[TejasKinger]

Originally Posted by RS90

Very much required these days. Did you notice discolouration or corrosion to any plastic/leather trims?

I haven't, so far at least. I'm using this spray. It is claimed to be safe for Helmets, Handles, Steering Wheels, Seats, Car Interiors, Electronic Items, and Gym Equipments.

I'm only assuming that I won't see any discoloration/corrosion in the long-term.

[Zen2001]

Interesting to read this. Just shows how much of fuel, time, energy was being consumed, when all the work could have still been done without all that waste! It's not like the technology for remote communication (video calls, video conferencing, e commerce, home entertainment, e-grocery) was non existent before march 2020! Not to mention pollution, traffic jams, accidents, road rage and what not!
Anyway, personally the amount of driving done by me probably increased marginally over the past 4 months as I kept going to all the hospitals that I work at, without any changes in the weekly routine. The additional driving is attributed to buying the daily essentials (which I still do) thrice in a week, while driving back home. The quality of the drive (I have always driven myself) had immensely improved, especially during the stricter phases of the lockdown. One relaxation and the roads degenerate into fish markets.
The downside though was finding air to fill the tyres, especially in the first 30-40 days. Equally inconvenient was the closure of all car repair mechanics, as my 20 year old car was behaving like every drivee was it's last!
But I kept travelling my usual 100km per day (outside city limits) convincing myself that I'll just have to ditch it by the road and walk to the nearest police station if that should happen. Many issues like blown fuses, damaged or leaking hoses, loose carb linkages, stuck accelerator cable, blocked EGR valve - I had to DIY "repair" at home, with no spares! Just so that I could risk some work related exposure (sic).
Which brings me to the issue of my plans of buying a new car. Well 2020 was supposed to be the "destined" year, and I was waiting for April, so that all the BS6 vehicles would be available. No marks for guessing whether that happened. Anyway, the hunt resumed in June but the economic sentiment and general outlook for the future has made my choice plunge from the X1 down to to Karoq & Compass, further down to Seltos/Creta (DCT only), and with even hospitals not having paid (some since march), now I have to re think the choices lower levels.

[naikameya]

I am curious about this. What is the reason for keeping them on the windshield? Is it because of the spring?

Previously when my car was in open parking I always kept the wipers in the lifted position. I have found that delays the deterioration of rubber parts which get heated when in contact with glass surface. Even now under the covered parking I have all the 3 wipers in lifted postion.

Any expert advise here?

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by naikameya

I am curious about this. What is the reason for keeping them on the windshield? Is it because of the spring?

I may be wrong but say if something hits the wiper, it'll go hit the windshield even harder due to the spring, cracking the glass mostly.

Where I park my car be it at work or even at home, birds do come and sit at various places on the car. Say during their movement, they hit a wiper arm, the damage will be on the higher side so it is preferred to keep them on the windshield itself.

[neoonwheels]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

I may be wrong but say if something hits the wiper, it'll go hit the windshield even harder due to the spring, cracking the glass mostly.

Where I park my car be it at work or even at home, birds do come and sit at various places on the car. Say during their movement, they hit a wiper arm, the damage will be on the higher side so it is preferred to keep them on the windshield itself.

Yup... Seen a washing car guy once did that mistake and the windshield developed a hairline crack. The owner was furious to realize this next day.

[RS90]

Originally Posted by TejasKinger

It is claimed to be safe for Helmets, Handles, Steering Wheels, Seats, Car Interiors, Electronic Items, and Gym Equipments.

When I had been on the lookout for chemicals to disinfect the car interiors, I settled with 1% sodium hypochlorite solution for the job as this is the same chemical used by our Government for sanitisation of majorly all kinds of surfaces. I also use the spray type hand sanitiser (liquid not gel). I believe if it can disinfect our hands, so it can also disinfect the steering, gear knob, etc.

