“It’s the most wonderful time of the year!”

But having your car snowed in can be a major bummer when you need to run important errands, like your holiday shopping. Here are helpful tips and tricks to get you out and about.

– Taking Off Snow

The common method people do when they see a heap of snow on their car is to grab any broom they can find or a shovel and beginning clearing the snow. Both these methods get the job done, but they can leave your car with ugly scratches from the rough bristles of the broom and the metal from the shovel.

• Instead, have a foam brush handy or a pair of thick leather gloves. Pull, not push, snow off in a straight-forward motion.
• Start from the roof and begin working your way down to your windows and doors, your hood, trunk, and front and rear lights.
• Be sure to clear any snow in the exhaust as well.

– Taking Off Ice

• As you take off snow from your car, you might come across sheets of ice that have frozen onto your car. The worst thing you can do is leave it on your car, even snow, for it to just fly off while driving. This creates a danger to others around you as well.
• Avoid pouring warm water on the ice. This can cause the glass to crack as well as just freeze the additional water you add on.
• Take an empty spray bottle and fill with two ingredients, 70% rubbing alcohol and tap water. Spray your mixture onto the ice and let it settle for a few minutes, then take a plastic scraper and begin removing the ice.

Whether the winter wrath has begun piling snow onto your car or you have yet to experience it but still found these tips helpful, it is great to apply these to your car, especially if it is a leased car.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Swapalease.com is the world’s largest automotive lease marketplace and the pioneer in facilitating lease transfers online. For more information on finding the best car lease deals or to learn how you can have a successful car lease trade, visit Swapalease.com or contact them at 866-SWAPNOW.