as you drive and for your overall health. As far as comfort and health are concerned, improper driving posture can lead to discomfort in several areas of your body including but not limited to your back, neck, shoulders, legs, arms, hands and feet. If you routinely drive with incorrect posture, you can develop chronic issues which will affect your overall quality of life and make you much more susceptible to other issues like muscle strains.

So, what is the proper posture to use when driving? Well, when you get into the driver’s seat, first be sure that your seat is the right distance from the steering wheel. An ideal distance from the steering wheel will allow you to reach it with your back completely back against the seat without having to extend your arms completely. If you find that this is not the case, then adjust your seat accordingly.

After that, be sure that your back is completely supported and comfortable. If it is not and a seat adjustment does not help much, consider driving with a lumbar pillow. Next, make sure your headrest is set so that it is useful and comfortable. After that, make sure that your mirrors are adjusted so that you do not need to strain your neck or back to get a good view to use them correctly. Finally, do not hesitate to take breaks and get out and stretch if needed.
 

Posture for safety

Your driving posture will also play a role in your overall safety as you drive. If you are sitting too far away from the steering wheel and/or pedals, you could be prevented from using them the right way and/or quickly enough. If you are sitting too close to the steering wheel, you are risking severe injury in the case of a collision. This is because if your airbag deploys and hits you in the chest rather than the face, neck and arms, those body parts will not be protected, and you will be at higher risk of fractures or death.
 

Conclusion

The posture that you sit with while you drive is much more important than many drivers tend to think. It can be the difference between driving in comfort and driving in pain or discomfort. Routine bad driving posture can lead to chronic pain issues with your back, neck, shoulders and many more areas of your body. Incorrect driving posture can also put you at risk for severe or even fatal injury in the case of an accident or collision. Before you start driving, always be sure that you will be comfortable and safe based on the way that you will be sitting.