I took a glimpse at the website of the product you mentioned. It seems to be advertised as more of an anti-bacterial spray than to be affective against the Covid virus.
Here is a link of the US Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-regist...cov-2-covid-19
They have highlighted the chemicals which have been proved to be effective against the Covid virus under the "active ingredient" header.

Stay safe!

Originally Posted by Zen2001

Just shows how much of fuel, time, energy was being consumed, when all the work could have still been done without all that waste!

Novel point of view, interesting. Many workplaces are now contemplating the idea of having permanent WFH or having to report to office only once or twice weekly. Things have definitely been learnt. Better late than never.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

I may be wrong but say if something hits the wiper, it'll go hit the windshield even harder due to the spring, cracking the glass mostly.

I think you are correct IMHO. However, you cannot anyway leave the wipers upright in most Mercedes these days as they are hidden under the bonnet. In order to be able to lift them up, one needs to first put the wipers in service mode, they then swipe to the middle of the windshield. Thats when they can be lifted up for cleaning, replacement of wiper blades etc.
The pictorial advices are not all appropriate

[Chinmay]

We bought a new car after living with the old one for about 12 years. This was done in January. I have been working from home since last 4 years, and so, the vehicle was not intended for work anyway. It was bought for weekend trips/road trips. Sadly, the only trip the car has seen till now is to Mysore. Heck, I have even done the second servicing at 1850 kms only, in June. I just did 2300 kms om the Odo as of today.
In March/April, the vehicle was parked in the apartment's parking lot, and I used to start it twice a week. In May, after the partial unlock, I went to check the air pressure after one and a half months. Since then, the car is being driven daily for about 10-15 kms in the evening, just for the sake of it. Sure, there has been a significant saving in fuel costs. But now, I am really wondering whether a diesel vehicle was worth it. I bought a diesel for some serious miles munching. That is not going to happen any sooner.
Nevertheless, I love the vehicle, and hope to go on a long drive soon.

[NiInJa]

I dont think this phase is going to last for an excruciatingly long time. Who knows, next year, around the same time we might be driving our cars or bikes like nothing happened.

Coming to the present times, I have been working from home for the last two and half years so taking the car out was an occasion for me. I am more worried about my love for riding bikes because I used to take my bike out every now and then just to roam around in the city for no good reason, but given the bad habits of people spitting and sneezing while riding, I have stopped it completely. Before Covid, I was thinking of getting a new one (Dominar/Mojo) during the auspicious period of Shravan but I have given up that idea completely simply because I realized that there is absolutely no need to spend a couple of lakhs of money on a 300-400cc bike when you have a car. I can get a Pulsar 125 and still be happy. I have realized that its not really about the cubic capacity of the bike when riding within city limits. So, definitely a change in automotive life for me

[51morris]

COVID-19 has certainly affected my car ownership/driving drastically.

Till Feb 2019, I would drive to work daily - a commute of about 70 miles. This changed when my workplace moved to Central London. Thanks to super bad traffic, very expensive parking and the daily congestion charges, I started taking the Tube into work. This meant my car driving reduced from 70 miles daily to about 30-40 miles per week!

Then COVID-19 happened To put it simply, in the past 2.5 months, I have done about 150 miles in the car and about 650 miles on my cycle! It is only now that I have started to drive around a bit over the weekends. Hopefully will put some miles on the car in the months to come.

During the lockdown, however, I made sure that I was starting the car up and taking it for a spin (even if it meant inside the apartment complex) once in 2-3 days without fail. Didn’t want any complications due to non-use.

Fingers crossed that the world comes out of this dreadful situation soon.

Take care and stay safe, everyone!
Praveen

[Kottayamkaran]

My bike used to be my primary mode of transportation during pre-corona days, thanks to the Bangalore traffic. My wife used to take the metro to work. Car was meant for weekend trips and long outstation trips. Now since I am working from home, the running of my bike has come down. But usage of car has increase as wife drives to work daily now. So I must say our expenditure on fuel has gone up during this corona time

[amitayu]

My FS is my mainstay for all purposes. It was my daily ride to office, our ride for the weekends and the occasional highway drives around Delhi.

