I'm considering selling my car soon, and am wondering if it is advisable to get the engine (and bay) steanm cleaned. The engine is currently covered with a thin layer of absolutely dry 'road dust' - no hints of oil egress anywhere. I had thought that this might be a good selling point, indicating that I'm not trying to hide anything - but equally some folks might be swayed by a nice shiny engine bay! Apart from aesthetics, are there also problems with electrical nasties arising from high pressure cleaning?
So, should I go ahead and steam clean? The car is a Volvo S80 in (as far as I know) perfect order - mechanically, externally and internally.
Thanks
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Do not steam clean. Apart from showing any buyer the car in its proper state, and hence not hiding anything, you may end up with a host of things not working. Steam cleaning is not good for modern engine electronics without proper precautionary care.
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I recall this being discussed recently, and the conclusion was reached that people might think you're trying to hide something (oil leak, etc.).
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I would leave it alone. If you were going to keep it, your regular mechanic might welcome a clean engine bay so that any leaks are easily seen, but I'd get him to do the cleaning job so that no-one else is to blame if, as is not unlikely, it created some minor electical problems.
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the karcher pressure washer I had had a warning that in 'high pressure' mode the jet of water could be injected through a tyrewall, which suggests it shouldnt be pointed at radiator or a/c hoses either
This subject has been raised once or twice before, and i think the consensus was that if you take a modern engine bay with all its electrics and point a high pressure jet of water or steam at it, you shouldn't be suprised if it doesnt all work afterwards. Also I think someone suggested that if they saw a nice clean engine bay, they would think that suspicious.....
p.s. my preference is for a brisk application of autoglym engine bay cleaner, followed by a low pressure cold water spray (from the garden sprayer, if you want to know !)
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just 'cos I know what I'm saying doesn't mean I know what I'm talking about
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Thanks, guys - I got a bit fed up with the pop-ups so haven't visited the site for a while, so I apologise if this has been covered recently.
Cheers
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I use a damp cloth to clean the dusty painted or plastic surfaces, and an oily rag on anything which shows a hint of rust. Put a bit of grease on screw threads etc. Once upon a time the engine used to keep evrything in the engine bay rust free; no longer.
As far as pop-ups go, If I'm not interested in a particular one, I find the best way is to right click on the pop-up's tab on the bar right at the bottom of the screen to bring up the menu, and close it with a left click.
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"Once upon a time the engine used to keep evrything in the engine bay rust free."
Ah, happy days...
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So, should I go ahead and steam clean? The car is a Volvo S80 in (as far as I know) perfect order - mechanically, externally and internally.
then why steam clean.waste of time.besides problems you may encounter whilst doing so.to my mind bad idea.sell it like it is
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"..a thin layer of absolutely dry 'road dust'"
In which case, an air line should do it. Most garages have them and they are wonderful for blowing the crud out of corners (I use them for computers, and you would not believe what they ingest).
I also agree with others' sentiments that if it's too obviously freshly valeted, it looks suspicious. My pet hate is the shiny dashboard!
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Suspiscious(sp?) of a clean car?????
What a strange lot you are :-) valeting a car from top to bottom before selling it will add value to the sale the amount depends upon the price of the car you are selling.
When you go to the dealers down the road and purchase a pre-owned car, do you look at the clean ones or the dirty ones?
When we sold Mrs JaB Cinq we spent £30 having a full valet and sold it for £150 more than 'book' price.
If you want the engine bay steam cleaned have a local garage do it.
JaB
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Many years ago had the engine bay of a BMW 525 steam cleaned and immediately afterwards the central locking failed, cost me an arm and a leg to fix- never again. Personally I'd be wary of buying a car with a recently steam cleaned engine bay, a valet would be a better investment.
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What a strange lot you are :-) valeting a car from top to bottom before selling it will add value to the sale the amount depends upon the price of the car you are selling.
But as already mentioned, a gleaming engine will cause suspicion.
When you go to the dealers down the road and purchase a pre-owned car, do you look at the clean ones or the dirty ones?
Generally you get a warranty from the garage, but not a private sale. So if the engine leaks like a sieve, at least you have some comeback if bought from a garage. Try taking it back to the private seller and see if you get the same comeback.
Obviously an engine thickly coated in oil and grease is a turn off, but general everyday mild grime and dust isn't.
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Don't agree, bloke. Seeing a car 'as is' it is easy to tell what will come up nicely and what won't. Abnormal cleaning can be bad news.
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