They found three-quarters of the 2,000 UK car owners surveyed didn’t wash their cars often enough with half of them admitting they were unsure on how to do it at home themselves.
UK motorists have been warned to rethink their car cleaning habits to save money and avoid costly repairs, this spring.
The research found the average UK car is cleaned 14 times a year with 42% of us getting our vehicles cleaned by professionals.
It costs on average £15 to get a car cleaned by someone else, with Motorpoint predicting that motorists could be spending more than £210 getting their vehicle cleaned in 2024.
Ben Custard, a Motorpoint expert, explained why your vehicle should be a part of your Spring cleaning this year, he said: “When it comes to keeping your car clean, I’d suggest taking a little and often approach to make the process less daunting.
“The interior and exterior of your car don’t need to be cleaned at the same time and staggering the jobs can make it feel more manageable.
“While you can always outsource your car cleaning to professionals, I’d suggest attempting to clean your car at home. It’s much cheaper to do it yourself, and you’ll have a better idea of the products being used and the steps taken to prevent damage to your vehicle.”
So how often should we be cleaning our car?
Custard explained it all depends on how often you use your car. Do you use it every day for taking the kids to school or for going to and from work?
However, he said a good rule of thumb is to clean the outside of your car “every two weeks” as this can keep on top of problems such as “wet leaves and bird poo” which can be costly if ignored.
Meanwhile, for the inside of your car rubbish and dirt can easily build up with people getting in and out of the vehicle.
“You should be looking to remove rubbish and wipe down surfaces as soon as possible,” Custard says.
“For bigger jobs like hoovering, I’d suggest once a month would be enough unless there’s a reason your car interior gets particularly dirty.”
What is the best way to clean your car?
There are so many car cleaning products out there and let’s not forget viral online hacks which may not always be right.
Seeing as cleaning your car at home is cheaper to do than going to a professional cleaner you may not be aware of what products they use.
However, there isn’t always enough time to clean your car yourself so make sure to do some research beforehand and read the reviews.
“As a general rule, I’d avoid automated car washes because badly maintained ones can scratch your paintwork, which isn’t just expensive to fix but can lead to more serious problems like rust and corrosion if left untreated,” Custard recommended.