Now, it has all been condensed to a weekly ride on weekends. On Saturdays we drive out for weekly groceries and take a quick spin around our immediate vicinity. ti is also when I check my tyre pressures or fill up petrol.

On Sundays, a couple of our friends go out for a long drive, just driving around for an hour at least. We do not stop, we do not socialise. The kids sit in their respective cars and yell to each other. This exercise helps keep the cars and our minds in shape.

My two wheeler has conked off and I frankly do not know what to do with it. I cannot haul it to a SC and getting local mechanics to work it at home is a risk I am not willing to take.

[DieselAnna]

Car usage had reduced but not completely stopped for me. Covid situation affected my work from March end to April end. But I was always visiting the office 2/3 times a week as its just 1.5kms from home. From mid May onwards, we resumed our office and I started taking the car regularly.

Both the cars were used alternatively and the Activa was used for small runs. From June onwards, car usage has become heavy as me and my employees travel to factory everyday. With public transport shut, both cars are being used regularly. My average weekly running is 500+ kms now. My scooter usage is practically nil and it is 5 years old now and showing age. The electricals aren't functioning properly and tyres are due for replacement.

With less traffic in June, it was a blessing to drive in Mumbai. However, slowly traffic has come back in July and it's increasing by the day.

[dgoyle]

Oh definitely it brought about a change, which is gradually dissipating.

1. No hawkers meant the pedestrian path was relatively free.
2. Work from home.
3. Empty roads encouraged more walking.
4. Plenty of time resulted in even more walking! One errand (grocery) at a time!!
5. Excercise resulted in good appetite and sleep.
6. Good appetite, great sleep and improved emotional health resulted in gaining weight with reduced tummy and hip circumference. weight remained up!!!!!

All this meant that vehicle usage went down to 0 km per month. Had to change batteries for both cars - battery charger did not fix the problem. Did not wash/clean/look at the cars even once from 12 Mar to 1 July (3 1/2 months). Only added air to tyres using foot inflator, rolled the car 5 mts up and down every day.

Opened the cars on 27th May, charged both batteries to no avail (replaced them), cleaned, mopped and vacuumed and filled them up. Getting back to crowded roads, using cars for picking up groceries all in one go. Backing up to square one - surely!

[Stribog]

Originally Posted by Bibendum90949

As luck would have it, I did a 23 day road trip from Bangalore to Manali in Feb first week in my new Seltos. Looking back, that was just in the nick of time. The dreaded name covid hadn't quite reached our ears then. And since March that word would've been printed and typed in billions around the world. Who would've thought our lives with cars would be thrown totally out of gear. Now another road trip looks like a very distant dream

Do you have a travelogue of the same?

[rajshenoy]

I own two cars and a Scooty, my monthly fuel bills used to range between INR 6-8K and in last 5 months, I have only done refueling worth INR 2000!!

However, it is very painful for a petrolhead not to be able to drive anywhere. 2020 for sure will remain the same as I do not see anything changing so soon (for an IT guy).

Do I really need two cars ? I don't think (and hope) the situation does not prolong beyond 2020 as the economic impact will be catastrophic. In fact I was planning to get a motorcycle(after a break of a decade) after BS6 and keep it for as long as I can (before EV takes over the 2 wheeler space).

I guess the life of my cars will definitely extend by another year or two (for selling) before I decide to even think of upgrading to next set of wheels. I also feel happy to save my hard earned money by choosing a pre-owned car over a brand new car.

On the plus side, choked cities have really become calm now and it is really a pleasure to drive around inside the city even on a manual car (I got myself an automatic thanks to Bangalore traffic). Overall it is a mixed bag and except for the economic worry, i am actually enjoying the 2020.

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