A quick run down on what you could (and should) do now you’ve finally driven off the lot.
Now if you’ve got to this point, woohoo! You’ve finally got the keys in your hand, and now it is high time to savour the joy of your new (to you) ride.
This is usually when you begin to really get to know your car: the little quirks, hidden features, and personality traits that didn’t quite show up on the test drive. For the shopaholics among us too, this is also the perfect time to crack open the wallet and spend a little extra on making the car feel a bit more yours.
And to help you get started on that journey, here’s a handy checklist of things worth doing after driving off the lot:
1. General Service
Even if the seller claims it’s been recently done, it’s always wise to service the car to your own standards. This is especially true for older or more temperamental (read: continental) cars. Fresh fluids and filters are cheap insurance against costly issues later down the line, and give you a clean maintenance baseline moving forward.
2. Alignment & Balancing
Not typically included in a basic used car handover, but getting your tyres aligned and balanced can completely transform how a car feels on the road, especially if the car sat for long stretches at the lot.
Bonus tip: Checking your tyre pressures should be something you should ideally do with your first ever fill up in your new car. You’d be surprised how often this gets overlooked.
3. Tinting
When the car went through its Puspakom inspection, chances are the front window tints were removed. And let’s be real, sitting in an untinted car under the Malaysian sun is basically an oven experience. Do yourself (and your fragile dashboard plastics) a favour and get the windows properly tinted as soon as you can.
4. Full Body Detail
This might be a little vain, but a good detail job (RM 300 and up, or much more for the perfectionists) can make a tired-looking used car look like it just rolled out of the showroom. And come now, your new (to you) car should have the chance to look new to you right?
5. Interior Deep Clean
This one’s a tad more practical than just cosmetic, as you’ll ideally want to remove any lingering trace of the previous owner — smells, stains, or otherwise. A full interior wet-vac, steam clean, surface disinfection and maybe even an ozone treatment can make the cabin feel factory fresh and truly yours.
6. Dashcam
These days, a dashcam is practically a necessity on Malaysian roads. If the car doesn’t already have one, you can pick up a decent unit starting from around RM 200, with installation rarely breaching the RM 100 mark. In a world of questionable drivers and unpredictable traffic, this tiny investment can be worth its weight in gold when you need it most.
Some Final Sage Words Of Advice
For those who want to take their new (used) ride up a level, the list of aftermarket upgrades is practically endless. But to keep things grounded, here are just three final general thoughts this writer feels are worth sharing on the subject:
Factory-Style Retrofits
There are some workshops who specialise in retrofitting factory features that were available in other markets to certain European and Japanese models. Think of things like a fully digital instrument clusters, ventilated seats, or even ADAS features like blind spot monitoring.
In fact, this writer’s own decade-old Audi A3, for example, could actually gain the original Audi Adaptive Cruise Control with autonomous braking. Now if only his writer’s paycheck was slightly more accommodating to these admittedly costly add-ons…
Go Wild… But Keep Things Legal, Please
Whether it’s LED puddle lights, ambient cabin strips, or a body kit — don’t let anyone tell you how to personalise your car. It’s your new pride and joy after all.
Just remember to keep things legal though, and respectful to other road users. Looking at you, aftermarket LED headlights that can blind low-flying aircraft.
It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint
This may be more a note to self than a piece of advice, but remember: you don’t have to do everything all at once. Stretch out the upgrades, prioritise what you need most, and give your wallet some time to recover from these financial blows.
That said, the one thing you absolutely should do immediately is go out and enjoy your new ride. You’ve more than earned it after all the effort and expense.
