Five Things I'd Like to Do to my Ride

Given the opportunity there are five things I'd like to do to my current ride (a 2001 Rav4 loaner from my mom). I doubt I'd have the opportunity to do all of them, but some of them are long overdue.

1. Bring the car to the shop and have all pending maintenance work done to it. When the car was sent to the shop for it's 95k maintenance, the shop had four or five recommendations to fix the car. Something about some bushings, steering system maintenance, and some stuff needs to be changed. So far we still haven't gotten around to scheduling when the car will be brought to the shop, but I honestly think it needs to be done soon.
2. Upgrade the headlights and fog lamps. Either switch to HID projectors (I've been browsing the internet and I have not seen any HID projector headlamps for the car) or put in brighter bulbs. Preferably the yellow bulbs that don't blind oncoming traffic yet bright enough to light the way even in the rain. Same for the fog lamps.
3. Upgrade the in-car entertainment. New stereo with mp3 compatibility, better speakers, and a new antenna. Maybe even a pop out LCD screen so I can also install a camera on the back of the car to help me when I park in reverse.
4. Restore the exterior. It's a ten year old car. Wear and tear are showing and some of the rubber on the mouldings are falling off. Basically just bring it back to a near brand new look.
5. Add clear tint that will help reduce the heat inside the car. Yes, my car has no tint. And I just park it outside the house, where there is no roof. Temperatures do get high and uncomfortable inside the car when it's left under the sun for a long time. I need a car tint that will maintain the current visibility but help prevent the car from baking.

You'll notice that my priorities for the car are more on the maintenance side and comfort side. It doesn't mean I don't want to fix up the engine, brakes, and suspension.


To be quite honest, my driving style is more of the (relatively) slow, relaxed variety. I don't need to drive fast and I'd rather save gas (and stress) by going at a (relatively) slower pace than most rude motorists who love to weave in and out of traffic.


Maybe in my next post I'll describe my driving style and my pet peeves in motorists. Maybe.


Out.