One of the coolest auto services ever
February 11, 2009 @ 12:33 pm

Like millions of Americans, I drive an older car—a 10-year-old Toyota with 180,000 miles, to be precise. I live in the city, park on the street and only drive a couple times a week, so buying a new car just hasn’t made much sense.

But over the course of the past year or two, I had become painfully aware that it was harder and harder to see at night anytime it rained or I was on dark side roads. My headlights had yellowed with age and were cloudy instead of clear and transparent. If a car was riding next to mine, I could plainly see how much brighter its lights were and how much more of the road was illuminated. It was borderline embarrassing, but I thought my only option was to replace both headlight assemblies at a cost of more than $200 each. As you can imagine, I wasn’t real excited about that proposition.
When I came to work recently and heard that we had a new service to refurbish headlights like mine, I almost flipped a few cartwheels. What a fantastic idea! The restoration service entails using a sanding disc and a special compound to remove the yellowing and surface defects from the lamp lens. This is followed with another step to polish the lens surface. (We use 3M’s system, but a Google search will turn up other similar products.) We charge $89 for the service, and to me, this is a bargain compared to the alternative.


The average car on the road is 9 years old, so I know I’m not alone in this quest for better, brighter lighting. I asked our resident photographer to snap a few photos of my Toyota’s transformation so you could see for yourselves what a difference it can make.

The first night I drove home with my “new” headlights was akin to an awakening. I saw potholes and road features I haven’t seen in ages, and I’ve driven this same road for nearly 8 years. I was thrilled—and shocked at how little I’d been able to see before. My only regret? The fact that a snowstorm kept me from having this done before I drove 600 miles to Pennsylvania over the holidays.

Star Auto Authority
Vernon Hills, IL
www.starautoauthority.com
http://blog.myautoauthority.com/
2 Comments

2 Comments so far
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What a great service to know about. I drive a 1991 Honda Civic hatchback that I get offers on every week. 38 MPG and great handling and good visibility in daylight but when I’m driving at night it is not so much fun. None of the shops around me know about this service – so thanks for the education. I might have to do it myself or drive to Chicago to visit Star Auto. Great safety tip. Thanks.

Comment by Kenton 03.06.09 @ 2:38 pm

Thanks, Kenton! Good luck finding a shop in your area that offers the service. It is truly a nifty, practical service.

Comment by staraa 03.10.09 @ 3:18 pm

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