Fall is my favorite season. After long, hot summers all over the United States, fall is usually a welcome time of year, bringing about cooler temperatures, and many favorites! I usually count down the days until I can enjoy a Pumpkin Spice Latte in a fuzzy sweater and pull on my tall boots without breaking out in a sweat. As leaves begin to change as well as cooler air making its way into communities across the country, there are those less-than-thrilling aspects of the fall season that can come into play as far as vehicles are concerned. Here are a few things you may want to be on the lookout for when it comes to your car this fall.


Falling Leaves

While seeing gorgeous fall color is something most people love and enjoy about the fall season, we all know what a huge mess fallen leaves make. If you aren't able to keep your car parked in a garage or under a carport, you'll get the fun task of cleaning leaves off of your car. Even if you don't park under or near trees, they will ultimately blow through the air and land on your car. Leaves love to get stuck underneath windshield wipers and even stuck under the hood. Be sure to brush the leaves off of your car, and pull them out of your wipers, so they don't clog or block up the wipers and keep them from working properly when you need to use them.

Crushed or wet leaves in the car

Oh, yuck. There is nothing worse than vacuuming out your car only to see bits and pieces of crushed leaves ground into your car mats the next day. It really can't be helped, though. Those pieces of leaves tend to get stuck in the treads of shoes and are tracked into cars and homes. You should keep a small car-vac in the car so you can quickly vacuum out those leaf particles. If you let them pile up in the car, not only will it make your car look unattractive, it may very well contribute to allergy issues for those riding in your car.

Falling branches and nuts

Fall is prime time for squirrels to e collecting and hiding nuts and acorns. If you can avoid parking under a tree, I would highly advise doing so. You may park underneath a beautifully colored tree, never even realizing that it's going to drop pecans, acorns, walnuts, etc., on your car. These can definitely dent your car, not to mention make a mess. If the squirrels are above in the trees eating through to get to the nuts, it will make a blackish-tar-looking mess all over your car's exterior. If you don't want to chance the mess or the potential dents, park away from the nut trees.

You can also expect small branches to break off of trees during the fall season. Critters can break branches as they scurry from tree to tree, causing them to break and fall onto cars. Branches also naturally break on their own this time of year. If you can cover your car (if you have to park under or near a tree), I would advise doing so to avoid any potential damage from small or even moderately sized branches, which can scratch your car.

You've made an investment in your vehicle by purchasing it. Cars depreciate in value over time, so you want to take excellent care of the vehicle if you plan on trying to trade it or sell it in the future. Don't let fall's beauty fool you into thinking it can't or won't cause damage to your vehicle. Take a few extra steps to prevent damage, and you'll be able to fully enjoy the fall season without extra headaches.


This post brought to you by Columbiana Chrysler Jeep Dodge.