Another cold winter has come to British Columbia, but the team here at Valley Driving School is prepared! If you’re not feeling prepared for this winter, we’ve gathered some favourite winter vehicle accessories from across our offices to share with you. These accessories also make great last minute gifts if you still have someone to check off your Christmas gift list!
Ice Scraper Snow Brush
Sure to top any favourites list, an ice scraper and brush combo is a winner for a few of our staff - Samantha, Rob, and Vanessa, who are all part of the Online and Marketing department, have one in the car all year. Rob says he likes his scraper “with a long handle because I’m short,” and Vanessa agrees saying, “Us short people have problems...” While Samantha swears by her ice scraper and snow brush, it’s not because of her height - “I have a routine: start the car, put on the rear and front windshield defrosters, and then go in a clockwise direction around the car with my ice scraper. I always finish with the front windshield, so it gets the most time to defrost and by the time I’m finished with that, the rear windshield is totally defrosted!”
Windshield Cover
To avoid using an ice scraper all together, September, one of our Branch Managers, highly recommends a windshield cover “so I don’t have to scrape my windshield on a cold winter morning. Truly a game changer!” There are so many windshield covers out there to choose from, and they all get hooked onto the inside of your vehicle through the front doors to make sure it doesn’t fly away in the blustery winter storms! There are even some that are dual-purpose, and can be used as a sun-screen in the summer months.
Remote Start
Nothing quite beats being able to jump into an already warmed car on a cold winter’s day and Melissa, who heads up our Online and Marketing department, says "When it's so cold and wet, having a nice warm car to jump into is the best, instead of having to sit on cold leather seats or waiting for your windshield to defrost.” Many newer models of cars come from the manufacturer with a remote start installed, but you can still get one put into your older vehicle if you want one! There are many aftermarket remote start kits that can be installed at home or there are some companies that will install this for you as well. At-home installation kits typically cost a couple hundred dollars although you can find some that are more or less expensive.
Heat!
Vanessa makes the list again, with her heated favourites! She wouldn’t trade in her heated mirrors, heated steering wheel, and heated seats for anything. The heated steering wheel and heated seats means that her digits and derriere are toasty within minutes of starting her drive to work in the morning. “Having heated mirrors means that the snow, ice and fog melts away without any more effort than the push of a button,” Vanessa says. Just like our favourite remote starters, these features are standard in many newer model vehicles but those of us with older vehicles can get aftermarket products to make our mornings a bit warmer throughout winter. Heated seat cushions are available for less than $50 and are often a universal fit, so you don’t need to worry about the fit if they are a gift! You can also upgrade your side mirrors to heat up, with a simple heating pad that sits behind the glass and upgrade your steering wheel with a heated cover.
Make sure that any heating equipment gets turned off or unplugged when you’re not using it!
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All the accessories that made this list are great things to have, as well as to gift! Like any other drivers, our staff like to have their favourite accessories on-hand during the winter months, to make the cold days a bit warmer and their drives a bit easier.