C350 street parking in winter?
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: Bellevue, WA
'08 C350 Sport
C350 street parking in winter?
Hi guys,
I just bought my first MB, a certified pre-own '08 C350 Sport Sedan (probably belonged to some folk here
). It is steel grey metallic with some goodness (tinted, bi-xenon headlights, power folding side mirrors, AMG wheels). I am very happy with the purchase as this is my first MB. I had an Audi and VW before but both dont quite match the performance the C350 offered. I will post some pic later!
My garage is currently occupied by my wife's car so I have to park my car outside all the time. I live in north west WA so in winter the temperature is around 30-45F. As general routine, in the morning I always start and let it idle for few minutes before I drive. I drive slowly for 10-15 minutes to bring the car to normal temperature before doing any fun stuff.
For folks who park on the street in winter, do you guys have any suggestions for me to keep the car in shape?
Thanks and nice to meet you all!!
I am super proud to be a W204 owner and am looking forwarding to learning more from you guys!
I just bought my first MB, a certified pre-own '08 C350 Sport Sedan (probably belonged to some folk here
). It is steel grey metallic with some goodness (tinted, bi-xenon headlights, power folding side mirrors, AMG wheels). I am very happy with the purchase as this is my first MB. I had an Audi and VW before but both dont quite match the performance the C350 offered. I will post some pic later!My garage is currently occupied by my wife's car so I have to park my car outside all the time. I live in north west WA so in winter the temperature is around 30-45F. As general routine, in the morning I always start and let it idle for few minutes before I drive. I drive slowly for 10-15 minutes to bring the car to normal temperature before doing any fun stuff.
For folks who park on the street in winter, do you guys have any suggestions for me to keep the car in shape?
Thanks and nice to meet you all!!
I am super proud to be a W204 owner and am looking forwarding to learning more from you guys!
Member
Joined: Aug 2011
Posts: 107
Likes: 0
2011 C300 4matic sport
Congrats on your ride!
As a condo dweller in Chicago, I feel your pain... I park on the street a few times a week, but I also have access to a parking structure a few blocks away. There's not a whole lot you can do about the cold, and driving carefully until the temp comes up is definitely a good thing. You don't really need to idle the car much at all though initially, 20 seconds or so is plenty to get the engine settled. After that the car is doing everything it can to warm up ASAP anyways (max catalytic converter efficiency happens at higher temps), so might as well start driving away.
Get a good coat of wax before the winter season, preferably a heavy duty kind that will last you all through the winter (Collinite Insulator wax is great). Don't let road salt linger too long on the car if possible. Also, not necessarily a winter thing though, I carry a small "bird poop kit" in my trunk: plastic water bottle, microfiber, sample-size spray wax. Carefully blotting off poop and tree sap and other evil things will keep your finish sealed and looking good. Use a "Sno-Brum" to push off snow rather than a plastic brush that will scratch your paint.
Hopefully you don't have the problem of inept drivers trying to parallel park behind/in front of your car... I've already had the pleasure of getting a few license plate screw scratches on my rear bumper. The bottom part of the rear bumper on our cars sticks out a bit more than on other cars, and someone behind you might think they have more room than they actually do when looking over their hood.
Anyways, enjoy and good luck!
As a condo dweller in Chicago, I feel your pain... I park on the street a few times a week, but I also have access to a parking structure a few blocks away. There's not a whole lot you can do about the cold, and driving carefully until the temp comes up is definitely a good thing. You don't really need to idle the car much at all though initially, 20 seconds or so is plenty to get the engine settled. After that the car is doing everything it can to warm up ASAP anyways (max catalytic converter efficiency happens at higher temps), so might as well start driving away.
Get a good coat of wax before the winter season, preferably a heavy duty kind that will last you all through the winter (Collinite Insulator wax is great). Don't let road salt linger too long on the car if possible. Also, not necessarily a winter thing though, I carry a small "bird poop kit" in my trunk: plastic water bottle, microfiber, sample-size spray wax. Carefully blotting off poop and tree sap and other evil things will keep your finish sealed and looking good. Use a "Sno-Brum" to push off snow rather than a plastic brush that will scratch your paint.
Hopefully you don't have the problem of inept drivers trying to parallel park behind/in front of your car... I've already had the pleasure of getting a few license plate screw scratches on my rear bumper. The bottom part of the rear bumper on our cars sticks out a bit more than on other cars, and someone behind you might think they have more room than they actually do when looking over their hood.
Anyways, enjoy and good luck!
Thread Starter
Member
Joined: Dec 2013
Posts: 203
Likes: 0
From: Bellevue, WA
'08 C350 Sport
global33, thanks for the helpful tips!
I will def get the wax done for the car. Good thing my stealer has unlimited freebie car wash so I will abuse that a lot.
I don't have problem with those parallel park drivers because I park in front of my house.
The bird poop kit idea is very interesting hahaha because I might need it for some upcoming road trips.
I will def get the wax done for the car. Good thing my stealer has unlimited freebie car wash so I will abuse that a lot.
I don't have problem with those parallel park drivers because I park in front of my house.
The bird poop kit idea is very interesting hahaha because I might need it for some upcoming road trips.
