One of my colleagues in the newsroom recently got a new car, so she stopped by this Virtual Garage to ask some real-life questions.

She was mainly concerned about how to drive the car during its initial miles, having heard some “old husband’s tales” of how to “break in” the engine properly.

My advice was (and is) to just drive normally for the first thousand miles or so, but avoid any high-RPM use of the engine... from rapid acceleration or   constant speed greater than 65 or 70 miles per hour.

This question has some historical context, because for many decades new cars came with very specific instructions for breaking in the engine: owners were told how far to drive, and at what speed, and then to park the car until the engine cooled.

This was done to allow the piston rings, cylinder walls, valves and valve seats to seal properly.  NOT following the break-in instructions “back in the day” could leave a new engine running badly and consuming engine oil.

These days, with modern advances in metallurgy and computer-aided engine design, new vehicle engines are pretty much “good to go” right off the dealer’s lot.

A question about the new car’s finish also came up: should she wax it right away?  There is no other answer but an enthusiastic “yes.”

A coat or two of good quality wax (the cheap stuff is better than no wax) not only makes the new vehicle look good, it protects the paint from tree sap, bird droppings, road tar and the salt spray we will experience soon enough.  Simply put, wax makes the bad stuff easier to remove from the paint.

Wash the vehicle when it needs it, and use CAR WASH SOAP if you do the job at home.  This soap will help the wax on the finish last as long as possible.  Laundry detergent and dish soap are hard on a wax job.

I am also a fan of seat covers for new cars, unless the vehicle has leather seats.  Covering fabric seats protects them from all kinds of dirt, crumbs and spills.  A clean interior will make the car worth more when you eventually want to sell it or trade it in.  Car seat covers can be washed with the laundry as needed.

With winter on the way, it is also a good idea to protect the new carpet of a new vehicle.  I like to put paper grocery bags or old towels UNDER the floor mats.  When the bags or towels get wet from melting slush, get them out right away... and replace them with clean, dry material.  This will help keep the carpet dry, which is almost as important as keeping it clean.