Advice - Buying wiper blades...

SeduLOUs

OK, it's a bit silly but I know absolutely nothing about them and am looking for some MSE advice.

I have a Citroen C2 and a Ford Mondeo, and about 8 months ago I bought basic brand wipers for both from Halfords - both sets already need replacing.

I may be completely wrong, but 8 months doesn't seem like a good enough length of time for wipers to last, and even at basic brand they didn't feel particularly cheap. As it stands it's costing me ~£9 month for wiper blades and I have no idea whether this is sensible, but it feels like it might be excessive.

Would I get substantially more use out of paying a bit more for a 'decent brand'? If so, what 'decent' brand would you advise, and where is the most sensible place to buy from?

Many thanks in advance.

force_ten

I have run a ford mondeo for many years and believe it or not Ford recommend that you replace wiper blades every six months

this seems a bit extreme to me and i have never done that ever and try and get two years out of a set of blades

I always used to fit ford blades sourced from the main dealers but i did once buy ford blades from E Bay, on my car at present i have got a set of Bosch wiper blades that i got a good deal on online getting all three blades for about £18.00 and they have lasted about 12 months and are still good

OddballJamie

I'd use Valeo Silencio from GSF, Carparts4less or EuroCarParts if you're local to them. They will definitely have them for the Citroen, if they don't have the stock for the Mondeo go for Bosch.

Are they just smearing or falling apart as you can clean them with a little screenwash on a clean rag.

Also check your screenwash incase it's causing issues. Although if it was that bad you'd notice it on your paintwork.

SeduLOUs

OddballJamie wrote: »

Are they just smearing or falling apart as you can clean them with a little screenwash on a clean rag.

Just really bad smearing and no problems on paint, so will try giving them a good clean first and if not will have a look at the brands you've suggested.

Thanks to both for comments. Think Halfords stock Bosch but very unlikely to be the best price available.

Foxy-Stoat_3

Don't buy the own brand halford blades, buy the Bosch ones.

tykesi

Do either of the cars go to a hand car wash? The one I used to go to used some sort of wax on the car which made the water bead for a couple of days after washing but then turns into an awful coating which just smears. I wash it myself now and no smearing since.

Best bet as you say is to clean these up and see if that helps. Clean the screen too with either a windowlene type product or white vinegar in water.

SeduLOUs

Is there a significant improvement between the Bosch standard blades and the Bosch Aerotwin? It's a bit of a jump in price but just wondering if it is worth it or whether the Bosch standards are plenty good enough?

tykesi wrote: »

Do either of the cars go to a hand car wash? The one I used to go to used some sort of wax on the car which made the water bead for a couple of days after washing but then turns into an awful coating which just smears. I wash it myself now and no smearing since.

We use the auto car wash as it's not convenient placement for washing car at home. I only ever go for the bog standard wash though because I hate the greasy film you get from the wax stuff that they do so that shouldn't really have an effect.

OH used that rain away stuff on the Mondeo a while back which caused everything to bead up for a bit, but I didn't let him near mine with it

Wipers are still relatively effective in heavy downpour, it's the crappy spitting rain when it's not quite wet enough to have them on full but not dry enough to leave them off and then it's just smear city.

sk240

Personally I just buy the cheap aero ones off ebay, I and family members have had them on their cars for a couple of years, all you need to do is make sure you wipe along the rubber once in a while, its the dirt that attaches itself to the blade that causes the problem, and a general lack of maintenance.
Eventually they will go hard and or perish though

Alt

Are you by any chance a Costco mamber? The Goodyear wipers they sell is excellent. Much better than anything else I have had including Bosch

The current set on my Mondeo have lasted me over two years and are still going strong so much so that I have still not used the second pair I bought a year ago

Best part they are cheap (under £10 each)...


Alt

OddballJamie

Put your reg in here and see how much they come out, should be far cheaper than Halfords.
http://www.carparts4less.co.uk/

If the Valeo are a similar price to Bosch, then try them. I've always used them previously but tried Bosch last time and not overly pleased.

neilmcl

Or try wiperblades.co.uk