So I've had my 95 Accord EX V6 Sedan for almost 3 yrs now. I have maintained it very nicely. I am a clean freak and love taking care of my car, externally as well as internally. It is in good condition w/ a little more than 74K on it. When I got it new I kicked my moms car out of the garage and that has been the home for my accord since. It was driven one full winter and only a little bit during the 2nd and 3rd winter. Our fam use to have an extra car...so that explains the whole not having to use it during the winter time...

But, this August I'll be going away for college (Cornell in Ithaca, NY). It will obviously have to be placed in an outside college environment. Any advice or suggestions? Should I get a full car cover or will that just make ppl curious to see what's under it? I already have a Viper Alarm...not that alarams do much except for make a little noise and blink red. I want to keep the car as good looking and safe as possible. I already know I will have to get many more car washes than I normally do. Any suggestions would help!!!

 

yeah, same situation here. My car is pretty much garage kept, and in 2 months time it will be outside constantly...

 

I had my car at the time parked outside and I was actually suprised nobody ever did anything to it. I thought about getting a car cover, but I thought that would just provoke people even more. I just tried not to draw much attention to the car. Washing and cleaning wise......I just took it to the local self wash place and kept my bucket and soap in my trunk along with some towels, quick detailer, etc. Just use their water and your own supplies, that's what I did and my car was always clean. Whener I wanted to wax, etc. I would take her home however.

 

Leave it at home and buy a beater. Then only bring it up for special occasions.

 

:werd:

I moved off campus so that way my new car wouldn't be near the idiot's that were college at the time. Get something Old and beat-up that runs. Park it at school and be glad your ride is at home safe. If you are living in a dorm, leave the car at home and bum rides!

 

is ur car still stock? why would u care if kids are gonna mess up wit ur stock accord... its a family sedan afterall... not a badass sports car

 

It's your car and we all understand you want to keep it nice. I guess you have to expect a door ding or two especially in a college environment. I agree with others. Buy a beater if you want to keep your car the way it is. My gf's beater Integra got stepped on by some drunk guys. You could see the foot print on the hood and they decided to rip off the antenna. Had to replace the antenna. On some of the college off site parking, you have to deal with people stealing cause there isn't that much patrol going on. So either get a beater or learn how to bum rides. I think it will bother you more if you take the car to school. IMO

 

well, in my case I'm gonna stay in a dorm for the first year, but this is Texas A&M. It's located in College Station, which is pretty much a town centered around the TAMU campus, with 45,000 students. People here are freindly, and car theft rates are pretty much down to zero. In other words, the kind of people who would key a random car don't exist here. The only thing I would have to worry about is a guy with his F-150 King Cab accidently putting a ding on the door, but he/she would still be kind enough to leave a note Security is pretty tight there too...

I guess leaving a bucket, car wash fluid, sponge, towels, and Quik Detailer would be a good idea like v6 master said :thumbup:

However, if I feel as though my car attracts too much attention there, I'll just slap on my stock steelies+hubcaps, and blend in with the 1000+ stock Accord Sedans I saw their during the summer.

 

true, but but on a college campus, anything goes. as 96greencivic mentioned, most colleges don't have much patrol of parking lots. there's no telling what some college kids may do for fun. I rarely stay on campus at my school, but when I do, I'm always nervous about leaving my car there at night, and it's a near stock accord. I've seen bashed in roofs (kids jumping on top of cars), busted in windows (even when there was nothing stolen, let alone anything there to steal in the first place). It's just an unpredictable environment.

If you have a few hundred bucks to spend, get a reliable beater, you'll save yourself the worry.

 

I was kinda wondering about this also. I am going up to Michigan(2 hours from Detroit), and am currently in FL. I am kinda scurred cuz my car is an import and also not just stock. I just read the get a beater comment, and I am really thinking that is not a bad idea...picking up an old pickup or something. But then my problem is storing it somewhere, since I would need it for long trips and the closest possible storage would be 2 hours away.